| FINANCIAL PLANNING DOESN'T HURT | | | | insurance for family in the event of death, |
| | | | and so on to consider. I hope you see the |
| A lot of people plan their day to day | | | | point in financial planning from this angle. |
| activities intent on working efficiently to | | | | |
| earn high income. The irony is that when the | | | | By planning I do not mean a fussy construct |
| expected income is obtained there isn't much | | | | of your expenditure, savings and investments |
| thought given to how the income is spent, | | | | in your mind. You will not benefit from |
| saved or invested. It is not as though these | | | | inundating your brain with the complex and |
| people have no medium and long-term financial | | | | diverse information and factors that have to |
| objectives to reach. The select few who take | | | | be considered to ensure an effective |
| the trouble to really put pen on paper to | | | | financial plan. A lot of factors such as the |
| plan the use of their income, or in some | | | | level of risk you can tolerate, the nature of |
| cases employ the services of certified | | | | your job, number of children, whether you are |
| financial advisors enjoy great benefits. I | | | | married or single, renting or having a |
| can liken an effort to attain a medium | | | | mortgage, and many more have to be listed on |
| long-term goal without planning, to trying to | | | | paper, prioritised and looked at in detail, |
| fill an empty barrel sitting in your house | | | | before arriving at a financial plan. Let me |
| with water from a pond, using a very porous | | | | say in passing that you don't always need a |
| bucket. You see you might succeed in filling | | | | financial advisor to plan your finances; you |
| the bucket, but it will be really tiring, and | | | | can learn to do it yourself. A financial |
| certainly not without causing a lot of mess | | | | advisor becomes necessary when you don't have |
| on your floors! | | | | the time to do it yourself or when extremely |
| | | | complex financial needs and instruments are |
| The amount of uncertainty that is inherent in | | | | under consideration. |
| the future makes it necessary for one to make | | | | |
| a lot of financial provision. It is necessary | | | | The benefits of financial planning are almost |
| to stash some money away for emergencies. | | | | obvious from the on-going discourse. It does |
| Allowance has to be made for reserve to fall | | | | lead to probing oneself to uncover ones |
| on when there is redundancy at work, as not | | | | personal circumstances and true financial |
| all employers pay redundancy sums. Even if | | | | needs, clarify financial objectives, and |
| they do, the amount might not be enough to | | | | through in-depth research, secure the |
| keep you and your family going before you | | | | appropriate financial instruments whose |
| resume work elsewhere. Not all employers | | | | benefits match the financial needs in |
| provide sick pay, and those who do cover up | | | | question. Without doubt, it promotes focus |
| to the first month or so. The big mistake | | | | and enhances the achievement of short, medium |
| many people commit is an over-reliance on | | | | and long-term financial goals. |
| state help; in practice, the latter does not | | | | |
| materialise at all or comes in late and | | | | David Opoku |
| normally quite inadequate. It is wise to have | | | | |
| a minimum of 6 months' wages in savings to | | | | BA Hons. in Accounting and Finance ( |
| address any eventualities. Then there are the | | | | Currently specialising in Financial |
| long-term financial needs of providing for | | | | Advising). |
| education of children, mortgaging, and life | | | | |