PLANNING FOR UNCERTAIN EVENTS AND THE FUTURE

For many of my clients – as well as for me – uncertainty is one of the most frustrating pieces of the current economic and financial environment.

Planning for retirement and other goals has become just that much more difficult.

A little insight about the future sure would be welcome. Truth is, we can’t know the future. With the exception of certain undeniable forecasts, like the one about death and taxes, I cannot tell you what will happen later today, let alone what the future holds. No one can. Yet, to some degree, we long for at least a little sense of certainty to help us make plans.

That may be why it’s so easy to make assumptions about the future based on the past.

So what can we do with this frustration? We can plan for the future. The planning we do is based on what we know about life, and especially, what we know about the financial world in which we live. What can’t you know?

◆ You can’t know when your life or that of a family member will be significantly changed.

◆ You can’t know what’s going to happen with the overall economy.

◆ You can’t know what’s going to happen in the real estate market.

◆ You can’t know what’s going to happen to the stock market.

◆ You can’t know when your employment will be disrupted. Here are three key financial points:

◆ Recognise that you must save money, for difficult times as well as good times.

◆ Put your investments in a variety of financial instruments.

◆ Use insurance to transfer some of the risks of uncertainty to someone else.