| TOPIC FOR JULY'02 TALK : Financial Planning by Irene Lim Lee Joong Brief intro of Irene Lim Lee Joong : An accountant by profession for most part of career. Three years ago joined the financial services industry - sharing with individuals financial planning concepts, principles and processes, including Financial Needs Analysis, Wills as part of estate planning etc. Business - employees benefit program, business continuation planning, partnership buy-sell agreement/planning etc. Personal Financial Planning Since 1999 we read and hear so often about financial independence, financial freedom etc. What do they mean to you? Have you ever sat down and spent time to think over what you really are WORKING every day for? What if PFF? Who needs it? Is it only for the rich? In America a study was done and it was found out that the public has fallacy that financial planning is : - for the rich - retirement planning - estate planning - people only seek help of financial planner when they are in financial crisis The financial crisis in 1997 has impoverished many Malaysian in one way or another. Jobs were lost, family income dropped substantially, children's overseas education were cut short, life style changed, retirement income decreased to a level not seen for many years, returns from basic/secured financial instruments could not even beat inflation etc. How has it affected you and your financial decisions since? To put it simply, financial planning is the coordination of an integrated process of managing our financial resources to ultimately meet our financial goals and objectives. If an individual makes a concerted effort to adhere to accepted financial principles and practices he would craft out a life of financial abundance beyond his expectation. |