The well-worn phrase “It’s important to learn from your experiences” is so true and of course it’s our past experiences that influence future decision-making. Makes sense, but what if these experiences are very limited? I would like you to consider another phrase “generalising from the specific”.
If we have limited experiences in certain areas we don’t have much to go on. We then tend to counsel friends and family who themselves may only have limited experiences. Step into the frame; the media. We are constantly bombarded with messages about how we should be living our lives. Furthermore, the avalanche of negative news can firmly reinforce traditional stereotypes.
Economically and financially we now find ourselves in a different era; unprecedented territory, as it’s often labelled. We have interest rates and UK government bond yields (income) reaching record lows which are adversely affecting savings rates and annuities. In some cases, what might have been good advice a few years ago may not be good advice now as the landscape is changing. Tried and tested thinking, like paying off your mortgage or not transferring a company pension scheme may no longer be sensible in certain situations.
Only last week I met with new clients who had undertaken our Comprehensive Financial Planningwhich involves looking at various scenarios in detail. We were only able to do this effectively having spent considerable time understanding how they wished to live their lives – creating a strong emotional connection to their financial situation both now and into the future. They were pleasantly surprised at the outcome!
What I did find interesting, is that when we met last week to implement the decisions we had made, they informed me that they had chatted about our service and their experience to others. I was glad to hear that one family member was using a similar service from a professional planner elsewhere in the country. Great news! On the flip side, they had identified someone who really could do with our help and guidance but they were entrenched with specific views and were sceptical as to the difference anyone could make to their life.
My clients stressed to me the difficulties of encouraging someone to step forward and undertake financial planning. They had experienced our service, yet were still having difficulties articulating exactly what we do whilst not wanting to comment on their own particular financial details. Instead, they began to communicate how we had recalibrated their preconceived ideas, so much so, that they now had more freedom, more choice and less anxiety.
Their message was loud and clear: