The Importance of Financial Planning During This Pandemic

It has already been a year since the pandemic has started here in Cagayan de Oro. Everyone was affected i.e. from businesses going down to employees having laid off from work. But despite that, the resiliency of every Kagay-anon and to adapt to change is visible. For one, we see posts to #supportlocal in our social media accounts enticing everyone to buy. And we see some who have bounced back a year after but some did not. Probably some resorted to doing the easy money (stealing or whatnot) and some just simply asked the government for support or should I say is dependent on the support the government has to offer. And personally, my opinion is that it’s not the government’s task to feed you nor your employers but you as the income-earner to be able to prepare what lies ahead.

It is not wrong to ask for help however, wouldn’t it be better if we are prepared for these unexpected events in our life? Now, a few months back I was introduced to a financial advisor, and she explained to me the importance of financial planning and what money for life is. And this has brought me a lot of realization and I would like to share it with you. Hoping to convey what I learn from it.

What is Money for Life?

“Money for Life is the Sun Life way of helping you create your own personalized financial plan, based on the different stages of your life.”

According to Sun Life, it is a way to create a financial plan based on the different stages of life. It means we enjoy the financial freedom to live your life as you choose because we are prepared for the expected and unexpected events like education, emergencies, retirement, health, and income protection. And to be able to have money in every life stage, we need to have good financial planning.

Financial planning as I understood means to have an assessment of our current finances (income, expenses, and investments). Where we lack and what are alternatives to be able to reach our smart goals. A cash flow of activities i.e. the in and out of my money. It was simplified and relatable that I with no finance-related background am able to understand because the samples were based on my day-to-day activities and personalized. Also, It is a good start to have family budget planning!

Having family budget planning is necessary. This is to be able to have good monitoring on the spending habits which will lead me to make changes according to the family’s capacity. I also crossed this financial calculator which is a good tool to start your budgetary planning because it has a suggested estimated percentage allocation of the family’s necessities.

If you do ever ask professional advice on matters of financial planning, I found them at FB @brighterlifephils. You can directly message them on their FB page.

As they say, sharing is caring. I will share with you my favorite finance quote.

It’s not your salary that makes you rich, it’s your spending habits.