Introduction
Have you ever encountered an unexpected financial strain in your life, say, unexpected medical bills, a car problem, or urgent school fees? Has someone ever pointed out that you have a weakness of impulse buying? Or, do you always find yourself in a cash crunch a few days to your next paycheck?
Most of us can acknowledge that we have found ourselves in similar situations. All of these financial constraints and dilemmas result from poor financial planning. Planning is an essential aspect of life; hence, failure to plan appropriately can harm living standards globally and on an individual level. It is just as Allen Lakein said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
But how can you achieve a sound financial plan? A chartered financial planner can help you develop the best financial strategy, whether personal or for your business. Consider the following nine key reasons why you need to start planning financially today:
1. Defined Financial Goals
When consulted, chartered financial planners do not just jump straight into making financial plans for their clients. Instead, your financial adviser will first try to understand what your financial goals are.
As you identify and explain your financial goals, you will get to understand them even better. Therefore, your business (or yourself, if you are making personal financial plans) will have more precise and well-defined financial goals.
2. Better Management of Income
Without a well-laid out financial plan, it is impossible to manage income earned in a business. And when income is not properly managed, it could result in a business suffering from significant losses, even leading to a business’s closure at times.
Therefore, consulting a chartered financial partner is a wise decision that every business person should make. A professional financial planner will create a reasonable budget for your income so that you won’t always have to worry about whether you are using your money well or not.
Also, by planning a reasonable budget, you will be able to monitor your income flows, both in and out of your business. In turn, you will be able to prioritize your spending and avoid any wasteful expenditures. And that; the less wasteful expenditures you make, the more likely you will achieve your financial goals.
3. Easier Achievement of Goals
With a good financial plan in place, you can easily set up measurable goals. For instance, you can set up a goal to open a savings account and make regular contributions, say, at least once per month. Or you could set a plan to settle all your debts within a specific amount of time.
More so, with a sound financial plan, you will be able to discipline yourself, such that you always maintain your set targets and achieve your goals.
4. Better Financial Understanding
The process of financial planning involves setting measurable goals and analyzing the effects of any financial decisions made. Analyzing your business goals and financial decisions can help you understand your financial situation much better than before.
Furthermore, financial planning can help you analyze your budget from a whole new approach. Using this new and better approach, you will learn how to control your economic lifestyle such that it does not negatively affect your goals.
5. Better Management of Assets and Liabilities
Sometimes, you might find yourself in a dilemma, not knowing what you wish to achieve or how to achieve it. Also, in most cases, assets that are owned usually come with attached liabilities. Therefore, all business people need to analyze and determine the real value that their assets bring forth.
Having a chartered financial planner do your financial planning can help you determine your assets’ real value. In turn, the financial plan will also help you settle your liabilities and own beneficial assets that will not become a burden to you in the future.
6. Good Preparation for Emergencies
Savings have for long being termed as the ‘cushion’ for rainy days. However, unexpected events and sudden financial strains can still greatly affect you, especially if your savings are not enough.
Therefore, for the sake of securing your future, you should set up investments that offer high liquidity. A good financial plan can help you identify the best high-liquidity assets you can utilize during unexpected events and emergencies.
7. Increased Cash Flow
With a sound financial plan for your business, you can learn how to monitor the nature of your expenses and your spending patterns. After all, this sort of planning involves creating reasonable budgets and financial goals.
Therefore, you will be able to ensure prudent spending, such that you always keep more of your hard-earned money than waste it. In turn, this will result in an increased cash flow for you.
8. Easier Identification of Financial Errors
A good financial plan does more than help you learn what positive steps to take to ensure your business’s success; it also helps identify any errors and mistakes you might make.
For instance, the financial plan can help you identify debt consolidation opportunities or invest idle business profits. Besides, the financial plan can help you see how to fix these mistakes quickly, even prevent them from happening again whatsoever.
9. Smooth and Comfortable Retirement
No one wishes for a quiet and comfortable post-retirement life. However, such a peaceful retirement cannot happen without any effort on your part. You must start planning and investing in your retirement as early as possible.
Proper financial planning allows you to create enough corpus for your retirement. This is especially important when you have more expenses but less income. Also, it is recommended that you start your financial planning early. The earlier you plan your finances, the earlier you can start investing, and the easier it will be to secure a comfortable retirement for you and your family.
Conclusion
Indeed, financial planning should be an essential part of all businesses, even individuals. And it is even much more comfortable and more effective when done by a chartered financial planner. Therefore, if you want all the efforts you put in your business (or yourself, for that matter) to pay off, don’t hold back from consulting a professional financial advisor today.
