One thing at a time, just one thing at a time

Let’s say we leave budgeting to one side for the moment.

There’s so much out there swirling around in the ether, it’s easy to say “let’s look at it next month” and we all know what happens…

You might have seen on a previous blog called Top 10 UK Financial Areas Often Overlooked that I shared something called a Life Map.

It hasn’t got everything on there but it does have what many of us are likely to experience at some stage, as well as a few blank balloons to put your financial projects onto. The idea is that you can visualise one balloon getting pulled towards you and then let it bob back up again once the financial thing on it is sorted out or, at least, in progress. 

And of course, Budgeting & Planning is at the heart of every single thing.

You can download this image inside a delightful toolkit here, designed so that you can get underneath what’s really meaningful to you and design your finances around those things.

How powerful would it be to reverse the usual, we live our life around our finances to > we now plan our finances around what we really want our lifestyle to be.

I’m not saying it’s always easy to do, but it is doable. You’ve gotta be a little bit courageous sometimes to admit you want and then to forge a new path. But let me ask you, how many lives do you get?

So… life maps and your financial radar

I am acutely aware of later life winking at me, eyebrows raised knowingly from a distance. My mum, who is still the life and soul of every party at 76, has her funeral paid for and all her paperwork beautifully filed. It can feel rather morbid, and perhaps, especially being British, this is not really what we talk about, is it, money or death? Especially not together!

“Death, taxes and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them.”
― Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

But as god-awful as the conversations can be, the not having them doesn’t stop the challenging stuff from happening.

• Forgetting about the car needing a service yet again, means you’re £300 down that month, which is really frustrating. Especially if it’s The Full Works at the hairdressers the same month – which I will argue until I die IS A NEED NOT A WANT!
• But dying intestate the family will be in emotional and financial turmoil.
• Wanting to retire in your 50’s but you’ve not planned it that way = stressful if you’ve run out of steam, or suffering from poor mental health.
• Or having your partner be diagnosed with something life altering and you’ve nothing in place for financial protection?
• Maybe you’re lucky enough to inherit a family members estate at some stage and not sure if inheritance tax will be a problem for you?

How can you apply the life map?

Why not chat about it with your loved ones? And using the life map as your compass, plan out when some of the elements might need to come into focus. 

Starting with this next season; Summer is transitioning into Autumn and always brings a fresh perspective. Something about September back to school vibes. What do you think is a priority for you that you can settle this Autumn?

As an example; our French financial advisor has given us 3 goals to prioritise, it’s so different to the UK that we needed a bit of extra education. 

1. Get new Wills & Lasting Powers of Attorney – now that we’re married & living in the EU it’s all change baby (Do not get me started on Brexit)
2. Keep savings in the UK but don’t bother with ISA’s. The French system taxes all interest on savings – yep learned the hard way
3. Consolidate workplace pensions into one far better pension investment plan.

Do you need to speak with a regulated financial advisor to help you? If you’re UK based I can point you in a few directions for those I am connected with & respect. Please use the contact form or come find me on Linkedin

So for you to apply this idea, why not choose 3-5 things tops. Those you know in your heart you must research or bring to life in the next 18 months. And put real time frames on them.

But please don’t not do these things, out of fear or embarrassment. If your fundamental money management is in a twist or in total chaos that’s where I come in.

And as promised, we’re back to budgeting and planning.

If you’ve not been able to do this with any regularity, clarity or form, please consider booking a mentoring session with me.

You can read more here & book in for a free 20 minute consultation. You’ll come away if nothing else, understanding where your problems lie and some ideas for how to approach them. 

There’s a lot to be said for choosing a style of budgeting, you have probably read about the 50,30,20 as an example. But what is far more important than any style or method, is YOU.

How YOU want to manage things, what suits YOUR way of life.

I’d love to know, in the comments please do respond, what have you realised is on your near or far radar when it comes to financial planning?

Toodloo for now

Lucy