How could A Christmas Carol help you to build a more effective financial plan?

Dickens’ classic novella A Christmas Carol enjoys many a reinvention at this time of year, from modern theatrical productions to classic on-screen adaptations.

As well as being an entertaining festive tale, the lessons Ebenezer Scrooge learns from the three ghosts continue to be relevant to the challenges we face today. In fact, one of the ghosts could even help you to build on your financial plan.

Read on to learn how the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come could be making an appearance in your local financial planner’s office and what you can learn from them.

Scrooge sees an unpleasant future ahead with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

In the novella, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come transports Scrooge into the future, showing him events that occur soon after his death.

Scrooge is heartbroken to hear his peers talk coldly about him, only considering attending his funeral if lunch is provided. He sees people rejoicing at the prospect of lower bills, and the tragic outcome of Tiny Tim’s illness.

On arrival back in the present day, Scrooge vows to change his ways to avoid the unpleasant events he has witnessed from coming true. He donates generously to charity, buys a turkey for the Cratchit family, and offers his employee Bob a pay rise.

Your own projected future could help you make a more effective financial plan today

Scrooge’s Christmas future is an extreme example, but have you ever wondered what you might see if the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come were to transport you into the future?

Perhaps you’d hope to see yourself travelling the world, retiring early, or simply spending lots of quality time with your family. Whatever it is that you’d hope to see, this vision of your future is the starting point for an effective financial plan that can help you achieve your dreams.

Indeed, a report by Aegon has discovered that if you can clearly visualise your future self, you are much more likely to make and stick to long-term plans. Despite this, only 25% of people have a specific picture of their future in mind.

As the basis of our service, our clients experience first-hand the benefits of creating a financial plan to help them achieve their long-term goals.

Ahead of your next financial planning review, we encourage you to review and refine your own lifestyle plans. Think about what you have achieved so far, what brings you real happiness, and uncover what else you’d like to work towards in the future.

We will help you to visualise the financial implications of these plans and to understand the steps you can take that will bring you closer to achieving your goals.

In doing so, the chances are you’re much more likely to be pleased by what the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come might show you if they were to pay you a visit.

Cashflow planning is the modern equivalent of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

While the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come may be a figment of Dickens’ imagination, cashflow planning offers a very real alternative that could provide an even more beneficial outcome for your financial plan.

When you know what you’d like your future to look like, we can take you through the process of creating a cashflow forecast. Your planner will use specialist software and enter data about how much income you are likely to need to fulfil your ambitions.

Then, they’ll add data about your existing circumstances, including:

• Your income
• The value of your assets, such as property and investments
• Your liabilities, such as mortgages or car finance agreements
• Your anticipated retirement date
• Assumed investment returns
• Assumed inflation.

The software can then create a visualisation of your net worth, income, and anticipated expenses for the rest of your life.

This can show you whether you are at risk of running out of money in later life or if you’re on track to be able to achieve your goals. You can also model different scenarios to see how they might affect your financial future, such as gifting money to your children or retiring earlier than planned.

Just as Scrooge was able to change his actions to work towards a more fulfilling and happy future, your planner can use cashflow modelling to help you identify the actions to take today to ensure you’re able to achieve your goals.

Get in touch

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you to build an effective financial plan and work towards fulfilling your ambitions using cashflow planning, please get in touch. Email us at info@harperlees.co.uk or call 01277 350560.

Please note

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate cashflow planning.

This article is for information only. Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.