I’m a firm believe in the power of the plan.

Planning  provides clarity, encourages us to take next steps and provides us with a route towards the things we want to d
o in our life.

However many plans, financial or otherwise, are fatally flawed.

Let me explain…

The idea of a good plan is to get you to the destination you desire.

However if the desire isn’t strong enough, or the thing you’re aiming for isn’t actually what you want. How compelling is the plan?

Let me give you an example…

When you type “retirement” into Google (then click images) you’re faced by a couple of objects which pop up in many of the pictures…

Beaches and Deckchairs.

Now I’ve got nothing against beaches and deckchairs (well maybe a bit of an irrational grudge against deckchairs – that’s a different story). However I find myself wondering whether either of these objects even remotely reflect the reality of how we want to spend our time when we get older and as we approach a stage of life where we’ve got more time.

The reality is that beaches and deckchairs might be part of how you might want to spend your time. However, and depending on what you’re interested in, it’s likely you might want to spend you’re time studying insects, riding a scooter, playing volleyball or mastering a musical instrument.

One of the most interesting things about the way many of us plan for any goal (including retirement) is the questions we ask ourselves. A typical approach might look like this…

First we ask what we’re going to do when we we’ve got the freedom that more time provides.

and then,

We ask how we’re going to do it.

However this approach has one clear issue…

To make our financial plan as compelling and attractive as possible we’ve got to ask one clear question before any other…

Why?

Asking Why isn’t about writing a plan containing the practicalities of what you’re going  to spend time doing.

It’s about finding out what drives you, what you’re passionate about, and why you want the life you want?

It’s about asking fundamental questions to ensure that you get as close to your goals as possible.

Planning is a fundamental and important part of this process. It takes the “Why?”, turns it into a “What” and then with work, imagination and usually a little help it gives you the “How”.

However with many plans, financial and otherwise, we don’t follow the plans we set ourselves. Not because we haven’t planned well but only because the reason’s you’re doing it (the why) doesn’t compel you to either start, continue or finish (depending on how far you get)

When speaking to people about the importance of a plan and the need to ask fundamental questions I often ask the following :-

“If you had all the time in the world and money was no concern. What would you spend your time doing?”

and then the follow up question…

“Why would you spend your time doing that?”

Now the first question is easier to answer.

However what the second question reveals is whether we, when trying to answer the question understand the connection between the life we want to live and how it satisfies our values, beliefs and goals.

I think the French novelist and poet, Anatole France, put it most eloquently…

“To accomplish great things we must not only  act, but also dream. Not only plan, but also believe.”

Interestingly I’ve found that although there’s a degree of variation most of us fit into two camps…

Those of us who understand our “Why” and therefore can be really clear on our “What”

and

Those of us who haven’t taken time to understand our “Why” and either have a really generic “What” (possibly involving beaches and deckchairs) or no “What” at all.

This is why we shouldn’t start with a financial plan.

We should start with something more fundemental…

We should start with a manifesto.

Our own personal money manifesto.

Now, I appreciate that manifesto’s are usually  reserved for the realms of science, politics and art.

However a manifesto ( a declaration of motives, intentions and beliefs from whoever writes it) on how you want to spend your time, and how money as a tool will help you achieve those goals, is a great place to start.

Which is why I’ve decided to try to help….

Over the next few months I’ll be writing my first book.

Titled “Money Manifesto” (although I might change this) I’ll be explaining why starting with your hopes, beliefs desires and dreams (creating your manifesto) provides a clearer path to the life you truly want.

I’ll also be explaining how to turn your manifesto into a clear and practical financial plan which in turn translates into specific practical action, why it’s likely that most of our manifestos and our plans regularly change (and therefore why it’s important to review them regularly) and some clear and practical ways to ensure that you acheive all this sooner than you expect.

I’ll also be sharing  some stories, slinging in the odd bad joke (although you’re probably used to that if you’re a regular reader) and sharing some tools we’ve built to help you achieve your “money manifesto”

We’ll be launching a website for the book pretty soon (with some great free gifts you can use and enjoy prior to the books release) and I look forward to speaking to you about this soon.