2021 - The year that could possibly be?

2021 – The year that could possibly be?

Welcome to a new year, another real chance to make the most of our journey around our sun. Children don’t get this. They live in a world where every day is a gift, and they live it completely. They have no need for marked celebrations, nor do they need a reason for resolutions. They don’t seem concerned about time as adults do. There are solid reasons for our focus on time and this is highlighted through how disruptive 2020 has been on our lives. Through this article I unpack the notion of how time and trust impact financial planning.

Why time and trust? Well, they either work together or against one another in your life. A lot of energy is spent by advertisers and politicians trying to get us to trust them. Time is also a finite resource in one’s life, I would like to see us use it wisely, especially in your financial planning.

Time as a general concept

You may see this as a challenging topic and if so then you already know how important time is. See 2021 as an opportunity, a chance for a fresh start that enables your financial planning and frees you to live your best life. That is my focus for this year. As I have mentioned before, change is always around us and time proves this regularly.

So expanding on this topic, let’s start with an understanding on how time can assist you in furthering your ability to be financially independent in order to achieve your ‘best life’.

My daughters have taught me that time is a precious commodity. Spending time pursuing one’s dreams and goals is important and brings success. I have begun to measure my success by how much time I get to spend with family. When I find that I don’t have ‘time’ for them, then I know to re-prioritise my lifestyle as they are part of my purpose and as such are a priority.

Time is finite and we need to make it work for us:

• In business, surround yourself with people (team members) that are there to journey with you. That enable you to focus on your purpose and passion.
• In our personal space, spending your time with those you love and those that return that love.

The biggest gift we can give ourselves is to spend our time wisely. It will repay us handsomely and ensure your life is filled with wealth and happiness.

 

Time as a concept for your financial planning:

Time is an important factor when it comes to financial planning. If one fails to consider time in their planning, they will see their goals missed. This could, and usually does, impact their families as well. It is exceedingly evident in wealth creation and protection. Our aim for you, and us, is to always be of assistance, as we believe that careful time management is a key to success.

Protection of your wealth comes through empowering yourself through implementing, reviewing, and understanding personal and business risks around you. It will be too late if you have not done this when your time is called, or an event leaves you unable to continue to work towards those dreams we all have.

There is no such thing as the ‘perfect’ time. Do it now! This approach gifts you time to focus on those aspects of your life that allow you to lead your best life. Financial planning is a tool to freedom and is not a ‘grudge purchase’. 2020 has proven that having appropriate life and health insurance is a necessity. So is a will, death is unconcerned about timing.

Creating your wealth is also about planning for a time when you may not be able to grow it. So many people have been caught out without an income or even a ‘emergency’ fund to dip into should their income/s be taken away from them. The mantra, ‘I will start tomorrow’ is a common human condition. Lets change that, lets shift towards a new mantra: ‘Start today, all we have is now!’

Perspective Advisory’s 2021 plan is a laser-focus on you and your financial planning. Excuse us if we push you hard and encourage you to engage with us; we are doing it because we want you to thrive. There is no tomorrow if you haven’t planned for today, so lets get started and make 2021 the year of firsts.

Time as a creator of trust

An interesting article in the Economist’s Christmas edition had a piece on the Brexit negotiations. The subtitle in this piece was around how negotiations have been hampered through a lack of trust. One could say this lack of trust is at the heart of many issues plaguing the world at large.

I am addressing this because one builds trust in others by showing then we can be trusted. This takes time. Trust is not easily built, and it can be shattered in an instant. Hence why we don’t believe our politicians and why our scepticism is easily proven when corruption and failure are so readily evident around us.

This has been demonstrated in the USA where a marginalised populace took to the streets to protest, not trusting an outcome of the majority. Fascinating times we live in!

Time heals as well, and trust can be rebuilt. The same applies to politicians and our ability to forget and forgive. Traditional moulds and avenues have led us to this strange place in global hegemony and people are tired of this status quo. Things to watch in 2021 around this:

• Brexit and UK leaving the European union:
  • How is this really going to play out for the UK?
• USA – transition away from Trumps presidency this week, to a Biden/Democrats rule.
  • How will this impact markets/US trade relations with the world?
  • They say that the riot on Capitol Hill has proven that the US Democracy is strong. My concern is how a polarised global politic may see and use this far right, militia mobilisation in the US for their own myopic ends.
• COVID-19 – the longer-term impacts of this pandemic:
  • These are playing out globally and we will be doing this isolation dance till much later this year.
  • Be nimble and able to change tack, be entrepreneurial and stay ahead of the pack.

Time to heal our wounds and solve our GBV issues.

The rise of a focus on Gender-based violence and ‘Girlhood’ is a wonderful element that has been driven in recent years. Our ability to allow important items, including the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement, to take centre stage talks to how the populace is now able to have their voices heard. This is in part due to the ubiquitous availability of smart phones and their reach into every sphere of our lives. There are positives as there are negatives with how Social Media has impacted our lives.

It was a live Facebook or IG feed that showed the Nigerian government’s heavy handed and deadly handling of a protest that led to global pressure being placed on that government. It was a video that kicked off the BLM movement and it is this ongoing ability for us to allow our opinions and writing be heard by a larger audience that is driving change quicker.

We all know that old adage: ‘This generation doesn’t understand what we went through’ or ‘this new technology will create this kind of negative impact on the world’. We had it with video games and before that with TV, now they are both in our hands and we have added social media into this mix. The question is: ‘Are we escalating or nullifying this issue through awareness?’  Only time will tell.

There are great resources for all to read – the Christmas Edition of the Economist has a great spread on this – https://www.economist.com/weeklyedition/2020-12-19

 

We wish you an amazingly, abundant journey this year and look forward to travelling with you.

Duncan, Thabile, Drew, Karen and Lisa.