Holistic Financial Planning - Optimizing Your Financial Plan for Better Results
Financial advisors believe that it is imperative to take a holistic approach to financial planning.
But what does that actually mean? Essentially, it means seeing the bigger picture and not just focusing on a single goal or challenge. For instance, if someone’s goal is to purchase their home, they might also need to consider other matters such as securing their income generating ability against illness or accidents, saving up for their kids’ education and retirement. Taking a holistic approach means looking at all these short-term and long-term goals together.
What is Holistic Financial Planning & Who Can Benefit from it?
Holistic financial planning is an approach to managing your wealth that takes into account all aspects of your financial life as a unified whole. It involves the use of a top-down approach in which all aspects of your financial situation are considered together.
If you are looking to manage your money in a way that takes into account all aspects of your financial life, then holistic financial planning may be the right approach for you. This type of planning involves setting goals and priorities between different goals, making investment decisions, using appropriate structures and utilising provisions within regulations to better achieve your desired outcomes. By taking a holistic approach to managing your wealth, we can help you create a comprehensive plan that helps you achieve your financial goals while also ensuring your overall financial health and well-being.
Whether you are starting out on your financial journey or you are looking to take your finances to the next level, holistic financial planning can help you achieve your goals and ensure your long-term financial success.
What’s Included in the Holistic Financial Planning Process?
The five steps in holistic financial planning are:
Step 1 - Identifying Your Goals
The first step in planning for your future is to help you figure out where you want to be. What are your dreams and aspirations? What do you want to achieve and when do you want to achieve them? The ability to quantify goals in specific time frames and dollars makes them measurable and more achievable. Whatever your goals may be, it’s important to start by identifying them clearly.
Step 2 - Financial Fact Find
The second step is about helping you understand where you’re at right now financially. This means getting a clear picture of your current financial situation, understanding your income and expenses, assets and liabilities. Understanding where you stand today is vital to creating a solid plan for the future.
Step 3 - Create Your Unique Financial Plan
The third step involves creating a financial plan that will help you achieve your financial goals. This will involve customising strategies that will direct put your assets and income in a manner that will get you to your goals more effectively.
Your financial plan will include a detailed outline of the steps required to achieve your financial goals. This may include following a specific budget, directing cash towards paying off debt or invest in suitable investments and more.
When creating your unique financial plan, we will consider potential trade-offs between different goals. For example, if you want to save for retirement but also want to pay off debt, you may need to make some trade-offs in order to achieve both goals. We will help identify and guide you through these trade-offs and create a plan that works for you.
Step 4 - Implementation
The fourth step involves putting your ultimate action plan into action. We will help you implement the changes you identified into action so you don’t have to deal with the paperwork.
Step 5 - Regular Reviews
The final step is to regularly reviews the progress of the plan. This is essential for ensuring that your holistic financial plan stays on track over time. This means we will check in with you regularly to make sure that you’re making progress towards your goals and adjusting your plan when needed.
Sierra Wealth can help you stay on track and hold you accountable. We will work with you to create an action plan that feels manageable and achievable, and then we’ll check in with you regularly to make sure you’re making progress. With expertise, guidance and support, we can help you achieve your financial goals.