“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Should you take dragons into account when you’re working on your financial plan? Well… only if you live near one.

While this may sound like a fantastic children’s story that holds little relevance in our professional lives, it’s profoundly relevant in the context of planning when we run the risk of excluding eventualities that we think ‘will never happen’. Relationships don’t always last forever, businesses change, and what we believe is certain today, may not be tomorrow.

Just as anything is possible in the world of fire-breathing dragons and the quests of heroic knights to slay them, thus saving the kingdom; you need to face and overcome whatever battles you may encounter to ensure your ‘happy ever after’ in reality too.

Everyone faces risks that involve both uncertainty and the possibility of financial loss. These events are a severe threat to financial security and must be managed as such. 

This is where we at WellsFaber come in – to talk through the value of: 

1 – identifying risk that is unique to you;

2 – including people, not just numbers, in your planning.

A risk management plan helps manage your exposure to uncertainty and financial loss by identifying significant risks and determining suitable protection. The consequences of lack of imagination will render us incapable of foreseeing these potential unknowns.

So don your suit of armour, take up your sword and let’s work together to put out the flames.  

Dragons and their fires come in many shapes and forms, which vary from person to person and throughout the different stages of life. There are typical ages at which various fires are predominant, and we work with this to find what is right for you. We help you meet your personal and business financial planning needs, from insurance to investments to estate planning.

And we help you to stick to them too.

The self-discipline to stick to your goals can be challenging. In the words of the 19th-century English economist Nassau William Senior, “To abstain from the enjoyment which is in our power, or to seek distant rather than immediate results, are among the most painful exertions of the human will.” 

Philosopher, Derek Parfit, also said, “We might neglect our future selves because of some failure of belief or imagination.” 

An interesting TED talk by Daniel Goldstein, a behavioral economist and psychologist, brings these two concepts together in: The Battle Between Your Present and Future Self. Goldstein explores the tools he’s created to imagine ourselves over time – so we can make the best decisions for our future. 

Together with us at WellsFaber, let’s plan your ‘happy ever after’.

We advise. You thrive.