Although there are often bumps in the road that you might have to negotiate you will often have a plan as to where you want to be at various points in your life, which means you need to have a financial plan to match those aspirations.
You can often gain inspiration from visiting sites like journeytobillions to get some ideas on how to maximize your earning potential and it is also well worth remembering that there are often four key stages in your financial journey that should be viewed as important milestones.
The early years
Starting out on your financial journey involves carving out a career path and laying the foundations for boosting your future earning potential as you climb the ladder and gain more experience.
This is a point in your adult life when you will be getting to grips with financial products such as credit cards and mortgages. In other words, you will most likely be happy to take on a certain amount of debt or at least be comfortable that you are in a good position to service your borrowings.
It is crucial to develop some good habits during this first part of your financial life cycle and that means building a good credit history, paying off debt, and learning how to manage money successfully.
This is also a great time to start putting some cash into a pension pot as you will get used to putting a small amount of money aside for the future and if you start in your 20’s your retirement projections could look a lot healthier than if you don’t contribute at this stage.
Family responsibilities
Getting married and starting a family creates a whole new set of financial responsibilities.
This second part of the cycle will involve buying life insurance cover, saving for your child’s further education, and putting some money behind you in savings.
A change in priorities
The third phase can be classed as your pre-retirement years.
This is in the time in your life where you should see the finishing line for your mortgage payments and with your kids becoming young adults you can start to slightly shift your priorities and focus on putting yourself in the best possible financial position for a comfortable retirement.
Time on your hands
Your retirement years are the final stage of your financial cycle and this should be the point in your life where you reap the rewards for all of that planning and prudence that you have deployed throughout your working years.
You will also need to look at the most tax-efficient way of preserving the wealth that you have worked hard to accumulate and if you have been successful in putting some cash and assets behind you the last thing you want to do is give up some of that wealth to tax.
Financial planning always involves looking ahead to the future and anticipating your needs.
You will be glad you did that when you see the difference it could make to your wealth and overall financial security.