Who needs financial advice? Anyone who sees the importance of their future.

We hear many questions in regards to Financial Planning. One of the most common, encouraged by the media, the government, super fund ads, and the banking and finance industry is that Financial Planning is primarily involved in investments and investing- but there is so much more than that.

If you want to attract public interest, people talk about investment performance - everyone wants something for nothing or easy gains, so when you make an investment and successfully pick a winner, that gains attention. People rarely evaluate risk until it is too late. Bitcoin has recently been touted as the latest “investment opportunity”, however the troughs happen more often than the highs, such as Bitcoin’s price halving in value from its April high. Is this investing, or is this gambling?

?Life rarely provides big wins from nothing. Most people build and create wealth over time by setting up and following a plan in order to achieve their financial goals. We start our working lives with few financial assets, but we have the capacity to work and to earn. As we work and earn income, our ability to save some of that income, effectively manage our expenses, invest our savings, and manage debt to our advantage when required, enables us to build wealth over time. This also enables us to successfully manage our cashflow. Very few people get wealthy quickly. It requires discipline and dedication, along with a strategic focus to be implemented over time.

Financial Planning supports people throughout all these stages in the process to building wealth, not just the investment piece of the puzzle. A relationship with your financial planner will help you establish realistic and achievable goals, and work with you to keep you on track to achieve them.

Most people come to us when they have questions relating to their financial security. Questions such as: How much money do I need to comfortably retire? Will my money see me through to the end of my life? Can I afford to reduce my work hours??How do I invest the inheritance I have received? These are all important issues, however the most successful financial outcomes are achieved by working with people over time, helping them to set realistic goals, assisting in effectively managing their cash flow and isolate savings, and implementing appropriate strategies that can be revised as financial obstacles arise, or circumstances change.

This article was written by Paul Jones, Director and Financial Adviser at Strategic Financial Solutions (SFS). Paul has been with the SFS team for over 10 years, having built several strong and trusted client relationships. He holds a degree in Science, an MBA, a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning and is a Certified Financial Planner.?To get in touch with Paul or find out more about SFS, visit sfsonline.com.au