New Year’s Financial Fitness Resolutions

The Best Exercises to Get in Shape

It’s a common human tendency to reflect on a year that is about to draw to its end and plan how we can do things differently and improve ourselves in the following year.

In turn, this observation led Paul de Waal to contemplate New Year’s resolutions, but not the regular ones where you solemnly promise to go to gym three times a week, start Banting or go to bed earlier, to name a few. Although these are important, there is another resolution we tend to overlook, one that is vital to our well-being: setting annual financial fitness goals.

Overlooking this goal most likely also ties in to a human propensity to think we have time left or that it ‘won’t happen to us’, when the reality is different. In this article, Paul takes us through a discussion that highlights and clarifies the most important aspects of financial planning.

By Paul de Waal, Onshore Associate Manager at Carrick Wealth

Carrick Wealth is a respected and service-driven boutique advisory specialising in wealth and capital management, using our clients’ financial goals as a starting point for developing individually tailored wealth protection plans. Our highly qualified team of professional financial advisers are skilful in growing, protecting and preserving our clients’ wealth, whilst providing independent and expert financial advice. Carrick lives by the creed that none of us is as great as all of us.

Step 1 (Warm-up exercise): Complete a financial fitness assessment

Many people have never heard of, much less completed a financial fitness assessment; however, it is a prerequisite around which all your financial planning revolves, because without it you are unable to make informed decisions on how to protect your wealth and mitigate risk. Read more.

Step 2: Protect your home, family and hard-earned savings with your Will

This is another topic neglected by many.

None of us like to think of impending death while we’re busy living life, but it’s an undeniable reality that we need to confront. On the bright side, drawing up a Will is by far one of the easier things to do, administratively speaking. Read more.

Step 3: Make sure you’re protected against risk

Life is a risky business where nothing is a given. We can avoid becoming too morbid and fretting over the what if’s by planning for adverse situations, as this is bound to reduce risk and uncertainty. It is important to insure against eventualities.

Let’s start with an overview of some of the most common types of risk cover: Read more.

Step 4: Consider investing in a Retirement Annuity (RA)

A retirement annuity can be defined as a tax effective retirement investment option for individuals who do not have pension or provident fund or individuals seeking to ensure they can maintain their standard of living during their retirement years. Read more.

Step 5: Never stop researching and asking questions

Apart from considering the above-mentioned options, also ask some pressing questions:

• Is your money working hard enough for you?
• Are you getting the best return on your savings or investments?
• Is your investment and retirement portfolio structured in a tax efficient way?
• Do you have all your investments in one basket?

Workout completed: Let’s cool down and stretch

In an ideal world your risk portfolio would include all types of protection against risks, but our earnings don’t always match up.

Although January has passed and February is well underway, it is never too late to conduct a financial fitness assessment.  As I always say, it’s not how you start, but how you finish, because it’s what you have, after you have it all, that counts.

Contact Paul to discuss your personal financial fitness goals.