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Blog by Mathew Leech

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Blog by Mathew Leech

Lifetime news

Posted on: 11/01/2018

By Mathew Leech

If, like me, you and a lot of your colleagues, and indeed some of your employers, have made the sensible decision to go into self-isolation during this chaotic time, you may now be faced with the reality of being home day after day.

Though you may have relished the idea during those stressful days at work, the reality of self-isolation and the effects that it may have on your overall well-being means that you are now in a rare position to really take care of yourself and do the things that are in your best interests.

Understandably, we still have work to do! However, taking regular breaks from your computer, whether it is to vacuum the house or do the occasional sofa squat (to make you feel like you’ve done some form of exercise), could actually give you the opportunity to get much of your life in order.

There has never been a better time to do the things that you have been putting off for a while.

Having left my part-time job five years ago, it has been on my mind that I still need to move the pension I held with that particular company. Sadly, this relatively mundane task has continued to fall down my list of priorities. The process of liaising with the pension administrators, sorting out all of the paperwork, and then taking on the task of figuring out where is the best place to move it to is not how I have been wanting to spend my weekends.

However, from working alongside dedicated Financial Planners I am more than aware of how my laziness in this area is the worst attitude I could have towards my finances. Utilising this time to sort out my pension plans is a big step forward in planning for my future.

We are all being encouraged to use this time for self care; the definition of which may be different for some people. Netflix marathons and all day snacking does sound appealing, but sorting out your policies, moving them to where they want to be and re-evaluating your financial plan could be one of the best self care activities you could do.

Now is the perfect time to review your plan and to also think about your goals:

  • Where do you want to be in 10 years?
  • What does your retirement look like to you?
  • Is your financial plan on track to get you there? Do you even have one?

But this doesn’t stop at retirement planning; you may have cash savings that you have been meaning to invest, the lump sum contribution you wanted to make, the several small ISAs you want to amalgamate.

Either way, investing this time in your future and your financial planning will benefit you in many ways, more so than putting off these tasks for even longer.

Use this time to look at what you have, what you want to do, and where you would like to be. Whatever it is that you have been putting off, think about the next opportunity you will get to tick this off your list. The sense of relief you will have knowing that this has finally been sorted will be great, I’m sure.

Smart investing now could potentially get you better performance compared to where it is currently. But most importantly, being organised and in tune with your overall financial plan will help you in the long run.

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