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

MoneyGeek Digest - Issue 4: People don't realise when they can start to slow down: The forecast gives truth

A few weeks ago, we lost our little rescue French Bulldog suddenly to brain cancer. She was only seven.

It was brutal.

It's these fleeting moments of mortality that remind us that life is short. Everything can change in an instant - and you get one shot.

The goal isn’t to hoard cash until some distant retirement date.
It’s to allocate your assets in a way that allows you to actually use and enjoy them - while you can.

In Mawd’s honour, we’re adopting again.

It’s between Judy and Dumpling (aka Dump Truck).
I’ll let you guess which one I’m leaning towards.

Now, onto this week’s digest.

How to build a financial plan properly

Most people think improving their retirement plan means one thing:

Invest more.

And yes - when your pot is small or retirement is decades away, contributions matter. More in generally means more out.

But here’s the part most advisers never explain:

Investing more has an opportunity cost.

• It restricts the use of money today.
• Fewer experiences with your kids.
• Less flexibility while you’re healthy and energetic.

And the closer you are to retirement — and the larger your pot — the less powerful that “just invest more” lever becomes.

Planning isn’t about pushing one lever harder.

It’s about knowing which lever to pull, and when.

Examples of levers that can have a far greater impact than simply adding contributions:

• Timing defined benefit pensions correctly
• Tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing
• Fee structuring
• Phasing into part-time work
• Asset allocation changes in retirement
• Downsizing at the right moment
• Bringing forward or delaying income
• Retirement timing

When we model these properly, the results often surprise people.

The basic structure behind every financial plan we build:

Here’s the simple framework.

1/ PURPOSE

This is where you decide what life actually looks like.

• Where will you live?
• Do you want to slow down? When?
• How much do you want to spend and when?
• Do you want to gift?
• Is charity important to you?
• What will you actually do with your time?
• Will you travel? Where?

For some, financial freedom is reading books in front of a log fire and hiking in the Welsh mountains.

For others, it’s cruises, parties and Michelin star meals.

Your retirement is not just a number. It's experiences, dreams and ambitions. It's a lifestyle.

Until we define the lifestyle, the number is meaningless.

So this is the starting point - what do you actually want it to look like.

2/ COST IT

We then build a detailed projection of outgoings over time.

Not a guess.
Not a rough monthly estimate.

A proper timeline showing spending year by year.

Maybe spending reduces from 80.
Maybe there’s a gift to the kids at 65.
Maybe you’ve always wanted to cruise the Norwegian Fjords.

It can all be priced up and mapped out.

Because when you see your spending mapped visually across 30–40 years, you can start to visualise opportunity costs much easier.

3/ ADJUST FOR INFLATION

Today’s £60,000 lifestyle is not tomorrow’s £60,000 lifestyle.

We switch the model to inflation-linked spending and stress test assumptions.

It usually rises more than people expect.

4/ INPUT GUARANTEED INCOME

Next, we layer in:

• State Pension
• Defined benefit pensions
• Rental income
• Any other guaranteed sources

This becomes the foundation.

You’ll see a gap form — shown clearly in red — between what you want to spend and what’s already covered.

That red gap - the shortfall is the real problem we’re solving.

5/ FILL THE GAP

Only now do we decide:

• How much needs to be invested
• Where it should sit (pensions, ISAs, GIAs, business extraction)
• When income should be taken
• Whether work needs to phase down gradually
• Whether property plays a role

We can see here how the pensions, ISAs and other investments step it to fill this shortfall

And most importantly:

Does the money ever run out?

In this case - the answer is no (just).

If it does, we adjust a lever.

• Change retirement timing.
• Increase funding.
• Reduce expenditure.
• Optimise sequencing.

If it doesn’t, we create freedom!

• Permission to spend.
• Permission to de-stress.
• Permission to slow down.
• Permission to enjoy life more today.

Real financial planning isn’t about chasing returns. Anyone could have achieved decent growth in the post covid market boom.

Financial planning is about building a model that answers one question clearly:

Are we mathematically on track for the life we want?

Once you've answered that question property you start focusing on living well now - without worrying about the future.

That’s the balance.

And in the end, that’s what this is really about.