Eolas Money | Helping you visualise your financial future

When providing long term financial planning support to our clients, Eolas Money do so to help create a sense of financial wellbeing.

Eolas Money describes this as being able to:

Fully meet Your current financial obligations,

Feel secure in Your ability to meet Your future financial obligations,

Have peace of mind when it comes to the “What Ifs” life brings,

Have the ability to make financial choices that allow You to enjoy Your life.

Brendan Reilly of Clonmel based Financial Planning practise Eolas Money says that “cashflow modelling is a vital part of their financial planning process which is designed to help clients visualise the likely success or failure of their clients’ future financial goals through the use of sophisticated modelling software. 

Where to start - Knowing the Numbers: Throughout life’s financial journey, it is important to ‘run through the numbers’ which will help clients make the correct financial decisions. It is important to be specific. Brendan says “it is not enough to say, ‘I want to have enough money to retire comfortably.’ For example, if a household has a current standard of living based on a net income of €7,000 per month while they are employed, clients want to know can they maintain the same standard of living into retirement on a smaller income and cashflow modelling shows whether they can or not. Brendan states that clients need to think realistically about how much they will need – the more specific clients are, the easier it will be for us to create a plan to achieve their goals”.

Clarity Over Your Goals: Clients’ financial goals vary but examples include repaying a mortgage early, ensuring that clients have saved enough for their children’s university fees, selling a business, and being able to retire when you want to. It is also important that clients have sufficient funds for emergencies, such as a job loss or the impact of a long-term illness and we can model these scenarios also.” 

When discussing goals with clients, Brendan says that clients need to be realistic as to what is achievable but also need to think big which gives us something to work towards. It is important for us to identify how much money is enough for every goal identified? Can you afford to retire early and still live the life you want? What impact will choices made today have on your lifestyle in the future? 

Visualising Your Financial Future: The detailed picture provided by the software is packed full of colour each representing client’s incomes, their current expenditures, investments and debts which are projected forward and estimated annually using assumed rates of growth, inflation, salary rises and interest rates. When a cashflow model is prepared, the key colour we are hoping not to see is red which indicates a possible inability to meet future goals such as university fee’s, pension funds running out of money or current overspending. Brendan says that when you see a model (example above), “we hope not to see any red but that is not always the case, so we need to understand what is causing this and the impact on the client’s long term financial wellbeing.  

Regular reviews and reassessments: Brendan says that a “cashflow model should be updated at least yearly, to reassess the validity of the inputs (incomes, expenditures, etc.) to the model, but clients may also want to reassess their priorities or before big purchases, to ensure that your goals remain on track. The role of a financial planner is to assist clients throughout life’s financial journey highlighting where they are doing well and making some tweaks where necessary along the way.” 

Brendan Reilly is a Certified Financial Planner and co-director of Eolas Money, a Financial Planning practice based in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.

To chat with Brendan or to discuss how you can benefit from cashflow modelling, contact Eolas Money at queries@eolasmoney.ie or visit www.eolasmoney.ie 

This article is provided for general information purposes only and does not amount to financial advice. While every care has been taken in the preparation of the information, we advise you seek professional advice before making any personal financial planning decision. 

Eolas Money Management Limited, T/A Eolas Money is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. 

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