The crisis of living

Dominic Thomas
Dec 2024 • 3 min read

The crisis of living

Sometimes life throws something in your way that forces you to stop to think about its direction. We all tend to have landmark moments and of course the context, timing, and nature of them vary enormously. However, they all tend to pose a version of the same question … “so what now?”

One of the underrated skills of a good financial planner is to consider the things that we don’t want to think about. It would be normal for most to assume that this is the impact of a major economic crisis, financial meltdown, or some disaster to your portfolio. Whilst these things do happen, (regularly!) there is a degree of predictability about them, barring the final moment of global collapse, should that ever happen. These events (barring the apocalypse) are ‘baked in’ to your financial plan, making allowances for market corrections and reductions in capital values.

The real-life challenges are those we witness personally, perhaps experience vicariously or through the arts. These are the crises that we all probably wish away and hope that it doesn’t happen to us. Perhaps a marriage ending, a child dies, an addiction, a business bankruptcy, redundancy, a life-threatening illness, death, loss of loved ones or loss of personal mental capacity and independence.

These are no small matters, and I wouldn’t presume to pretend that financial planning removes the stress of such situations. However, raising such issues enables us to do some planning, but sometimes helps simply to acknowledge the reality that we cannot control very much in life at all. I will also not claim any special skills or talent in this area, it’s a minefield of values, beliefs and emotions. However, experience has taught me to face these challenges personally and with clients. I have improved my ability to ask the pertinent questions over the decades, but of course responses differ and there are no ‘right answers’.

Coming to terms with loss…

I was asked to speak at a funeral of a friend who died much too young. One of the things I believe is that life is about coming to terms with loss. The majority of the gathered crowd simply stared back at me, looking incredulous. So perhaps I should’ve explained my position rather better. Life is precious, it’s a gift, it’s a miracle that any of us are here. It is also incredibly brief and once you have got over your own infant state of omnipotence (which for most of us happens in early childhood) you realise that everything you have and hold dear will eventually leave you. Whether that’s friends, brain cells, careers, skills, loved ones, money, energy, mind, health and so on… your va-va-voom eventually. Coming to terms with this isn’t always easy, in fact I’d say it’s a lifetime education. However, it will come to us all.

How do you measure a year? Seasons of Love – 525,600 minutes

One of my favourite musicals is Rent by the marvellous Jonathan Larson (who died the night before its premier – imagine that!). He begs the question “how do you measure a year?”. Of course we value your portfolio and consider its returns against markets; this is obviously sensible in the context in which we operate, but frankly, these are not measures of your life. I’m probably two thirds of the way through my lifetime, maybe it will be longer or shorter, but however much time I have left, I am grateful for each day (I’m practicing at getting better at this) and believe that it is my responsibility to get (and give) the most out of it. To experience connection and make meaning, which will almost certainly be forgotten within 100 years or less.

The assumption that tomorrow will be like today is deeply flawed. Carpe diem and all that. I’m not suggesting that we should live in a state of euphoric life maximisation (even if it is possible to do so); but certainly to consider the reality of loss as a built-in design of life. Pretending it isn’t so seems incredibly naive (at best). When such unwelcome challenges arrive at your door, plans have to change, sometimes dramatically.

I know that many of you have had these experiences and at times life is very hard. I cannot promise easy fixes, soft landings or neat solutions; I can simply promise that my team and I are empathetic and very much in your corner.

Your timeline is your own, we will help you to identify many of the key milestones that lie ahead and help plan for them. It is my belief that your financial plan should be rammed full of the things, people and experiences that you truly value.

Links: Rent the musical: https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/rent.htm#gsc.tab=0

Seasons of Love song: https://youtu.be/PgBjMZ4IeKY?si=h0TgWf_BNxc-TfCU

Seasons of Love Lyrics: https://genius.com/Original-broadway-cast-of-rent-seasons-of-love-lyrics

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The crisis of livingJemima Thomas2023-12-07T15:34:02+00:00

Life assurance – not all it seems

Dominic Thomas
Dec 2022 • 11 min read

When life assurance is not all it seems

Life assurance is one of the few solutions to the question ”how can I help?” when posed to a family that has just experienced permanent, life-changing loss. Over the three decades that I have been advising clients, this is, without doubt, one of the most challenging.

Most of us live as though we have an abundant supply of tomorrow. Rarely does anyone really wake and decide that life assurance (or any financial protection) is the major task to get done today.

Death is of course a subject that literature and our culture regularly address, yet in those intimate spaces of our lives, it’s a topic rarely discussed, perhaps one of the last taboos. This was never more starkly revealed to me when (many years ago) someone told me not to talk of death and Wills because he believed that it would make it a reality. Naturally he never became a client (I only work with mortals).

LIFE ASSURANCE – BAD SISTERS

I was intrigued by a series on Apple TV called ‘Bad Sisters’. I enjoyed the series, but wanted to address the premise of the drama – which confused me initially. I will not ruin the story at all by simply saying that a claim against a life assurance policy is being challenged by the adviser, which in my world does not reflect the truth.

A WASTE OF MONEY?

Advisers arrange financial protection (life assurance, critical illness cover and income protection). These are all policies that everyone takes out hoping to never have to claim on them, because to do so means something awful has happened to you. We all actually want the cover to be a ‘waste’ of your money… though using as little of it as possible to secure the right, most appropriate balance of cover.

MAKING A CLAIM

In the event of a claim, it is the insurer that assesses the legitimacy of a claim against the policy terms. In the case of life assurance, it is fairly evident if a claim is valid (the assured has died). In more nuanced cover (income protection and critical illness), the assured is alive and unwell, the question is therefore “is the condition being suffered covered?”. In both circumstances fraud is not uncommon, though I would suggest it is pretty rare and most claims are paid out fairly swiftly and appropriately. An oversimplified for instance, is that a broken arm is not grounds for a claim for a critical illness or inability to work long term, the loss of an arm, however may be grounds, particularly if you are a surgeon.

BROKER BEWARE…

The series, whilst set in Ireland and therefore not regulated by the FCA, has the insurance broker Claffin & Sons investigate a claim for life assurance. Whether in Ireland or here in the UK, this is an alarm bell for authenticity. The small family run insurance broker is reluctantly run by son Thomas Claffin after his father committed suicide. Early on it is evident that all is not well, a database of no policies and concern about the collapse of the business. This is not how things work, unless fraud is being committed.

I can assure you that in the event of a claim, I and probably any adviser will be eager to get you funds from the insurance claim as this is probably the most obviously meaningful aspect of our work, protecting you and your family when disaster strikes, providing funds to make the financial pain disappear. Advisers will certainly want to ensure that a claim for the more complex cover is worth claiming for (broken arm example), but will then seek to hassle the insurer for agreement and payment of funds to you the claimant. Some insurers are better than others in terms of efficiency, but we have never had a valid claim refused.

Claffin didn’t arrange cover, they simply committed fraud, taking and living off the premiums and hoping that their clients didn’t make a claim. That is fraud (honestly I am not spoiling the excellent series and plot).

A PAPER TRAIL WELL DOCUMENTED

You will have a policy document with an insurer and be paying monthly premiums or in some circumstances, annually. These will show on your bank statement and are not paid to the adviser or broker. Even with all the mergers and subsequent name changes for the insurance company you are paying, you will receive a plethora of correspondence, the main challenge being to keep up to speed of who say Commerical Union, Clerical Medical, Friends Provident, Skandia (and so on) now are. You have a unique policy number. If in any doubt get in touch. If you are unsure if you have enough financial protection or perhaps too much now, please ask.

As for the series by Sharon Horgan, I thoroughly enjoyed it. My purpose here is not to suggest otherwise, merely to explain how an insurance claim would work in practice. Here is the trailer for the series, with a cast that includes….

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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Life assurance – not all it seemsJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:41+00:00

Tilly – the day my dog died

The day my dog died

You may have met Tilly, my golden cocker spaniel… well in truth she was a mix between a Cocker and Springer (a ‘Sprocker’). She often came with me to the office and (being a little too friendly) may have greeted you or been ushered into one of the other rooms.

Tilly was my first dog, after much ‘discussion’ and persuasion, I eventually capitulated to the calls from my family to take the plunge. That was back in 2009. I can tell you that the reasons for my reluctance to become a dog owner were largely right, but also totally wrong. The daily walks come rain, shine or snow did me enormous good – indeed much of this quiet time was spent thinking about how I could help clients, develop the business or simply be a better human.

Tilly became a companion and the phrase ‘a man’s best friend’ resonated. Not a human friendship of course, but one of complete acceptance of me. During lockdown, I took to posting rather more pictures of our walks together as I’d been encouraged to do so – some found it helpful to see the normality of a middle-aged bloke walking his dog. You can see many of them on my social media accounts should you wish to.

On holiday this summer it became evident that Tilly was not well. We returned home a day earlier than planned for a trip to the vet. Suspicions were confirmed and drugs to help with eating and weight loss prescribed. A couple of weeks later, she was in a poor state and reluctantly we made the decision to say goodbye. The vet said that this was definitely the right thing to be doing. I called my family so that they could all come home to say goodbye.

It was horrible. I suspect many of you have had such an experience, it’s horrid. There is the lingering feeling of ‘was this really the right thing to have done?’; to have been alive one moment and gone the next, so suddenly.

I was struck by my own feelings about the loss; genuinely deeply sorrowful. I could reflect on many lovely memories, but was acutely aware that this part of my journey was at an end. I found myself replaying that last day over and over in my mind – could I and should I have done things differently? The thing is, as we all know, it’s all so final isn’t it?

To be clear, grief isn’t a new experience for me. Sadly, over the last 30 years I have lost several close family and friends, and another dear friend in February. Not people from the expected older generation and not dying of ‘old age’, but invariably very sudden and catastrophic changes in health. These are experiences that many of us have had, and all of us have in the end.

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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Tilly – the day my dog diedJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:43+00:00

EVERYBODY DIES

TODAY’S BLOG

EVERYBODY DIES…

Death is an inescapable part of life. Over recent years, it has become apparent to me how important financial planning is when it comes to death. Grief is an incredibly difficult sort of sadness to grapple with. I often find when you lose someone you love, you feel as if the world should stop, as if everyone and everything should freeze but, contrary to this feeling, life goes on.

‘Money’ is possibly the last thing on your mind during those times and we hope to break down some of the financial stigmas around this; and empower men and women alike to have financial understanding and freedom. At Solomon’s we have a strong desire for both parties in a couple to attend client meetings and encourage meaningful conversations with family members. Knowing your desires and priorities helps us to tailor a financial plan just for you, enabling you to make the most of your life in the present; to be prepared for the worst; and to facilitate the ability to leave something behind for your loved ones, should you so wish.

Having known families who have had to pull their children out of private school because they can’t afford the fees any longer, and people having to leave their beloved family homes, I cannot express strongly enough how important insurance is. Whilst protection policies are not something we would usually organise for you at Solomon’s, they can form a vital part of your financial plan. We use a really good specialist firm to arrange protection policies for our clients – if this is something you need, please let us know and we will pass you on to them.

Many people have an ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude and unfortunately that is simply just not true. These things are out of our control and so preparing for the unknown helps make transitions easier should they need to take place. It is often thought of as an expense that could be spared, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if that money spent turned out to have been ‘wasted’. In the meantime, you have peace of mind that your family will be financially cared for in the event that the worst happens. It’s not a happy thought; but it’s an important one.

Abigail Liddicott
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on our blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to us about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

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EVERYBODY DIESJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:46+00:00

Money is not a peace of mind, it’s a choice

Jemima Thomas
May 2022 • 5 min read

Money is not peace of mind, it’s a choice

If you are looking for a gritty (anxiety inducing) series to binge, then Ozark on Netflix is for you. The series is about a financial adviser who drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder money to appease a drug boss. So basically it’s a show about Solomon’s! (Please note this is very clearly a joke and we are not affiliated to this fictional TV series).

I was very pleased to see how many hits (yes, I stalk this on the regular) my first blog post ‘Slow and Steady’ got a few months ago, and I’m hoping that my youthful (and often under-represented) perspective will be mildly interesting to read again …

Amusing to some I’m sure, but I’ve always used the backdrop of art mediums such as film and TV to understand more about life, and there are a huge amount of personal parallels that resonated with me whilst watching Ozark. For one, the show is filled with financial lessons and quotes that have stuck with me. One of my favourites comes from lead character Marty: “Patience. Frugality. Sacrifice. When you boil it down, what do those three things have in common? Those are choices. Money is not peace of mind. Money is, at its essence that measure of a man’s choices.” For me this completely encompasses why we do what we do here at Solomon’s, and why great financial planning is so important.

Finding a good financial planner is a choice. And I truly believe it’s one of the best and often life-changing decisions you can make. Aside from the obvious differences of what Solomon’s does and what character Marty does (we aren’t laundering money, killing people, or secretly working for drug lords), we are however helping our clients invest their money wisely, something that I have begun to do myself. Perhaps I’m avidly searching for advice more often now both in ‘life’ and when it comes to my own finances, but I am acutely aware of the importance of having a financial plan.

Life isn’t always straightforward and is constantly changing, but some financial lessons are staple and vital in the long-run. Much like what happens to Marty and his family throughout each season, they are constantly having to adapt under severe life or death scenarios, and it’s eye-opening to see (although fictional) what people choose to do to save themselves financially.

Choices are also wrapped up in mistakes – mistakes are wrapped up in choices

Advice isn’t something I take lightly. I used to despise unwarranted advice, especially in my teenage years where I probably had a chip on my shoulder and felt most lost. But as I’m getting older, it’s something I welcome with open arms, and usually ask for. Other people’s mistakes often teach the biggest life lessons, and an open mind allows the space for us to learn from one another.

I get to read and listen to clients’ stories regularly as part of my work on Spotlight (our client magazine), and we often ask ‘’If you could go back and give your 20-year old self advice, what would it be?” and the responses are always helpful and interesting. When people feel comfortable and safe enough to talk about their financial mistakes (or any mistake for that matter), I am reminded that every day is a school day.

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Money is not a peace of mind, it’s a choiceJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:50+00:00

KODACHROME

TODAY’S BLOG

KODACHROME

We’ve all probably watched more on television in the last 6 months than perhaps we have for many years. The other night I watched Kodachrome. I had reasonable hopes given the cast (Ed Harris, Jason Sudeikis, Elizabeth Olsen) and the plot, which was suggested as a father and son trip to get some final film developed at the last place to offer the service before closing. A sense of the now or never.

Famous photographer Ben Ryder (Harris) is at deaths door, much like his Kodak film slides. His relationship with his son Matt (Sudeikis) is also “mostly dead” rather like Kodak. At a crossroads or cul-de-sac (you decide) the two are reunited through contrived circumstance, on a journey together for different reasons. Ben to get 4 old rolls of film developed and Matt to get an interview, both with the air of desperate “last chance” about them.

NOT IN FOCUS

There are lots of possibilities for this, how change, endings and loss are handled for example. If you knew you had a few weeks to live, how would you conduct yourself in your final days. Perhaps a question many of us may have thought about more than usual recently. How do we handle ageing and the constant advancement of technology that can leave us behind, perhaps feeling (or being) redundant and consigned to history. How will we leave our mark, impression or do we even want to?

Sadly, the script and plot failed to cope with difficulty or nuance. The film is seemingly at a loss for ideas. Perhaps I am wrong, but there is a point in the story where Matt returns to his Uncle’s adoptive home, where Matt lived from age 13 following the death of his mother and the chosen absence of his father. Matt is now an adult in the music business, something of an expert. Yet the room he returns to in his uncle’s home is as it was left – vinyl and posters intact. Whilst I imagine this may happen sometimes, it seems improbable that an adolescent’s room is left for well over a decade (well over) in its original state.

DEPTH

Unsurprisingly, the plot becomes ever more simplistic and lacks any depth of vision (ironic for a photographer). Words are said, tantrums had, departures, threats, ultimatums but we all know where this is headed – a “just in time” redemptive ending, where a man’s work is validated above his ability to be present or available to that which he suggests is important.

Life is rarely like this. We often do not get ample warning to adequately address painful experiences. No final road trip with a mission. The voice of the financial planner is to act as a reminder that life is brief. We all know it is, but most of us live as though it will last forever. Planning finances to last and to be sufficient, so that you can squeeze all the joy you want from your allotted time, whatever that means for you. It has a connection with money, but it is not about money. Its about the choices we make to live.

USE BY: SEE END

So, let me suggest something else. You have 4 rolls of film, (unlike digital images which are so instant and numerous that there is little focus on the importance of the subject and its composition). One roll for each quarter of your remaining time (I would not be so harsh as to divide it up into quarters and give you what should be left). At the end of each future quarter period, I take one from you. What have you filled it with? Even this is clearly a daft suggestion – we simply do not know how much time we have. What we do know is what is important to each of us. The job of the planner is to help you maximise the time you have available and help you calculate what is possible given the resources you have. Like Kodachrome, we all have a shelf-life, this life is to be used. Unlike the food in your fridge, we simply do not have the use by date. This is a reminder check your stock and plan. We all know how disappointing waste is, particularly when at one point it was within our control. Today is your day of control.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

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Are we a good fit for you?

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GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

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KODACHROMEDominic2023-12-01T12:13:12+00:00

10 MINUTE CHALLENGE

TODAY’S BLOG

10 MINUTE CHALLENGE

We are continuing to work on the “10 Minute Challenge”. This is meant to make life a lot easier for you to gradually compile data and send it back to us (some of it). This has been our most successful “campaign” of any description to date – in 21 years. There is no agenda other than to help you get organised – or frankly anyone you know and care about to do the same.

WHY BOTHER?

Well in short, life is brief. COVID has rather got us all to remember that truth. You may have suffered a serious or mild form of COVID and it left you wondering whether you might make it through the night. This is entirely understandable as an anxiety. Given the lack of contact with others if you have COVID, then passing on last minute requests or information is all somewhat difficult, perhaps impossible. So get yourself organised. I know it is the most morbid of thoughts, but if you were to die suddenly, how on earth are your family, friends or beneficiraies going to get started trying to understand all your “stuff” – partucualry if you haven’t got it organised. We all want to be remembered well, but I can assure you from personal and professional experience, being able to find documents and information easily when administering an estate makes the world of difference and those that leave things well organised leave a lasting impression.

So if you haven’t started, just get going. If you have, please keep going!

Click here for the link to our page with lots of short videos and mugshot from nagging adviser. The image below is not the page itself

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

10 MINUTE CHALLENGEDominic2023-12-01T12:13:15+00:00

DON’T LEAVE ME THIS WAY

Solomons-financial-advisor-wimbledon-blogger

DON’T LEAVE ME THIS WAY

The death of a loved one is one of life’s great traumas. The sudden and unexpected loss of someone that you care deeply for is something that creates waves of grief that alter over time but may never end. The essence of the human condition involves coming to terms with death in life. The stuff of poetry.

We know that one day our time will come. We prepare for the expected arriving unexpectedly. Those that have a family, a partner, a liability or a business would all be wise to prepare and plan. I often wonder why it is that so few of us are able to talk about this prospect clearly with those that are immediately impacted.

Talking isn’t enough

Talking about such events and scenarios is hugely valuable with the advantage of hindsight, but talking is rarely enough, taking action and implementing suitable arrangements to ensure that things go as planned is priceless. This is the what clients often mean when they describe having a sense of “peace of mind”.

The Widow’s Mite…

When things are not discussed and little if any action is taken, life can be so much harder and of course raises mixed feelings about the one that has died, not having to struggle with the consequences. The new film by Steve McQueen “Widows” is based on this problem. A gang of criminals are killed and leave their families without any financial security. Worse than this they owe money to some ruthless men. The widows are forced to plot a course for their own survival. This may be an extreme situation, few people are really going to be left having to commit crime to survive, but many are left in positions that could have so easily been secure. Money offers choice, it offers security in the form of the number of options available. It is not security itself and of course doesn’t replace anyone.

As a movie, Widows is marketed as a film about women taking back control. There’s some degree of truth in this, it is certainly a reflection of aspects of life in the US today. Certainly, the scenes of trigger happy Police and the gun purchase fair all seem rather poignant. However, there was way too much room on the screen for relatively inconsequential male characters – notably Jack Mulligan played by Colin Farrell, it is also pretty violent, be warned.

Here is the trailer for the new film Widows.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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DON’T LEAVE ME THIS WAYDominic2023-12-01T12:17:41+00:00

LUCKY

Lucky

The last film starring Harry Dean Stanton is now on general release. This is the story of Lucky, (Harry Dean Stanton) a man who has survived everything. His quaint daily routines in small-town USA may help to explain his longevity but never explain his story. We see an elderly man living his daily rituals, a wash, morning yoga, cigarette, coffee, walk to the corner shop to buy cigarettes followed by stopping at the local café for the never-ending supply of coffee and time to sit to solve crosswords. Home to unwind and watch some day-time TV quiz shows, a call to a friend to exchange word for the day, followed by an evening visit to the local bar for a Bloody Mary… or two. Repeat. His demeanour often grumpy, somewhat cantankerous, he delivers pithy quips to those around him. At first he appears not to care much about for them, but of course this isn’t really the case.

There’s a difference between lonely and being alone

One day he falls at home, prompting a comical trip to his GP, (Ed Begley Jr) who is confounded at how Lucky is still alive, given his packet-a-day smoking habit. He is lucky. The episode prompts him to reflect more deeply on the meaning of his life and we see how his community responds to him, who are clearly able to see beyond the somewhat grouchy persona on display. Equally Lucky seems able to retain a lightness about himself, that accepts others and seems to find a level of intimacy with them that is both charming and real.

Plan your end

Lucky has a feisty, blunt exchange with Bobby Lawrence, (Ron Livingston) to be honest I cannot remember if he was an insurance salesman or a lawyer, but either way he is attempting to ensure Howard (David Lynch) organises his financial affairs. There is certainly a suspicion that Bobby does not play a straight-hand as Howard now seems to have nobody except his tortoise, Roosevelt, which invokes some mirth and some wonderful metaphors.

Lucky: He’s gone, Howard, and you’re all alone. We come in alone, and we go out alone.

Bobby: That’s awfully bleak.

Lucky: It’s beautiful. “Alone” comes from two words, all-one. It’s in the dictionary.

What do you do with that?

There are some fabulous lines about mortality, but essentially the film is about how Lucky comes to a sense of acceptance, albeit with anxiety, about his end. This is served up in recalled memories of the worst day of his life, a traumatic WW2 memory shared by a fellow vet Fred (Tom Skerritt) who met courage in a 7 year-old girl, “the sort that they don’t have medals for”… and a heart-warming scene for a 10 year-old Juan’s Mexican family birthday party.

You smile

Lucky he is indeed, for those on whom he made an impact and those that impressed friendship, or at the very least, a sense of connection upon him. In the final sequence, Lucky exits stage left after a knowing and rather wry wink to camera.

There is something in the movie that resonates with my sense of unvarnished truth. Lucky has his and delivers it without request or warning. I hope that I do not do the same, but fear those that know me best would probably recognise it. Then again, I’m also like Bobby Lawrence trying to guide people to plan sensibly for their end… though I hope without the inferences of being a beneficiary of the Will! As ever, many will have a very different reaction to this film, not much happens over 88 minutes, then again everything happens in 88 minutes.

Here is the trailer.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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LUCKYDominic2023-12-01T12:17:50+00:00

The Leisure Seeker

Those that are not retired have many rather cliched ideas about retirement. Invariably these involve lots of leisure, cruises, golf and gardening. Most of the retired people I work with often voice that they are busier than ever, its simply that they don’t have to turn up for paid work.

The Leisure Seeker is a gentle movie about the Spencer’s, John (Donald Sutherland) and Ella (Helen Mirren) who decide to take one last once in a lifetime trip together in their recreational vehicle, a leisure cruiser. Their adult children are left confounded at what they perceive to be irresponsibility, given that John is clearly suffering from signs of dementia.

Memory Lane

The couple take a trip down memory lane, with mixed results. Johns dementia creates a scenario where his confusion about who, where and when he is, leads him to expose some deeply buried secrets. He is also paranoid that Ella is having an affair with Dan Coleman, who he believes is the secret motivation for their trip together.

The cruel irony of John’s dementia means that he is not even aware of the loving nature of their trip, a special excursion to Hemingway’s house in Key West, John’s literary hero, of whom he has recounted many insights to his English students throughout his career.

How does it End?

Any good financial planner will inevitably address the question of your life expectancy. All planners work on the basis of attempting to ensure that your money lasts just a little longer than you do. Naturally, this is educated guesswork and requires regular reviews. However, we also need to be mindful of the difficulty of an ending of a life. Simplifying arrangements where sensible to do so, without ruining years of sensible investment strategies and estate planning.

The film exposes the need to discuss these issues with someone trusted, certainly it would make sense for your planner to have an idea or awareness of your intentions, as it would be for your family, though the emotional dynamic of family relationships makes such a conversation problematic and rich material for drama.

The truth is that all of us face an ending, it’s simply a question of how, why and when. Here is the trailer for the film, which being small, is now reaching the end of its run in selective cinemas.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

Email me to get in touch

The Leisure SeekerDominic2023-12-01T12:18:08+00:00