In the past two blog posts, we dealt with budgeting and risk-profiling – two very important initial steps to take when formulating a financial plan. Goal setting is the third vital step. During this process, it’s important to figure out what you need and what you want and to prioritize the former over the latter. Often, the lines are blurred, and clients need to be reminded of the difference. ‘I need that sports car’, a client […]
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Risk profiling
We’re spring cleaning our finances this month. Once your budgeting process is sorted, you need to consider getting profiled in terms of risk. A client’s risk profile is one of the first and most important things we try to understand during the financial planning process. There are many methods and as many outcomes to risk profiling but the ultimate point of it is the following: To try and understand how an investor feels about risk To […]
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Start anew
Most people would agree that spring is the best time of year. Temperatures are moderate, it rains, and the greenery starts growing back everywhere – nature’s own ‘restart button’. It’s my favourite time of the year and I know many people who feel the same way. Psychologically, it would be a lot easier for you to get started on spring cleaning your finances – if you feel good, are more energetic and inspired, it could be […]
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Happy spring!
Winter is finally over and you can now go back to being the social butterflies you were born to be! But, before you bring out your bright coloured spring clothes and summer hats, be sure to watch how quickly you part with your hard-earned cash in this glorious weather. There are several research papers that show how weather has an impact on consumer spending habits and retailors are now using it to their advantage. In warmer […]
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Women and risk
Women are accumulating less funds in their lifetime and many are retiring financially insecure, as compared to their male counterparts. A major contributor to this is low levels of financial literacy which has a negative impact risk perception. Risk perception refers to how an individual makes a personal judgement about the likelihood of a negative outcome. This extract from The Influence of financial literacy and risk perception on investment on choice of investment by Aren et […]
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Longevity advantage in women
Humans are living longer than ever before. Globally, even though there may be some differences in longevity statistics between countries, women are living longer than men, and this has been the trend since the 20th century. This report by Our World in Data states the following: ‘Males tend to have more fat surrounding the organs whereas women tend to have more fat sitting directly under the skin. This difference is determined both by oestrogen and the […]
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Financial implication of relationships on women
Women do not accumulate sufficient funds in their retirement as men do and one of the factors affecting this is relationships. Motherhood If a woman chooses to have children during her lifetime, this has been seen to negatively impact the growth of future earnings. We already know about the gender pay gap but what is even more worrying are the findings in a study conducted by Joya Misra, Professor of Sociology & Public Policy, University of […]
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Women’s month
I always have mixed feelings about celebrating Women’s Month in South Africa. We’ve made great strides but also seem to be falling behind on too many important issues. In the financial planning space, it has become very clear that more work needs to be done to assist women with making better financial decisions. There are many issues to be highlighted but we’ll be addressing just four of them this women’s month. The most obvious one of […]
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Sleep and wellness
I’m generally a light sleeper and get woken by the slightest sounds and movements around me. Being a mom to young children has compounded this effect and often renders me sleep deprived for weeks on end. On a good night, I get about an hour’s worth of deep sleep and approximately 5 hours of light sleep which I track on my fitness device. It’s unhealthy and I’ve been feeling its effects over the past few months. […]
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Joie de vivre
Are you happy? Do you possess feelings of great pleasure? This is joy. Apparently, the amount of joy one feels improves with age. A study conducted by Comfort Keepers, a senior care specialist company in California, found that people above the age of 60 years possessed the most amounts of joy. Many of the individuals surveyed cited the following as their sources of joy and happiness, in order of priority: Family Love Music Wife Food Friends […]
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