I have a confession. When I wake up in the morning, I have no recall of any dream that I might have had.
I say ‘might have had’ because I understand we all dream. But if I can’t recall one, how do I know that I have had one?
That, by the way, doesn’t stop me daydreaming.
Winning the lottery and taking over Bristol Rovers FC is a regularly repeated daydream. I could meet my dream half-way I suppose and buy a lottery ticket having never actually done that!
Dreams though have become a regular word I have heard around the office because we have recently completed the interview, for our next edition of Informed Magazine, of our clients Geraldine and Steve Barker.
They had a dream and were smart enough to build a plan to help them fulfil that dream. It was a dream of a new life on the Wild Atlantic Way in County Sligo, Ireland.
Geraldine and Steve were able to give up the commute to London from East Grinstead, up at 5.30 am catching the 6.32 am to London and then home again for 7.00 pm or 7.30 pm. Dinner, bed and then repeat!
Having a dream, and dare I say it, a Financial Plan has helped them off that particular Merry-go-round.
They now wake up to the sound of waves lapping against the shore of their property in Milk Harbour.
A more idyllic location it would be hard to describe. Wait until you see the photos when we publish the magazine next week.
There are three questions that I want to pose, and they are not particularly original questions, but they are essential;
“What is it that you want to do?”
You may love what you do to the point that you never want to stop, in which case stop reading now. But if you have been thinking to yourself “I don’t want the commute, the office politics, that demanding boss” (delete whichever part doesn’t apply!) then you maybe have an answer to the first question.
It might be to retire and spend more time travelling, see more of the family, spend more time fishing or on the golf course or whatever hobby floats your boat (maybe more time sailing!) If you can envisage a different life to the one you have then the second question become important.
“How much will it cost to have that lifestyle now?”
This question is where Financial Planning kicks in. It’s a process of looking at all of your income, expenditure, assets and liabilities, and working out how much you need to fulfil the dream of the lifestyle you want.
The process will also answer the question “If not now, when?”
It might be that you don’t have enough resource to pack in the job tomorrow, but it would be good to know, would it not, when you might be in that position?
So what are you currently dreaming about, how much would that life cost and when are you going to be able to do it?
