I touched on the concept of wellbeing and financial planning in a previous post in 2015 and this is a subject that really interests me.

The aim of Lifestyle Financial Planning is to help you enjoy a good life (whatever that means to you), knowing you have sufficient money to support you. The key point here being “enjoy a good life” –  it must also address your wellbeing – it’s not just about having more money and possessions than the next person.

Last October I talked about wellbeing being much more than just physical or financial wellbeing, including career wellbeing, social wellbeing and community wellbeing. Any financial plan you make should consider and include all these things.

For anyone, your plan should start by establishing your goals and values and making your choices in life consistent with these. It should be for yourself – not for your money. So how can you do this?

This is where I revert to the Bridge of Wellbeing and it’s 3 pillars:

1. Define and understand your values and goals;
2. Deploy financial strategies that use your resources in a way that is consistent with your values and achieves your goals;
3. Develop your personal investment strategy.

A solid financial plan is important for everyone to enjoy the life you choose to live. It doesn’t have to be complex or lengthy. But it’s sometimes hard to know where to start.

Here are some questions that may help to explore your goals and start to build your first pillar in the Bridge of Wellbeing.

• What is your biggest achievement, and why?
• What is your greatest fear in relation to your future?
• What would you say motivates you most?
• Where do you want to be in 5-10 years time, professionally, personally and financially?
• What is the one personal goal you would like to achieve within the next year? what about 3-5 years?
• What causes you stress?
• If you had unlimited means, what’s the one thing you would like to do with your time that you are not doing today?
• What are your hobbies? or what do you like to buy with your spare money?
• What are the most important things that you and your family want to achieve in the future? How would you feel if your couldn’t achieve them? what are you prepared to give up now to achieve them?