How to Plan for the Future

"Opportunities don't happen. You create them." - Chris Grosser

Planning for the future is important for everyone, whether you are in your teens or are enjoying your retirement. Our guide will show you how to effectively do this with these five steps:

• Establish your future goals
• Prioritise your pension
• Surround yourself with real friends
• Do things that you love to do
• Visualise you as your future self

Establish your future goals

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

1. Establishing goals is essential. It should be a regular part of your future planning strategy.  
2. Short, medium, and long-term goals provide us with drive. They help us to prioritise tasks and activities that will help us in reaching the goals that we set out to achieve. 
3. Goals provide motivation in the short-term and vision in the long-term. They create focus in our lives and are measureable benchmarks that we can evaluate ourselves against.
4. Importantly, the creation and fulfilment of goals ensure that we grow as people. They continuously improve who we are.  

Prioritise your pension

Planning for your golden years is important. After all, they are said to be some of the most enjoyable years of your life. A time to tick items off the bucket list and spend more time with our loved ones. However, retirement often means the end of a stable wage packet and a pension is required to take its place.

As per Money Advice Service, a new flat-rate State Pension was introduced in 2016; for the tax year 2021/22, this is £179.60. If you strive to be receiving more than this a week, contributing to a private pension pot is a must.

Paying into your pension as early as possible is a great idea. Aviva outline three core reasons behind this: tax relief, extra workplace pension contributions, and additional time for your investment to grow. 

Prioritise your pension and your future self will thank you.

Surround yourself with real friends 

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” ― Walter Winchell

Surround yourself with people who will make you a better person. People who will smile in your successes and support you when you are at your lowest. 

Too often are people are trying to drag others down. This can hinder your progress, delay you in achieving your goals, and take the enjoyment out of life. Remove these people from your life and reap the rewards.

Do things that you love to do

"If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time" - Billy Joel

When all is said and done, life is short and it is important we fill it with stuff that matters and things that we love. 

Doing what we love to do improves productivity, motivation, and will ensure that your future will be filled with happiness. 

Create bucket lists, try new things, and ensure you do not look back with regret on the things you did not do.

Visualise you as your future self

"Visualising is daydreaming with purpose" - Bo Bennett

Visualise you as your future self, looking back at what you have accomplished. What are the things that would make you proud to look back on? 

Create a personal mission statement, a mantra that you live by. Your visualisation and the mission statement together are powerful techniques for turning your planning into action.

Oprah Winfrey, for example, strives “to be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.” 

Elon Musk lives by the notion that "if something is important enough you should try, even if the probable outcome is failure."

Sir Richard Branson, meanwhile, hopes “to have fun in [my] journey through life and learn from [my] mistakes.” 

What is yours?