15/07/2020
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 “𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠”.
𝐈𝐭 is commonly used by the financial practitioners, be it insurance agents, bankers, realtors, etc as part of their sales pitch. As such, it is often perceived by the mass public that having a session of Financial Planning would mean that you would end up walking away 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴.
𝐈 beg to differ.
𝐒𝐨 what is financial planning exactly?
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 is my 2 cents’ worth. When you are doing Financial Planning, you are making conscious and meticulous financial decision. Such decisions can be choosing a high-interest rate savings account, purchasing insurance, comparing loan services to name a few.
𝐀 more in-depth financial planning can take form of insurance/tax/estate planning, enterprise business solutions, etc. The list goes on endlessly as finance has always been a huge topic and it simply concerns everything that has to do with money. It is then obvious that financial planning is a mandatory process for every adult across different stages of life, in one way or another.
𝐀𝐬 a financial consultant, insurance planning forms the core of our business model. That being said, I personally practice 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. While I may not be able to provide professional advice on different financial products simply because I am not a representative of the respective companies, I ensure that my community of friends and clients are constantly updated with the finance news through the different initiatives that I have put in place such as my WhatsApp Broadcast, Telegram Channel and Instagram Feeds Update.
𝐈 would like to bridge the gap in financial literacy. As seen on episode #20, most young adults (currently students/fresh graduates who have just started working) understand the needs for financial planning early. However, as the survey results have shown, less than half would actually take actions. This is mostly attributed to the fact that finance has always been a huge topic to them and they do not know where (or how) to start.
I wish to be the catalyst that helps to heighten the community’s financial awareness and soundness through these initiatives.
I would like to end my sharing with my deep-rooted belief on how financial planning should be conducted. We have to understand that these products are not uniquely designed for individual consumers, as much as you have the freedom to alter the different components within a financial product. They are designed to cater to the need of the mass public. And because of that, I do not believe in a “one-size fits all” approach.��At the same time, we would all agree that life is ever-changing. Your financial planning is done based on your desired advancement in life stages. And simply for the fact that life is ever-changing, you would need to review these financial products constantly to ensure that they are still aligned to serve your changing needs.
“Financial Planning is like navigation. If you know where you are & where you are heading, navigation isn’t much of an issue. It is when you don’t know the two points that it’s difficult”
Take your first step today! 😊
