How to Calculate your Number

This is what we do for a living.  We calculate your number then advise what to do next.

You can do it yourself.  We use sophisticated software to help us so that we don't get stuck in complicated calculations, but the concepts outlined here are simple enough.

Work out what you want - be your own life coach

• How long you want to plan
  Sometimes people think this is really asking how long you expect to live, but that's difficult to answer.  In most practical assessments we plan to 100 years old.
• Family
  What do you want for your partner, children and grandchildren?
• Home
  Do you want to stay where you are, forever, or might changes be wanted or even necessary?  What happens then?
• Work
  Do you want to 'ease off' at some point?  When do you want to retire?
• Friends
  What changes might or will happen?
• Time
  Do you have enough? Or too many / too few activities?
• Study
  Is there a course you want to do or qualification you seek?
• Fitness
  Do you want to be fitter and leaner?  How are you going to do it?
• Hobbies
  What do you really want to do with your time?
• Other
  Anything else?

You can use our questionnaire to help you work out your plans. (opens in new window)

Review your current financial position

• Work out what you are worth
  This involves looking at all your financial arrangements in detail and extrapolating into the future - usually to 100 years old as a planning horizon.
• Analyse your future cashflow
  Look at the way your cash flows in and out, in particular how it changes at key points such as retirement or clearing the mortgage.  In this way you will be able to work out if you have sufficient cash reserves.
• Consider other scenarios
  What happens, for example, if you or your partner dies, requires long term care or you became redundant.  Or you really start taking action on the things you really want to do.  Again, look at the way your cash flows in and out in each scenario.  How much protection do you need?  Do you have enough income?
• Is your money working hard enough?
  A 1% difference in investment return might sound small.  However, the compound effect can be startling.  Taken over 40 years, if you invest £100,000 at 4% it will yield £480,102.  At 5% it yields £703,999.  A 47% difference.

Take Action

• An ounce of activity is worth a ton of theory.
  All this planning is completely useless unless action is taken.  One definition of madness is to carry on doing exactly the same in the future and then to expect a different result.  Life does not work like that.
• You only live once.
  Do it your self or we can help.
Our costs will pale into insignificance with the return.

For a free consultation - contact us.

 

What your number reveals

• If you are on target to do the things you want.
• If you have a shortfall, how big that is.
• How your number varies with different outcomes in life.
• Starts the process of fixing financial strategy.