Sometimes when we meet with potential clients for consultations they wonder how much they will benefit from a financial plan and if it is worth it. Normally I would provide some statistics or numbers, but I am unable to do so. If I took a survey of all my clients, the sample size would be too small. As I have told many clients, my goal is closer to 100-200, rather than thousands of clients. Luckily now I have access to some numbers about the benefits of planning.
There was a survey done and these are the results condensed for your reading: (original article here)
- 52% vs 30% feel very confident about managing their money, their finances, savings and their financial future
- 48% say they are living well and happy compared to 22% without a plan
- People earning 50,000 to 99,999, 57% save more than 10% of their income vs 39% without a plan
- People earning 25,000 to 49,999, 46% pay off their entire monthly credit card balance vs 26% of those without a plan.
One thing that you may find odd is that even people with a plan, not all of them heed the advice of their planner. While we may provide a method of achieving financial stability and freedom, we cannot physically force the client to do so. You would be surprised at how many perfectly rational clients come to us for advice, understand our advice, but then go home and do nothing about it. A plan is only good if it is used and updated/tracked regularly. I would say this is the reason why the disparity between people with plans and without are not larger than it currently is.