Financial Advice, Looking Back, Looking Forward

In the past 12 months we have been providing you with a number of financial topics to consider.

For many of you, managing your mortgage costs have been important in especially the second half of 2020. It still is an important item for most but we see many have taken the opportunity to lower their interest costs and lock these in for a long time. It helps to know what the largest expense is and will be.

Our publications also touched on other life events as we call these; serious game changers in your family’s life. Death or divorce are just two. And how about an involuntary job change? The fact that “all was quiet” for the past 12 months in financial sense (we all know we have had to cope with effects of global health issues taking first priority) does not exclude the possibility a disruption of your current financial plan will not happen.

We like to think our practice is a reflection of what is going on in society. So we meet people in all circumstances you can think of.

• A call just before Christmas from a man whose wife had died suddenly and as she had taken the household’s finances as her task, he had no clue what his financial here and now, let alone his future looked like.
• A woman seeking help to embed the strenuous legal divorce (which had taken a decade) in the mortgage agreement. 
• An investor who had enough of being taxed on a return he did not receive and he refused to accept more risk than he had because taxation pushed him toward more return and thus risk.
• A family taking the step to reduce the expected inheritance tax by transferring big chunks of an estate to the next (and even the following) generation to allow more of the inheritance arriving at its destination.

The list is almost endless.

Financial advice is not free. Depending on what is needed it can be costly even. But every time you consider it, the advisor should be able to outline the benefit of this investment. Because is an investment. Sometimes its return shows in more or more secure income, or less expenses (interesting examples there!). We believe the peace of mind someone has after the plan is there or has been updated because that was overdue, is almost priceless. That is what customers tell is in any case.

Let’s take a break for a couple of weeks. That is healthy. And maybe you can find the time to answer the question if you think your financial life plan needs an update. If and when you can: enjoy the vacation season and stay safe!