In Your Dreams

Debbie Harris
August 2024 • 2 min read

In your dreams

There is a wealth of psychological and anecdotal research around the content of our dreams which I find really interesting. Back in the day I went to see the musical ‘Joseph’ and liked the fact that his dreams were so easy to interpret … in reality this isn’t generally the case!

Scientists and psychologists, old and new, tell us that dreams reveal critical aspects about ourselves. Dreams are supposedly a reflection of our recent state of mind and of future possibilities.

I am slightly curious therefore as to what those scientists and psychologists might read into a dream I had recently where I was attacked in my back garden by a peacock?!

Apparently these sorts of dreams tend to represent an internal battle that the dreamer is fighting (largely subconsciously) but more importantly is our reaction/response to those sorts of dreams. I didn’t wake up afraid and sweating; I was quite calm about it and even though I woke up in the middle of it – I didn’t have a fear response at all; I figured that had I stayed asleep and seen the dream through, I would have ‘won the fight’. So maybe those dream analysts are onto something!

Here at Solomon’s, we don’t peddle in dreams; but we do challenge our clients to consider carefully and mindfully what their ‘ideal’ looks like (so perhaps ‘dreams’ in another sense of the word?!). We never promise that we can turn those dreams into reality; but we work closely with you to give you the best possible chance.

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In Your DreamsJemima Thomas2024-08-30T11:07:06+01:00

Should you become an investment expert?

DEMANDING ATTENTION

I recently read Oliver Burkeman’s latest book “Four Thousand Weeks”. I thoroughly recommend it. One of the things he reminded me of is that your life is sum of the things you pay attention to.

Whether that’s a deliberate focus or a haphazard collection of experiences. What you pay attention to will define you.

You can choose to spend your time looking after your own investments. There is something about this that seems perfectly reasonable and “grown up” after all, who is more trustworthy with your own money?….

Or perhaps you can let go of the notion that you need to be fully competent in many aspects of adult life. Perhaps the plethora or choices and complexity is nothing like those your parents actually had. When money was generally a lot easier and investment choices were simple. Heck, it’s much more complicated than 10 years ago, let alone your parents generation.

Now we have that time saving device and access to the internet, all possible answers can be considered. But is this how you really want to spend your precious time?

THINGS I PUT DOWN

My parents built our first family home when they were just 25, the house itself is still standing and probably faring better than the faded magazine that reported their story (House Beautiful) from the time. Meanwhile I’m over twice that age and can barely achieve most rudimentary DIY tasks. In truth, they had limited options as a couple of new teachers back in the 60s. They built a house because for them, it got them a home they could afford. A decade later they sold it for five times what it cost them.

I’m not daft enough to attempt a house build, it is an aspiration to do so one day, but what I really mean is have a house built, one that I have “designed” not to actually lay all the bricks!

Perhaps I will never get to “build my own house” it can be added to the very long list of things that I will never get to do, that isn’t going to deflate me, it’s reality and the fact that my choices are always compromises.

If you want to do your own investing, fine, go for it. I can promise it’s not a part-time occupation and experience can be expensive to acquire. I’m serious – go for it. You will have a world of choices and “experts” bombarding you with information. My one tip would be to have an evidence-based Investment philosophy and stick with it for life…. Or at least 2 decades.

Alternatively, why don’t you go out and do something less boring instead…

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

Should you become an investment expert?Dominic2023-12-01T12:12:51+00:00

Are you living in La La Land?

Solomons-financial-advisor-wimbledon-blogger

Are you living in La La Land?

So the BFI London Film Festival is here again – celebrating its 60th yet retaining a considerable fresh approach to film which this year even includes a very good temporary cinema in Embankment Gardens… thankfully it is an indoor cinema!

La La Land is the latest film from Damien Chazelle (who Directed “Whiplash”) it’s a charming love letter to Hollywood. With all the ranting and sheer stupidity displayed in American politics (we aren’t much better) it is worth remembering what the US does best – storytelling and entertainment. Of course there are many, many things that are done incredibly well in the US, but these, to my mind stand out.

Dreams and Tension

This latest film is a musical about how difficult it can be to hold onto your dreams, particularly when so many others appear to share the same dream and perhaps have an advantage or two. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have a fantastic chemistry and remind us that despite appearing similar, timing is everything and holding the tension of a relationship and a single-minded focus on your dream can be a lonely and exclusive experience (as also explored in Whiplash).

Lifestyles and styled lives

In years gone by, financial advisers were much more obviously” selling dreams”, in fact I might suggest that many were simply selling fantasies. Providing descriptions of a future version of you – helping you to imagine yourself in that yacht, with that house, driving that car… essentially marketing a lifestyle to you to consume. Today things have changed. Today a financial planner is not there to prescribe, but to help digest, encourage and help verbalise what it is that you truly want so that a plan can be crafted to help you achieve it. Sometimes significant behaviours need to change in order to have the future that you want, but in truth this is fairly rare. However, it is worth pointing out that getting a couple to think about their future does on occasion mean reflecting on whether they want one together.

Baggage that matches…

The truth can be rather difficult to swallow, sometimes uncovering aspects of a relationship that are difficult (how we handle money, why and what for). It should be obvious that a financial planner, is not a marriage counsellor, yet on occasion the conversation can lead in a direction for which a financial planner has no training at all, merely life experience. How a couple talk about money, but more importantly their goals for the future is not always easy to manage. We all bring the baggage of our experiences, values and expectations, some will be helpful, but some will not. How your own parents handled money is often just below the surface, there can often be an echo of the past in the present relationship and this can form a significant element of “how things are done” today. Let us not forget that Relate cite finances as one of the most stress-inducing aspects of a relationship, so many will simply ignore the problem hoping it will eventually go away…

And all that Jazz…

As in the movie, (which is a real homage to Hollywood musicals, the place and jazz) whilst there is a very valuable element of recognising and preserving the originals, those were ground-breaking and new, so to simply maintain is to fail to understand a key dynamic. We all need to forge our own path, which may be informed by the past but not governed by it. The difficulty is figuring out the path you want to take and whether it is one you both want… which brings its natural challenges and given voice in the romantic melancholic song “City of Stars” which you may be whistling or humming to yourself by the end.

So, having a clear and shared focus about your future is, well… vital for your financial plan to be successful. The struggle will be to confront some truths about how in-sync you are and what you’d like to do to restore your rhythm. I won’t pretend that this is easy, but the secret to any great performance is the ability to rise from the knocks, learning, practising until it appears to be easy, but “effortless” it never is…. that’s for those that really are living in “la la land”.

Your challenge is to pick up the phone or send me an email to book a time to have the honest conversation about what you really want your future to look like. No matter how polished the final result, there is plenty of work ahead. I didn’t say that honesy is always easy to deliver or to hear.

Here’s the trailer for the new film .

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

Are you living in La La Land?Dominic2023-12-01T12:19:05+00:00

Does your financial plan make your heart sing?

If you grew up in the 70’s or 80’s there’s a new film that might stir a few memories. Sing Street is set in Dublin in the mid-80’s a secondary schoolboy finds his muse and musical inspiration from an imploding family life.

It’s the sort of movie that touches the familiar and a rite of passage that most of us traverse at some point in adolescence. However it is also a reminder to seize the day and not be swayed by the bullies or those that would otherwise wish to determine your course rather than address their inability to see one for themselves.

As an adult, I increasingly find myself staring at someone I barely recognise in the bathroom mirror, yet generally don’t find myself “thinking old”. Indeed almost everyone I meet at some point tells me that they do not think their age. Our own internal projections of self are often a contrast to the external. Of course with age sometimes comes wisdom, but certainly experience – which invariably alters our behaviour and attitudes, we are not who we once were. We have become responsible, whether through choice or necessity.

Sensible and Sensibility?

We know that we need to budget, save and build a pension, all laudable but fairly dull right? Sometimes being an adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, to be care-free certainly has its appeal, yet we know that our conformity is inevitably necessary. Financial products smack of everything that is “sensible” (at least the good ones) but they really are very dull and few would really wish to spend long discussing them.

However a good financial planner brings attention to your purpose – beyond simply repaying the mortgage and bills, confronting the question – what is your purpose? And what makes you come alive? For me this is a little reminiscent of adolescence, feeling on the cusp of huge potential. There are plenty willing to tell us what is and what is not possible, but a dream with a plan of action is invariably the difference between indifference and achievement. Sing Street is a triumph. Your financial planning can be too.

Here is the official trailer, you may have to hunt the film out as it isn’t showing in many cinemas (its blockbuster season) but its worth the effort.

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

Does your financial plan make your heart sing?Dominic2023-12-01T12:19:13+00:00