The Planning and Product Relationship

Posted by Rory Brazil
September 10, 2020
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Thoughtful Financial Life Planning

I talk a lot about my belief in the importance of Financial Life Planning. About having a process in place to ensure that a thoughtful and sensitive approach is followed with each and every one of my clients. It is an area that I have spent a lot of time furthering my own education, so that I can learn how best to support my clients in this area. I am still learning and will continue to do so to constantly improve my skills and professionalism.

Discovering and discussing the details of a person’s most profound goals is not only exciting but it can also be challenging. For many clients these may be areas in their lives that they have not openly voiced or discussed with anyone. In fact, some clients only realise in their Discovery meeting exactly what their priorities are and what gives them a purpose. They, like many others, have focused so much previously on accumulating money that they have not thought fully about the purpose it would serve and how this can enhance their lives. These conversations do lead to the inevitable conversation around money and finances, which by human nature are intimate and must be treated sensitively.

D.R.E.A.M.: our 5-step Financial Life Planning process

This all clearly establishes the reason why it is so important to ensure that there is a process in place to guide the conversation.

The process I follow in the Financial Life Planning journey is what I call D.R.E.A.M. Quite simply it is a 5-step method to focus the mind and help provide a roadmap based on what’s truly important to an individual in their life. After all, one of the main objectives of our Financial Life Planning service, what we call, “Life Without Limits”, is to help you understand what is most important to you and why it is so.

Then we identify what needs to be in place to maintain the lifestyle you and your family want as well as planning for the future. Our approach looks at where you are at today and where you want to be in the future.

Painting a picture

A lot of my Financial Life Planning clients initially came to me to buy a product – life cover, income protection, pension, investment – and during these transactions our conversation naturally turned to looking at the bigger picture. So while we completed a point in time piece of product advice, we then took a step back to review where that fitted into the bigger picture, how they would like that picture to look now and in the future and how they could achieve that.

We are now in what is traditionally “pensions season” where many self-employed people will review their pension arrangements to reduce their tax liability. This is also an excellent time to look at that bigger picture. Rather than just considering that once off transaction which impacts a tax bill and your future, why not consider your financial realities and the life you long to live?

Why is this approach different?

It’s quite simple and by following the D.R.E.A.M. steps we work with you and focus on questions such as:

“If you had more time or money, what would you do?”

“What do you want to accomplish or attain in your life so that you will feel that you have had a life well-lived?”

“What moves, touches, or inspires you?”

Instead of focusing the conversation on numbers, budgets, investment portfolios, taxes and products, why not take a step back and have a meaningful look at your finances in terms of your values, dreams and objectives?

Living a “Life without Limits”

As a dedicated financial planning firm, we aim to inspire people through financial planning and coaching to make positive changes in their lives. These changes can impact their lifestyle both now and, in the future, to help them live their “Life without Limits”. We at Brazil Financial Planning Ltd t/a The Money Mentor like to do things differently so that we can make a real difference to people’s lives.