What should I do with my money?

Do you know your financial net worth?
This is a question that we put to our clients before a financial review – and often it is not that easily answered. It can mean resorting to filing cabinets or kitchen drawers to dust-off old pension polices, cash deposit statements, loan, insurance and investment documents.
You may also be dreaming of taking a big trip or planning to help your children buy a house.
Or maybe you heard great financial advice in the taxi, or at the local pub!
With a financial review, it is often these opportunities which become evident. Getting the balance right between how much to spend and invest can be difficult. You may be actively enjoying early-stage retirement but cautious of spending too much. It’s important to consider how much income you need in retirement to support and maintain your lifestyle and then to find the balance of fulfilling your aspirations without the fear of running out of money or leaving too much behind.
Planning for your future is a key part of life – whether it is

• saving for your children’s education,
• supplementing your lifestyle
• or planning your retirement.

However, despite interest rates rising, the returns you are getting from savings held on deposit are probably not delivering the long-term returns you need. Over the last number of years, earnings from investments such as equities and bonds have far outstripped that of cash. That’s why we see more investors once again, looking at alternatives to holding money on deposit.
We know that taking the first step into investment markets can be daunting, so we recommend that you seek professional financial advice from a Financial Advisor. It’s their job to help guide you into making the correct decision about where to invest your money. They are also far more credible than the advice you picked up in the local pub!
To help you with any conversation you might have, we have outlined some core concepts that you should consider; from being aware of the effect inflation can have on your money, through to the benefits of building a diversified investment portfolio, these are core themes that you should discuss with your Advisor.
Saving for the future is essential if you want your goals to be achieved and it is important that you make use of all the options available to you.

Cash may not be the answer
As the economy continues to improve many of us will have a little more money to save and spend. While spending is great for the local economy, it’s also important to save for your own future and putting a little aside for a rainy day is second nature for most of us. However, while we are working hard to save, it’s discouraging.

Explore the alternatives
Holding your money in cash or on deposit may make sense for people who are risk averse and/or have short-term goals. However, over the last number of years holding too much of your savings in cash has been costly. Generally, people are rewarded for taking some risk with their investment and assets such as equities and bonds have the potential to earn you higher returns than cash.

Diversify, diversify, diversify.
There is an old saying ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’, and the same can be said to your investments. However, when we talk about it in terms of your money, we call it
diversification. Multi-asset funds, which are very popular with Irish investors, allow you to invest in a diversified mix of assets (for example equities, bonds and property) which
helps to spread the riskiness of your investment.

Invest for the long-term
Your savings goals are probably balanced between short-term needs such as saving for a holiday or a new car – and longer-term needs such as your retirement or saving for your children’s education. A key determinant of where you should save is how long you can afford to tie up the money.

Find out what type of investor you are
You may have to accept some level of risk when you make an investment but how much depends on what you want to achieve. Only you know what your goals are and how much risk you are prepared to accept to reach them.
A financial review helps you to be proactive about your finances by setting goals and planning for the various stages of your life. It is not exclusive to high net worth clients or clients close to retirement; it is relevant throughout your working life. Financial goals can change due to illness, or during periods of economic uncertainty and volatility for example. Your finances should be reviewed regularly to ensure you are on the path to achieving your goals and to adjust any investment strategies where needed.

Contact Carey Corbett Financial Solutions today for an appointment on 065-6893540