Is financial planning a one-time exercise?

No. For a healthy and forward-looking financial life, it’s always good to review your financial plan. It not only gives you the confidence of being on the right track but also provides the opportunity to know the impact any reset to your directional compass might have.  A well-drafted comprehensive plan should always be dynamic, meaningful, and relevant throughout our financial lives.

Is financial planning the same as investing?

No. Investments is a part of the overall financial plan. Personal financial planning is like a puzzle and it’s important that all the pieces fit just right — investments being one of them. Investments can be ad hoc, transient, and in some instances, forgotten. A personalized, goal-centric financial plan becomes a motivator to ensure the right investments are made at the right time with the right focus. Such anchoring ensures the materialization of the goals that we envision. A well-laid-out financial plan creates a sound platform to aspire for newer, bigger goals and acts as a motivator to challenge oneself to attain greater levels of achievement.

Is financial planning a time-consuming process?

A financial plan could be number-driven, with an input and an output to follow. We’d like to instead treat it as an engagement process. It creates an opportunity for the client to have a structured money conversation within the family, and to think of areas that may not have necessarily been on top of their minds. It’s always good to invest time at the beginning of this journey, as it sets the tone for future money decisions. It’s important to spend some time to evaluate all options/trade-offs in order to make informed and meaningful money decisions.

How relevant is a financial plan through life transitions?

Life transitions bring in their own bag of surprises, uncertainties, excitement, and challenges. The one thing that can hold all these emotions together is a clear vision of one’s financial independence. A planned approach towards your finances becomes the beacon of stability, as one journey through every phase of life.

How should one plan for the transition to retirement?

Retirement is a planned life transition, which was traditionally viewed as the final stage through the prism of a three-stage life. Retirement planning is no longer only about dealing with the risk of living longer, but also ensuring continual higher expectations with regard to a retirement lifestyle. Thus, an ideal financial plan must be knitted around the wish list, providing an end-to-end picture of what’s achievable, and enabling worry-free retirement. Remember to focus on securing life extension and proactively plan for life expansion.