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.

BACK TO ALL BLOGS

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 [email protected]

GET IN TOUCH

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

Email – [email protected]
Call – 020 8542 8084

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PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

GET IN TOUCH

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

Email – [email protected] Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

KODACHROMEDominic2025-02-04T16:14:52+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 [email protected]

GET IN TOUCH

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

Email – [email protected]
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 – [email protected] Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

10 MINUTE CHALLENGEDominic2025-01-28T10:08:04+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 [email protected]

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DON’T LEAVE ME THIS WAYDominic2025-01-21T15:41:31+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 [email protected]

Email me to get in touch

LUCKYDominic2025-01-21T15:48:30+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 [email protected]

Email me to get in touch

The Leisure SeekerDominic2025-01-27T16:07:36+00:00

An Act of Trust? My Cousin Rachel

An Act of Trust? My cousin Rachel

There’s a new reworking of Daphne Du Maurier’s 1951 story “My Cousin Rachel” that is currently in cinema’s. A romantic throw-back to a time when men wore britches and women had little to call their own, thank heaven we have moved on. This is perhaps a timely reworking of the story, visiting the issue of inherited wealth with a passing nod to the patronage of the landed gentry, whilst their labourers gather the proverbial scraps from under their table.

Philip Ashley (Sam Claflin) is an orphan, taken in by his Cornish, landowning bachelor cousin Ambrose. Sadly for Mr Ambrose, he becomes unwell and heads to Florence, where he is initially restored by the sun and charms of Rachel, who he elects to marry. His illness shortly returns, resulting in his mysterious death, leaving a widow and Philip to face the prospect of an early inheritance. Suspicious of foul play, due to letters from his dying cousin, Philip is determined to punish Rachel for what he believes she has done. “Whatever it cost my cousin in pain and suffering before he died I will return with full measure upon the woman that caused it.”

rachel-weisz-goes-gothic-in-my-cousin-rachel

Under a Spell

As a somewhat naïve and hot-headed young man, he is mesmerized by his cousin’s widow when she arrives at the estate. All plans to punish are swiftly reversed and forgotten, because he “likes to look at Rachel”…. who is played rather brilliantly by Rachel Weisz.

I will not reveal any more of this thoroughly enjoyable tale, which will perhaps get you reflecting on whether women are viewed any differently today than they were then. In fact to say any more would not help your own reflections.

The thing about inheritance

However, I can say that the story is an example of why you need to have a Will and that it is reviewed regularly. Moreover (a word I use knowing the angst caused for my old French teacher, who swore it was redundant) it also displays some of the pitfalls of a Trust, or at least a Trust that reverts to a beneficiary who is only 25 and is unhelpfully naïve and besotted.

This is a common financial planning problem – at what age should someone inherit wealth? particularly a life-defining amount. For all the planning that can be done, this will inevitably boil down to how the Trust was established and who the Trustees are and to be blunt, how responsible the beneficiaries are.

In the story, Philip can rely on the steady hand of family friend and Trustee Nick Kendall, (Iain Glen) who whilst being a voice of reason, is also compromised by his hope that his daughter Louise, (Holliday Grainger) will marry Philip and thus be financially secure. The Kendall’s suspicions are alert for conflicted reasons. Often selecting a Trustee can be a difficult task, the basics are that they must be at least 18 years of age and of sound mind, and not held at her Majesty’s pleasure.

Selecting Your Trustees or Executors

Many clients will of course naturally wish to select family members or friends, there is nothing wrong with this, except that most families have at times, strained relations. Friends may change. The responsibility of being a Trustee or Executor is no small matter – just ask anyone that has been one (or is). This is why these important legal documents, which assure your beneficiaries of your provision, are reviewed regularly. In our post-modern society, people move around the world, not simply the county. Death at a distance (a fate that befell Ambrose) is rather more complex than that wedding you have been invited to abroad. So when selecting Trustees, always use your head which may well conclude that those that share your surname are indeed the right people, but do think about this carefully.

Anyway, 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 [email protected]

Email me to get in touch

An Act of Trust? My Cousin RachelDominic2025-01-21T15:48:30+00:00

Delicious

I wonder if you have seen a new Sky 4-part mini series starring Dawn French, Emilia Fox and Iain Glen called “Delicious”. I don’t think I’m giving too much away by saying that it is the story of an apparently successful, once divorced remarried chef, who has an affair with his first wife, who it turns out is the real culinary genius.

Like most good stories, the drama of ordinary lives holds our attention when under the scrutiny of dramatic pressures. The series exposes the problems beneath a beautiful façade of a middle-class life. Set on the idyllic banks of the Tamar river, an entrepreneurial temple of hotelier cuisine is the bling that diverts the eye from seeing what needs to be seen.

Just below the surface

There is an understandable and customary dig at middle-aged men but with a twist on the usual, predictable affair with a younger model, with Leo attempting to have his cake and eat it. A setting of fine dining, lends itself to the customary style over substance debate and of course the market price of every thing.

Wood for the trees

From a financial planning point of view there are numerous warnings that I would hope business owners can heed. One of the problems that business owners, or indeed anyone has, is that they are often too close to the problems to be able to see them clearly, let alone any workable solutions. It is certainly hard to fathom how any decent financial planner could not draw attention to what is revealed within the plot (which I shall not spoil).

Virtually reality?

One of the most popular criticisms of social medial is that it has encouraged us to live false lives, like those contained within magazines, or indeed within television or film. Whilst I’m sure this has some truth and resonance, this all rather depends upon each of our ability to be truthful, yet mindful of impact, timing and social etiquette. There is nothing new about attempting to be something you are not, which is perhaps one of the oldest dramatic tools.

The truth can be painful

Of course, not everyone wants to see or hear the truth, particularly when it is going to require some change. I sometimes wonder if this is what puts most of population off from seeking financial advice. Deep down most of us know that we need to master our money lest it master us. A financial plan is designed based around your values, grounded in truth and enables you to see ahead to any potential “surprises”. In essence making sure your plans for style have substance.

Here’s the trailer for the series on Sky.

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 [email protected]

DeliciousDominic2025-01-27T16:08:29+00:00

A Monster Calls

Perhaps it is just me, but I seem to be a little (more than usually) morbid at the start of the year. On Saturday I went to see the movie “A Monster Calls”. This seemed to coincide with my reaction to the lengthy list of people that died in 2016 and the natural sense of turning a new leaf with the start of a new year… a time to get a little more organised, better prepared for what may lie ahead.

The movie relates the tale of a young boy who lives with his mother and it becomes apparent that she has cancer. The movie itself is visually beautiful, fusing art, film and masterful story-telling. It captures the painful struggle of a young boy called Conor who, like many children is living with the hope of recovery and the reality of uncertainty. He escapes into the invisible world of monsters which merely highlights the tension of his real world where he is largely invisible, with nobody noticing his struggle other than those most alert to vulnerability – the bully.

Complexity lurking in the shadows

There are some delightful lines and insights and it is a film that has continued to gnaw at the corners of my mind. Whilst in many respects this might be promoted as a children’s story, it has far more to offer adults and those caring for or working with children with insights and reminders about just how vital our communication with children really is. Indeed, the tales within the story remind us that we are all rather more complex that “good” or “bad” perhaps this awakening normally comes in childhood, but certainly is a timely reminder as we survey a complex world with some notable players, who invariably appear monstrous.

The monsters we don’t call for

We all have monsters that we fear may come calling, one of the more obvious ones is the monster called Cancer. You may have seen some poignant TV adverts entitled “Cancer is happening right now” and of course for those of you that have experienced such visits or are currently doing so, there is a very real sense of an alternative universe, drawing family and friends into an epic, often weary struggle for survival and many will relate to the fourth tale offered up to the monster.

The limitations of financial comfort

Of course, in the financial planning world there are policies designed to provide financial assistance. Nobody is under any illusion that these will cure, heal or even soothe the pain of a serious or critical illness. They “merely” enable focus to be kept on relationships, care and hopefully successful treatment, rather than anxiety about cost, albeit purely the financial one. This is not a pleasant subject. It is the nightmare that I hope you never must endure, but the sad reality is that we cannot control our nightmares, we can respond to them and make allowances, whilst attempting to understand and have greater empathy for those that have, are and will.

I can thoroughly recommend the movie, but it comes with a warning, not a child-like story, but there are many children like this (and many grown-ups that feel the same way). 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 [email protected]

A Monster CallsDominic2025-01-21T15:41:33+00:00

Start with the end in mind

I think it was Stephen Covey that coined the phrase “start with the end in mind”, I’m sure others thought of it before, but he certainly used it successfully. When it comes to financial planning, it is where most good financial planners begin.. but being British, it’s arguably one of our last taboos… how we think of death.

For many, the last year (2016) was full of high profile celebrity deaths. Hardly any of us actually knew these people, but we probably saw some of their work with varying degrees of impact.

At the end of the year Carrie Fisher died rather unexpectedly, followed 24 hours later by her grieving mother Debbie Reynolds. It was, and is, a poignant moment. One of the questions that I didn’t expect to ask myself was “what happened to the estate?” (as of now, I don’t know). If the estate was set up like most, the children are normally the beneficiaries… so I wondered what happened to Carrie’s estate which was then presumably a recipient of her mother’s – at least in part. An interesting case for the lawyers and an eager death duty office.

Lessons Learned from 2016?

Despite all the outpouring on social media and around dining tables about the sadness at the loss of X, Y or Z, there was no evidence that anyone prepared their own ending any more thoughtfully. There was no sudden demand for Wills or life assurance, or end of life plans.

According to ABI data, the UK is the fourth largest market for insurance. In 2015 129,000 families or individuals received a payment from protection products. Now I’m guessing that those that have some cover, probably have more than one policy. So there may be some doubling up with the data, but in any event the ONS reported 529,655 deaths for England and Wales in 2015 (up 5.6% on 2014 and the largest increase since 1968). So whilst clearly not everyone dies with dependents or liabilities, a significant number had no cover at all.

Most people do not have enough cover

Despite the warnings all around, that death eventually comes to us all, some much sooner than expected, most of us do not really give it too much thought. Its one of the easiest things to put off. Sadly I have seen the results of unexpected and early deaths and the impacts on families and whilst money would never replace a person, it would certainly have provided a very different future for the family left behind.

Don’t ignore the signs. Start with the end in mind.

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 [email protected]

Start with the end in mindDominic2025-01-21T15:41:33+00:00