Navigating life's journey

Being in your 20’s is an exciting time to start thinking about what life holds for you. Decisions you make today will help you to be in a better position in the future. In some respects this is the perfect time to start planning how to achieve your goals.

• Perhaps you are having your first exposure to debt, whether through a car loan, a personal loan or perhaps credit cards. Learning how to manage these before they become a problem will set you up well for life. ​

• You may just be starting out in the workforce and consolidating your career; or paying for those educational debts that you have accumulated. So now is the right time to learn about your spending habits and making your finances work for you.

• Superannuation may be relatively new to you and you may not know what it is all about and what benefits are available to you now and in the future. It is worth asking yourself; how much do you know about super. Ask some good questions, seek advice, and create a better outcome for you when you eventually decide to stop work.

• Saving for your first holiday or applying for a loan for that first car is all part of managing your income and planning for your financial future. Learning how to budget better and manage your finances is very important.

• Are you a natural saver? What investment choices do you have if you have saved up some money and would like to make it work for you? Should you be investing in your first home or purchasing an investment property? Starting out early and learning the basic concepts of saving and investing will place you in a better position to take control of your financial future.

Depending on where you are in life, your 30’s can be a great time to pick up speed and getting on with your life’s goals. It is equally a suitable time to start consolidating on the work you’ve already done. Here are some key considerations to look out for.

• By now you should have some idea of how superannuation works. Now is a great time to consider actively improving your superannuation set up.

• If you do not own a home, perhaps now is a time you should be looking to buy your first property, whether that is a home to live in or an investment property. If that is the case, then it is time to start thinking about such things as saving a deposit and where you want to buy your first property and learn how loan financing really works.

• If you do own your home, then it is likely you are dreaming about the day you are mortgage free. If that is the case, what can you do to pay off your mortgage sooner.

• If you have a bit extra leftover after working out your monthly budget, perhaps it is time to start considering making your first investment.

• Your 30’s is a great time to tick off some personal goals as well. Whether it is saving for that big holiday, opening your own business, making that long term personal commitment with your partner, having, or raising children - there is no shortage of goals to be working towards.

• If you are having children or if you already have them, now is probably a great time to think about how you can protect your family from unforeseen events such as ill health, injury or that inevitable event called death.

• If you have a home, any assets, a partner, children, or a range of other things, it is essential that you have a WILL and that your estate planning is taken care of. You might be surprised by how many simple things in life trigger the need to have this organised.

Your 40’s are a wonderful time to reflect on where you are on your life’s journey. At this point in time your journey has taught you some invaluable lessons and planning for the future is starting to become ever more important to you. Here are some key considerations to look out for.

• At this time, you may have children and they may be going through different levels of schooling or university. While they may be starting to become more independent, you will still be feeling the responsibility of parenthood and how you can help them start their own journey on to adult hood.

• You may be considering saving for their future education, placing them on the enrolment list of certain schools or colleges. (Learn more here) • If you have started a family, you may be concerned about protecting your loved ones by ensuring they are covered by ‘personal insurance’ in the event of an unforeseen event. As your situation changes so too do your insurance protection needs, so perhaps now is a good time to do a review.

• If you have started a family, you may be concerned about protecting your loved ones by ensuring they are covered by ‘personal insurance’ in the event of an unforeseen event. As your situation changes so too do your insurance protection needs, so perhaps now is a good time to do a review.

• Superannuation is a theme that will always remain important throughout your journey and it may be a good time to check on whether it is working for you or if there is something you need to change to achieve a better outcome in retirement, such as making additional contributions or changing your investments.

• This is likely to be a time where you will begin to think about what your retirement goals are, what your desired lifestyle will be, and hopefully what you need to do to get there.

• This is also a good time to be thinking about your health to ensure you can live a healthy lifestyle as your body starts to give you those little signals that you are not as agile as you once were.

• If you have a mortgage or significant debt, now may be the opportune time to seek some financial advice to get these paid off and out of the way. A well structure financial plan will help you transition into a comfortable lifestyle in your pre and post retirement years.

• If you have a home, any assets, a partner, children, or a range of other things, it is essential that you have your estate planning taken care of. Having a structured and well thought out WILL is very important. You may be surprised by how many people forget to put plans into play and how easy it is to get this sorted out.

In your 50’s you may begin to look ahead to a time when you are starting to take a step back, re-evaluate your future goals and lifestyle options. Planning for the future is starting to become ever more important to you. Here are some key considerations to look out for.

• This is a period in which dependent children are not becoming so dependent and for some couples, the revolving door of young adults moving out and back into the family home is very evident. So, you may be thinking well ahead at this time and the possibility of downsizing the family home and unlocking some unused equity for future investment planning.

• If you bought a house when you were younger, hopefully you are moving towards having that paid off. If not, it may be worth seeing what you can do to help get that debt free feeling. As your situation changes so too do your protection needs and quite important is the fact that you may not require such higher levels of insurance as you start to reduce your overall debt position.

• If you have started a family, you may be concerned about protecting your loved ones by ensuring they are covered by ‘personal insurance’ in the event of an unforeseen event. As your situation changes so too do your insurance protection needs, so perhaps now is a good time to do a review.

• By this time of your life, you may have shrugged off the need for financial advice because you’ve been self directing your financial future. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we all know that change has been a constant throughout our lives and you may be feeling a little uneasy about what your lifestyle may look like in your post working life years. Now is the time to seek professional financial advice and to start planning more vigorously for that lifestyle you desire.

In your 60’s onwards you may begin to seriously consider the future prospect of ceasing work or even reducing your working hours. Your children (if any) may be in their late teens or they themselves may have started finding their way through life in a self-sufficient way.

• This is a period where your thoughts may turn to how you can live a comfortable lifestyle after you stop working. How you can protect and continue to grow your assets whilst being eligible for financial assistance from the Federal Government requires careful research and professional financial planning.

• Your health and physical well-being might start to have an impact on your future planning needs.

• Downsizing from your existing home may be an interesting prospect. Unlocking the equity in a family home may be a strategy you are considering. So re-enforcing your long-term plans and securing and maintaining good health and vitality may become an important desire.

• Investing in alternate assets and investments may be an important consideration as you look to secure a stable income to sustain a comfortable living lifestyle.

• You may feel that your leisure time is starting to free up. Undertaking a shift in mindset and encouraging a new lifestyle with engaging interests and more community involvement may start entering your mind.

• Preparing long term plans for the transfer of assets and personal and family wealth may need to be reviewed.