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8 Steps You Must Take to Protect Your Family Financially in 2018 8 Steps You Must Take to Protect Your Family Financially in 2018
8 Steps You Must Take to Protect Your Family Financially in 2018

We’re all looking for ways to make our money grow, to build the family fortune, and secure our financial future. It’s not the most comfortable of subjects and this can stop us from thinking about it, let alone talk about it. Often that means we leave the financial planning too late or only do it on an ad hoc basis e.g. when needing a mortgage, life insurance, will etc.

 

The key, then, is to anticipate those surprises so that you can protect your family and your assets. No one knows what’s around the corner, so the sooner you can start thinking about the future the better. If you find it all a little overwhelming then follow Noir Excel who’s director Emmanuel Asuquo has written eight simple but essential steps to kick start your 2018 family financial planning.

 

Step 1: Learn to budget

Budgeting; this is the foundation of financial planning. Before you can look at saving or life insurance, you need to know how much you have left over each month. This can be achieved by reviewing bank statements, payslips etc and then creating a hand written budget or put into an excel spreadsheet.

 

Step 2: Life insurance is a crucial basic necessity

I can never understand how we can protect our car; home, mobile phone, pets etc, but so few people protect their life. If you were to die today, do you have enough saved in the bank for your family to maintain their current standard of living? If the answer is no then you need to talk to a financial consultant fast. Depending on your budget and employment situation, critical illness cover and income protection should also be considered.

 

Step 3: Wills are a must

A Will is one of the most important financial documents you will ever complete, yet so many people don’t have one. Dying without a Will can mean a long wait for your beneficiaries to inherit your estate. Once you have children, the importance of a Will becomes more crucial. As it will lay out how you want your estate to be divided amongst the siblings and hopefully prevent any unseemly squabbles or court battles.

 

Step 4: Pay off high interest loans first

Pay off short term (high interest) debt first. This includes things like overdrafts or credit cards. The bank will not encourage you to make above the minimum monthly payments, so it’s important for you to make overpayments and calculate how long it will take to pay off your debt. Once you have a plan and a goal (written end date) you can work towards it.

 

Step 5: Fund for unseen predicaments

Set aside a portion of your savings for an emergency fund. It is very important to have instant access to savings in a bank account for emergencies. This avoids you having to use your credit card and potentially increasing your debt.

 

Step 6: Take full advantage of ISAs

An ISA (Individual Savings Account) is a tax-free way to save or invest. If you’re starting to think about saving or investing, ISAs could be a good place to begin. ISAs allows you to invest in shares, bonds extra in a tax efficient way. You have a limit currently at £20,000 per year.

 

Step 7: Are you planning for your retirement?

Retirement Planning is another essential step in your financial planning. Some will say retirement planning is an individual issue not a family one. I disagree because if you fail to have enough money in retirement, your family will be forced to financially support you during this possibly long period.

 

Step 8: Cash Flow Forecasting

Last but not least once all these things are in place you can then look at your cash flow until age 100 and discover any shortfalls in your income and make changes now to solve any potential cash flow issues in the future.

 

ABOUT NOIR EXCEL

Noir Excel is a financial services company that aims to help its members reach their financial goals, by equipping them with knowledge and insight to make accurate financial decisions.

 

It is our mission to provide access to financial education in the form of seminars and master classes for the general public, in order to enable people to make better choices when faced with financial decisions. To book on a course or to discuss your personal financial planning contact us on 07903 245 651 or visit www.noirexcel.com Introductory rates for ebonyonline.net readers, just quote EBONY-POST when calling.

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