Generational wealth is built with intention and purpose - not fear or uncertainty. Yet for many people, even the phrase 'generational wealth' feels intimidating.
It often feels like something reserved for high earners or affluent families, leading many to believe that their modest income or lifestyle disqualifies them from seeking professional financial advice. But wealth planning, or in simpler terms, financial advice - is not a luxury. It is essential. It teaches us how to manage our assets, how to spend wisely, how to save consistently, and how to make our money work as hard as we do.
Financial discipline plays a critical role in achieving long-term financial success. Discipline requires structure, and structure comes with planning. By incorporating financial planning into your daily life, it becomes possible to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle today while still building security retirement and creating opportunities for future generations. Financial planning becomes even more critical when resources are limited. When you are working with a tight budget, every rand counts, and every financial decision carries greater consequences.
A financial adviser can help you identify opportunities to make money go further. This may include restructuring your finances for tax efficiency, ensuring you have adequate insurance protection, or finding ways to reduce unnecessary expenses that chip away at your capacity to build wealth.
For anyone, whatever their circumstances, financial advice also provides several non-financial benefits:
- It can help in reducing stress related to money issues
- Taking control of your finances can increase confidence levels and reduce the fear around handling money
- Having a financial plan in place can help with all your everyday short and long-term decisions, acting as a guide that determines what you can and cannot afford
These psychological benefits should not be underestimated. Financial anxiety affects our health, relationships, and overall quality of life. When you have a clear roadmap for your money, you can make decisions with confidence, rather than reacting out of fear or uncertainty.
Taking control
The difference between those who retires comfortably (only around 6% of us) and someone who struggles financially later in life is rarely income alone. More often, it is the result of consistent financial decisions made over time. Starting a retirement annuity in your twenties, even with small monthly contributions, can result in substantially more wealth than waiting until your forties to start saving larger amounts. This is the power of compound growth.
Financial planning is a path to building wealth. Even if your capacity to increase your income and earn more is beyond your control, you do have control and agency over how you manage the money you have. A skilled financial adviser doesn't just work with what you have today – they help you see what's possible tomorrow and create a realistic path to get there.
Having a financial plan in place is about making good financial decisions – the first decision being to consult a financial or wealth adviser. That single step can transform your relationship with money and set you on a path toward the security and legacy you want to create, regardless of where you're starting from.
Nontokozo Madonsela, Chief Marketing Officer of Momentum mentioned that “For one to be financially stable they need to follow some sort of program, everyone has the ingredients which is a job. You just need guidance and that coms in a form of a financial advisor”
