Page 4 - The Star SME Toolkit 2019: Business Experts Give Their Advice

4 THESTAR www.thestar.co.uk Wednesday,September25,2019
FINANCIAL PLANNING
in association with
Don’t be an ‘ostrich’ when it comes to personal finances
It’s the difference be- tween a holiday – or the longest period of unem- ployment in your life.
It’s about feeling organised, not running out of cash and enjoying yourself. The alter- native is anxiety, discord and even an early death.
Jill Thomas, of Future Life Wealth Management, makes no bones about the impact of being an ‘ostrich’ – having your head in the sand – on personal finance.
“If someone has been working all their life I can tell who will die within a couple of years and who will have a happy and fruitful retirement.
“Those who go into it with no interest in planning for the future find life implodes on them. The mental impact is immense, even if they are financially secure – in fact they are the worst.”
The answer, she says, is a plan. A plan helps people decide how much to save and where.
It helps them work out how much they want for their business if they sell. And it helps them cope with inter- est rate or market, or politi- cal changes. It even helps them retire at the best time of year, a decision Jill says is critical.
Those who go in spring have long, sunny warm days which set the tone – as opposed to a dark winter of fretting.
“The best financial plan is where you spend every penny and bounce the cheque to the funeral director,” she jokes. “Ultimately , it’s about having the courage to take charge of your financial affairs.”
was flogged by a financial adviser. It doesn’t fit in the plan because there is no impossible Agoodfinancialplanner plan,theyjust
muddle and have no desire to contem- plate retire- ment and death.
Jill, who never
judges, added: “Not
only does it not go away, it gets ten times worse. I’ve had people come to me with their financial life in a carrier
‘Ultimately, it’s about having the courage to take charge of your financial affairs’
Jill Thomas of Future Life Wealth Management.
bag, statements, endowment policies, a pension from an employer who may have gone bust. I will pull out an ISA that
advisers, according to indus- try bible The Plimsoll Analy- sis – although Jill insists she’s a planner not an adviser. Nev- ertheless the firm knows finance inside out, from inheritance tax planning to pensions to investments.
“Investment returns are important but the overrid- ing factor today is politics. A tweet from Donald Trump can affect markets.”
CONTACT
Future Life Wealth Management Ltd 54 Ravenshorn Way, Ren- ishaw, Sheffield S21 3WY
Phone: 01246 435996 Jill@wealthmanagement.uk.com
MONEY MECHANICS
But often fear is in control. Some do nothing fearing their finances
A good financial planner needs
to know the mechanics of money – and be skilled in psychology
too. Millenials, Generation ‘X’ers and Baby Boomers all approach life differently, according to Jill Thomas of Future Life Wealth Management.
Fractured families often have complex affairs and family busi- nesses can experience spectacu- lar and ultimately tragic fall-outs. Jill says: “Families can be difficult. Parents expect children that take over the business to pay them. Children expect parents to give them the company.”
“The conundrum is how do you retire without accessing the embedded value?
“In one case someone refused to write a will to avoid facing a situation.
“After they died some got nothing and in the ensuing row solicitors got rich.
“I encourage people to have those discussions. It’s wonderful to know someone is inheriting affairs that are sorted and all on one spreadsheet they can take to solicitors.
“Going into old age with every- thing sorted is very therapeutic.”
are in an
needstobeskilledin psychology – to best serve Millenials,Generation ‘X’ersorBaby Boomers
wantedasale.” F u t u r e Life Wealth Management, based in Ren- ishaw, Sheffield, has been in the New Model Advisor UK Top 100 for five years running and is in the top five per cent of all UK independent financial
Jill at her office in Renishaw.
Different approaches
Jill Thomas