Financial Planning and Stages of Life

May 1, 2023 | David Lawrence, CFP®, AIF®

We all go through it. It’s inevitable. It can also feel like it happens quickly – and even faster as we get older. I’m talking about the different stages of life we experience - from childhood to adolescence, to an array of phases in adulthood.

Each stage of life presents different experiences, joys, and challenges. Whether it be learning to live on our own as a young adult or preparing to retire as a more mature adult. Regardless of stage, along the way we grow in wisdom. This wisdom shapes how we live given the impact of the powerful life experiences we go through.

What is intertwined with each stage of life and the choices we make, is our finances. For example, buying a house in our 20s, retiring in our 60s, or decisions to downsize our home. Each of these are major financial decisions.

The challenge with many of these financial decisions is that we haven’t lived through the stage of life we are attempting to make a decision for. In the case of retirement, we are attempting to transition into a brand new stage of life after a long career. Perhaps we’ve experienced this through someone close to us, perhaps not. Either way, there is often uncertainty and complexity that makes planning ahead very difficult.

This is one of the key foundational benefits of partnering with a financial planner. An experienced financial planner that has worked with thousands of clients has seen time and again, the wisdom in planning ahead. The necessity of using wisdom now, not later, to start planning for the decisions that will be important to us at our next stage of life.

A financial planner will help you create a plan – a life-goal, or life-stage plan. It’s important to note that any financial plan should include another very key principle – the need to adapt and change. Often, what we think will happen in the future doesn’t pan out all, or the way we expected. Having a planner with experience to navigate all the changes we will go through is vital to adapting to these changes the best way possible.

If you’re not working with a financial planner, or you’re attempting to create a plan on your own and your considering partnering with a planner, please contact us.