By Dave Kavanagh
Most aspects of your life are connected to your finances, yet most people don’t take the time to plan them effectively. A couple of reasons for this: If you have a problem that needs a plumber, an electrician or a roofer, you will know about it. If you haven’t reviewed your finances for a while, you may not even be aware that you have a problem. The other reason is that some of the main aspects of financial planning are viewed as “negative”. I mean who wants to spend time considering potential occurrences like the impact of a fatality, or give thought to having sufficient income in your retirement when you haven’t reached 30 yet? This perception of “negative” is often why people subconsciously avoid the topic, often citing “not having enough time” as a reason. The same reason explains why people spend regularly on things like the lotto, believing they can win the jackpot, at odds of 10.7million to 1. The same people’s odds of being diagnosed with one of the specified illnesses covered, is 1 in 4 (before age 65!) yet they say “that’ll never happen to me”. This is a natural desire for something very positive to happen and for something negative not to happen. However, these everyday occurrences will happen whether or not someone has the right planning in place. One hour is 4% of your day. Spending that much time even once per year can be hugely beneficial. You get the peace of mind that you are up to date with your planning. You get the reassurance that anything you have in place is the most appropriate for your current circumstances. You also get the satisfaction that you are not overpaying for something and are getting the best value. Suddenly, the mystery and uncertainty are removed, along with the stress and anxiety often associated with them. In all my years of doing reviews, I’ve never heard anyone regret taking time to go through their finances, but I’ve heard plenty regret not going through them when something unexpected crops up. Remove “money worries”. Make the time.
Dave Kavanagh QFA has been advising people financially for over 25 years. For quotes or information (with no cost or obligation) he can of course also be contacted by you by emailing info@financialcompanion.ie or you can also use the contact form on www.financialcompanion.ie or @Davekav_advice on Twitter and Instagram.
Combined with his previous role of gym/nutrition adviser, he regularly gives talks and workshops at seminars and events for groups, companies and government departments on financial wellbeing, positivity and motivation. As heard on RTE 2FM, LMFM and TV3.