Chris Exley DipFA Creator of MoneyGeek | Financial Coach | Financial Planner

MoneyGeek Digest - Issue 13:
Investing is easy. Planning isn't.

Dear Reader,

Yesterday, I watched a short video by a well-known financial creator. She (unknowingly) verbalised what the new era of 'Invest £500/mo in a global ETF, retire at 50' content keeps missing:

She has identified that she has no plan — so what's the point in doing it at all?

I see this again and again - but most people don't actually realise it. Making these huge sacrifices with no tangible end goal in sight (except a bigger pot of money).
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Imagine spending months learning to drive. Then stockpiling petrol — without ever thinking about when you'll use it, where you're going, or what you'll do when you get there.

You spend your life preparing for 'something'.

But 'something' is undefined.
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Without a plan - the only journey is slavishly compromising your spending power today to hit an arbitrary number in savings on an arbitrary date.
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More people are investing - which is great - but very few actually have a plan.

Learning to invest:

• Invest in the global stock market
• Keep costs to a minimum
• Hold for decades

Having a plan:

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  OK, but how much, why and most importantly -
• then what?
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Here's what we need more of. Investing is the 1st piece of the puzzle...

3 Missing Pieces:

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​1. DIRECTION

You must define what you want out of life. This becomes easier as you age — I see it with my clients in their 50s and 60s.

This doesn't need to be set in stone - it just needs to be enough to satisfy you that you have direction and purpose. That direction might completely change tomorrow - and that's ok.

What do you actually want — and why?

I cannot overstate the importance of this.

It drives your entire financial plan and life trajectory. Your entire strategy.
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Take the car analogy - what is your dream destination? Perhaps you wish to commute to work to earn more to feed your family. Perhaps your ambition involves sampling the finest beers across Europe — in which case, you'd be better off on the train.

Once you have a destination in mind, you can start to quantify how much you need to prepare and the nature of that preparation.

The beauty of having a destination in mind?
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It drives you towards something tangible, and it also quantifies what you need to put into your investments, and frees you up to enjoy the rest today without guilt.

2. CONFIDENCE

Next — confidence in your strategy to get you there.

• Are you accurately accounting for tax to ensure the cost of your desired destination is accurately accounted for
• What range of returns can you be confident your investments might deliver over the long term - where do you derive your confidence in these assumptions?
• What assumptions are you making for inflation - the rising cost of living?

You need a system that ties all of this together using maths you understand - and understanding is key to confidence.

And most importantly, you must be able to understand what happens if your assumptions are wrong.
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What happens if that market crashes?

What happens if you have to stop saving for a while?

What if...

Some people need a human to confirm their confidence isn't misplaced — that's where advice and coaching come in.

Others just need the tools to help them map out and test their plan...

3 TOOLS

Direction and confidence are nothing without the tools to plot the journey and stress test it.

This pulls everything together.
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What range of outcomes could be achievable.
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What happens if I decide to change my plans. This enables you to stress test different strategies and different outcomes.

Behind the scenes, I've been building Compass.

It's the toolkit I use with my advice clients — cashflow modelling, Monte Carlo, the lot — rebuilt for everyone else.

Here's a peek

And much more.

Until now, this kind of planning has been locked behind a financial adviser.

I don't think it should be.

Compass launches soon alongside the MoneyGeek Academy — pre-recorded tutorials, a community forum, and monthly Q&As where I help you build a plan that actually fits your life.

Reply COMPASS if you want in.

Until next time, Chris

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SOURCES:

- Nearly half (48%) of UK adults worried savings won't last retirement: Investec Wealth & Investment (UK) research via IFA Magazine (ifamagazine.com)

- Half of retirees afraid to use savings: Center for Retirement Research (crr.bc.edu)

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