John on Family Finances:

“When giving financial planning advice, the number one priority for any client is to have a plan; something which is quantified and qualified. If you don’t know where you want to go, you are very unlikely to get there.

“Trying to get clients to articulate what they want to achieve can be quite difficult but by giving them the right tools, truly getting to know our clients and having the right discussions with them we can make that an easier process which is why we place so much importance on our client relationships.

“For family finances, saving early is important, as ultimately with the effect of compound interest, the first pound that you saved, will become your most valuable pound. And even if you can only save a small amount right now, any saving is better than none, to start a pot for your financial future.

“I also always encourage clients to make sure they have a will, life and critical illness insurance, and income protection because any robust planning that has been done can easily be undone if that side of things isn’t effectively dealt with. It is about protecting families. You don’t want a plan to fall apart when a family crisis occurs, like a health problem. You want the family to continue on the journey they were on and still have financial security.

“Before we have a meeting with clients, I will send them a values and goals questionnaire. It asks questions about what they would like to achieve, from a financial position and also from a personal, family position too. For example, one question is: ‘If you found out you only had 24 hours to live, what do you wish you would have done differently?’

“We get some really good responses from clients about things they wish they had done or could do but held back because they didn’t feel that they had the financial ability to do those things. So that gives us a really good starting point and then we dig deeper and focus on objectives, across one, three, and ten years.

“And the relationships we build with families is not always about finances, I hold clients to account for things they tell me they want to do, like wanting to learn Spanish. If they tell me that, I will test them to see whether they are doing that or have done that in three years’ time rather than just saving for retirement – we want people to be prepared and also enjoy life.”

Experience true financial planning at our cost: contact John Winstanley to book a free initial consultation meeting at jwinstanley@clarionwealth.co.uk, which is backed by our Clarion Guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with the value of the service you have received after the fourth meeting, when you receive your written financial plan, we will waive all fees.