This a great time to review your financial situation and build a long-term financial plan. Do you want to know how to build a long term financial plan? If you follow the steps in this guide you will be in great shape to achieve your future goals but more than that, you’ll be in great shape to survive the next financial crisis!

A successful financial plan will require you to take the following steps:

Set Financial Goals

Sit down and write down your financial goals you want to achieve going forward.  What do you want to do, when do you want to do and how much will it cost?  It’s important to cost this up and £ specific terms.  You can split your goals into short term (next 5 years) medium term (5-15 years) and long term 15 years +.

It’s important to write these down and share this with those close to you such as family and friends so that they become involved and increase the chances your stay on track with the plan.  It’s also important to review them at least yearly so that you can update the cost with inflation and adjust accordingly.

Set Up a Savings Plan to Achieve Your Goals

 It’s important to set up a savings plan to achieve the goals you have set and stick to it in a disciplined structure.  For short term goals setting up a savings account  would be advisable to avoid short term stock market falls.  For your medium- and long-term goals investing in the markets on  monthly basis is a great way to help your savings keep ahead of inflation.  It can be tempting to stop saving during times of stock market falls, but this is the time to keep it going if affordable as your monthly contribution buys cheaper units – it’s a bit like going the sales.

Before you set up your savings plan there are some actions below which are important to put in place so that your financial plan does not come off the rails:

• Ensure you have adequately protected your income with income protection insurance
• Pay off any high interest debt such as credit or store card balances – there is no point trying to save and earning a return of 5%-6%pa, if you are paying debt interest of 20%+ at the same time
• Ensure you have enough life insurance in place to pay off any secured mortgage debt and cover dependents financial needs should the worst happen
• Have a contingency fund set up with 3 months expenditure sat in an instant access account so that you available funds for emergencies such as a major capital expense with your car or home or funds to see you through loosing your job and finding the next one

Set up an action plan to complete the above steps and take it a step at a time.  You will be able to complete all the tasks above immediately.  But gradually over a period of time you can implement a really successful plan that will make you more at ease with your financial situation.

We specialise in helping clients set up their own financial plan and review it regularly.  If you would like any help or advice on setting up a financial plan, please contact us.

Investment values and income from them can go down as well as up, investors may get back less than their original investment.  Companion Financial Planning LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority; registration number 705850.