I’m really happy to be part of the executive driving the new Initiative for Financial Wellbeing.

I fully subscribe to the idea that we should be showing clients how to use their money to be happier rather than just wealthier.

I believe that being rich in happiness is infinitely better than being rich monetarily. But as we know, many clients need help to see the importance of using their money to create happiness, preferring often to use it instead as a comfort blanket to wrap around them while they are alive and leaving it to others only when they die.

One of the first things I tell new clients, is that I plan to die with a £5 overdraft (my children know this too!) This doesn’t mean that I intend to be profligate, but it does mean that I will spend my money on things that make me and others happy while I am alive.

A good balance of spending on things that I love, family and friends and those less fortunate, is what I am aiming for and what I encourage clients to consider too.

Giving them confidence to spend and enjoy their money, showing them they can afford to turn left on the aeroplane, or that they can afford to take a sabbatical to build a school in Tanzania for example, is the very essence of financial well-being. Leading from the front is really important - clients are much more likely to follow advice if they see that we are walking the talk.

One of the first things we should do is block time out of our diaries to satisfy our own wellbeing. Taking breaks to rest, recharge and pursue our own passions is critical if we are to create meaningful solutions for clients.

So let’s make 2020 the year to really focus on financial wellbeing and the tremendous difference we can help people make to their lives.
For more see the IFW website: https://initiativeforfinancialwellbeing.org.uk/

• This column appears in the latest edition of Financial Planning Magazine. To view an exclusive preview of the magazine and find out more about how to subscribe to the UK's only professional title designed exclusively for Financial Planners and Paraplanners click here - Financial Planning Today Magazine 

Julie Lord is chief executive and a founder of Magenta Financial Planning in Bridgend, South Wales