Sarah - finances following divorce
"'I now feel far more confidence in how to proceed in my life. The nagging doubt of slowly running out of money, or being out of control, has gone. I even have a new interest in how investments might work to suit me."
Sarah was in the process of going through a divorce when we met, and having to take control of her own finances for the first time in her life. Her plan was to continue renting a property for the next couple of years while she was studying and then to buy a house. She wanted to get a sense of what she could afford to spend on the new property and whether she would then have enough to live on without the need to go back to work. She also wanted to understand the investments she’s got, how they work, and what they mean for her financial future.
"Simonne was very good at following my butterfly brain which darted off at tangents and explaining things from another angle. I liked that she was able to pitch her answers at a level I could understand and managed to involve me in various computations, not blinding me with science or allowing me to sneak off and sit on the sidelines, metaphorically speaking."
I helped her understand about her investments and the risks associated with each. We summarised her assets on one page to make it easy for her to follow and did some cashflow projections using assumptions we created together. The projections helped her see that she was much better off than she realised. It looked like she’d be able to manage without needing to go back to work, and that she could buy a property that’s a little more expensive than she’d initially planned. I suggested that she seeks advice from an independent financial adviser to help her review her existing investments and make recommendations for money that will eventually come through once the divorce is finalised. But she went away from our session much better informed, with questions answered and feeling lighter.
"After seeing Simonne, I now feel I have collated all my paperwork together to give me a view of the whole picture - something I was letting slide. I will continue to keep abreast of my day to day spending. I have far more understanding about my present investments, with more idea of what changes I might make to be further secure."