3 Reasons to Make Time For A Regular Health Check

Sometimes it can feel that there’s not enough time in the day to do whatever it is you absolutely need to do, let alone get started on what you want to do or what you feel you ought to do. It is, however, often very worthwhile to make the time to have a regular financial health check with a financial adviser. Here are 3 reasons why.

It’s easy for change to creep up on you As the old joke goes, change is the only constant in life. Over time, small, incremental changes in your life, can add up to make a big difference and you may only realise just how much your life has changed when you sit down with a financial adviser and talk through your situation with them. Even supposing your situation and priorities are much the same as they were at your last meeting, it’s worth remembering that the financial market also changes. Some of these changes can make headline news (like the changes to mortgage tax relief for landlords), while others can be introduced with somewhat less fanfare (like the introduction of Innovative Finance ISAs). It’s, literally, a financial adviser’s job to stay on top of these changes and make it clear what they mean to you.

You need to be constantly on the look out for ways to make your money work harder for you Even if your situation stays exactly the same from year to year, you may find that there are changes you can make so that your money works harder for you. This may mean exiting an underperforming investment to make the most of a better opportunity or moving to a new product with lower fees and charges or indeed something else entirely. The fact of the matter is that regardless of whether you are just starting out in life, with minimal assets at this point, or whether you’re in your senior years and looking at financing your dream retirement while leaving something behind for the ones you love, you need to make what you have work as hard as possible for you. Just as small changes to your life can wind up making a huge difference to your needs, wants and general priorities, so small changes to your finances can wind up making a huge difference to your overall situation – regardless of how young or old you are.

You can confirm that you have the right protection in place (and at the right price) Insurance may seem a chore but having the right protection in place is important at any and every stage in life and even more so if you have financial dependents such as children. When it comes to insurance, there are three basic questions to ask.

1. What type of cover do you need?

2. What level of cover do you need?

3. Where can you get the best value for the cover you need? You need to know the answer to the first two questions before you can make a realistic assessment of the third and this can be a more complex process than it may appear. For example, life insurance comes in two forms, term assurance (which covers the holder for a specific period of time) and whole-life insurance, which covers the holder, literally, until they die. Mortgage-holders and parents with young children might find it more appropriate to use the former so that their mortgage is paid in the event of their death and/or that their children are provided for until they reach adulthood. Older people, however, might find it more appropriate to use the latter so that their loved ones can receive payment shortly after their death, rather than having to wait for probate.