Why your financial plan should start with you
When life gets busy, it is easy to put yourself last.
There are bills to pay. A family to look after. A business to run. Tax to think about. Homes to maintain. And plenty of other things that need your attention.
Your own financial future can end up at the bottom of the list.
The Me Principle is about changing that.
It is a simple idea: your future should be one of the first things you plan for, not something you think about when everything else has been paid for.
Because your money should not just pay for life today.
It should help build the life you want tomorrow.
Put yourself on the list
Think about the way you manage your money.
You may already have a budget. You may know what comes in and what goes out each month. You may have savings, a pension or investments.
But there is another question worth asking:
Where are you in the plan?
For many people, financial planning starts with everything they need to pay for.
Business costs.
Household bills.
Tax.
Staff.
Family expenses.
Day-to-day spending.
Then, whatever is left can be used for saving or planning for the future.
The Me Principle turns that way of thinking around.
Instead of asking:
“What will I have left?”
ask:
“What do I need to put aside to build the future I want?”
That small change can make you look at your money in a very different way.
Your future is not an afterthought
Long-term goals can feel a long way away.
Retirement might be 10, 20 or 30 years from now. Your children may not need help with their future for years. You may want to sell your business one day, travel more or have the freedom to work less.
Because these things are not happening today, it can be easy to put them off.
“I’ll sort it out later.”
But later has a habit of becoming even later.
The earlier you understand what you want and start planning for it, the more choices you may have.
That does not mean putting every penny away or never enjoying your money today.
It means making sure today and tomorrow are both part of the plan.
Start with the life you want
Good financial planning is not really about numbers.
The numbers are important, but they are not the starting point.
The starting point is you.
What does a good life look like to you?
Perhaps you want to:
- retire at a certain age
- spend more time with your family
- travel
- help your children
- grow or sell your business
- buy a home
- have more freedom with your time
- build financial security
- leave something behind for the next generation
There is no right or wrong answer.
Your goals are yours.
That is why your financial plan should be built around your life, rather than simply fitting you into a standard plan.
Work backwards from what matters
Once you know what you want, you can start working backwards.
Imagine you want to retire at 55.
The question is not simply:
“How much money do I have today?”
The better questions are:
“What will I need?”
“How much might I need to put aside?”
“What should I be doing now?”
“What could get in the way?”
This is where financial planning can make a real difference.
It takes a goal that can feel far away and turns it into a plan of action.
You can then look at the different parts of your financial life together, rather than treating each decision as a separate problem.
Make your future a priority
The Me Principle does not mean that your future should always come before everyone and everything else.
Life does not work like that.
Sometimes your family needs more from you. Sometimes your business needs investment. Sometimes unexpected costs appear.
The point is not to put yourself before everyone else.
The point is to make sure you do not forget yourself.
Your financial security deserves a place in your plans.
That might mean saving regularly. Reviewing your investments. Planning for retirement. Protecting your income. Thinking about tax. Planning what happens to your wealth in the future.
The right mix will be different for every person.
There is no single answer.
Keep your plan moving with you
Your life will change.
You may change jobs. Start a business. Sell a business. Have children. Move home. Receive an inheritance. Change your goals.
Your financial plan needs to change too.
That is why financial planning is not a one-time exercise.
It is something you should come back to.
Ask yourself:
Is the plan still right for me?
Am I still working towards the things that matter?
Has anything changed?
What do I need to do next?
Small changes made at the right time can be much easier than trying to fix everything years later.
The Me Principle in three steps
01 — Know what matters
Think about the life you want, not just the money you have.
02 — Make your future part of the plan
Give your long-term goals a proper place in your financial decisions.
03 — Review and adjust
Your life will change. Your financial plan should be able to change with it.
A simple question to take away
Before you make your next financial decision, ask yourself:
“Is this helping me build the future I want?”
If the answer is yes, you are already thinking in the right way.
If the answer is no, it may be time to look at the bigger picture.
Because financial planning should not begin with a product, a pension or an investment.
It should begin with you.
Put yourself at the heart of your financial plan
At Montfort, we believe the best financial planning starts by understanding the person behind the numbers.
Your goals.
Your priorities.
Your family.
Your work.
Your ambitions.
Your future.
The Me Principle is a simple reminder of something that can easily get lost in the noise of everyday life:
Your future matters. Make sure your financial plan reflects it.
Not sure where to start? Take the FISIC Assessment.
Not sure how this applies to your circumstances? Speak to us about your situation.