Wisdom From Experience

As I mentioned in my post on Friday, I have been somewhat engrossed in the BFI festival. Perhaps my favourite film of the festival was “Quartet” and I wondered what lessons from Quartet could be drawn. A story about musicians who find themselves spending their dotage together in a rather beautiful home for elderly musicians (which is actually Hedsor House, in Taplow). This was Dustin Hoffman’s very first film as a Director and one can certainly appreciate that he has gained much wisdom from years of experience as an actor. One might say that his has been a priceless experience.

Fantastic Ensemble

As you may imagine, a house of musicians has moments of tension as ego’s push against each other, but within this story there is a growing appreciation of the contributions and skills of others and the need to forgive previous wrongdoings. I won’t give too much of the story away, but let’s simply say that it is both comedic and tender. A fantastic ensemble of actors, who are all very well cast. The experience reminded me of some work that I have done with actors living in the local area.

Uncomfortable Truth

Residential care is not something that many people think about and far fewer do much to plan for. There are a variety of options for people to consider and I would suggest that having these discussed and properly assessed is an important aspect of long-term financial planning. The danger of not reflecting on issues that are uncomfortable is that they may become a decidedly uncomfortable reality. Long term care is not something that is needed by everyone, but with improvements to diet and medicine, we are living longer and sadly the Government of the day is unlikely to be in a position to make the best decisions about your well-being. It is important that good financial planning does not hide or neglect potential concerns, good financial planning is not about providing pleasing information, but about providing truthful, objective information to help clients make informed decisions. To my mind this means having a plan that is immersed in your values and choices. It should be, well… a harmony.. each has a unique part that complements the others.