by Charlotte Snook
When I opened my emails for the first time this year, having taken the whole of Christmas actually off work, it surprised me to find that I had three emails, from three different clients, that were almost identical.
Each was a variation of this message:
- I finally slowed down over the Christmas break
- It gave me some extra headspace and clarity
- I really do not want to go back to working like I did before the Christmas break
- It’s time to make some decisions
It’s definitely not the first time I have received emails like this, but what surprised me, was that I had a flurry at the same time.
Thankfully, with each of these clients, they already know their exact position. They know, what income they can reasonably expect to receive if they slow down, or stop completely. They know how much they need based on their personal lifestyles. They know what options are available to them going forward. They didn’t send those emails asking me if they ‘could’ retire, because they already knew the answer. We’d been planning it for years. Instead, they were telling me, they were ready now.
You see, my job is to help provide clarity to people on what their roadmap into retirement is really going to look like. Whether they are on track, what options are viable and if their expectations are realistic or wildly unreasonable. We plan for shortfalls years in advance, and we adjust that planning any time there is a change to their lives.
Back to my client’s emails, I usually get these sorts of messages when a particular trigger has occurred in their individual life. Often someone close has had a health turn or they have experienced a loss. It tends to lead to a conversation which goes ‘it’s made me step back and re-assess what’s important’. So, my surprise was that the trigger on these three, was not about their individual lives so much as collective experience.
I suspect this collective experience has something to do with living in a pandemic world for two years. Instead of the usual trigger of ‘someone close has had a health scare’ it’s instead ‘we have all survived one long health scare’ and of course, many people have experienced losses along the way. It’s as though we are all collectively stepping back to re-assess what’s important.
Which leads me to my main point here. I am confident my three clients are not the only three people having these thoughts right now. If you’re wondering the same things, are you confident in your position? Do you know what’s achievable and what your options are going forward?
Even if it’s not on the cards now, it’s empowering to know that when you are ready, your finances do not need to be top of your to do list. And that’s really what financial planning is really all about.
Rosewood Financial Planning Limited is an appointed representative of The On-Line Partnership Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: 26 Shanklin Dive, Westcliff-On-Sea, Essex, SS0 9XU. Registered in England & Wales under 12233220.
