A good financial plan doesn’t require daily attention – it's designed to be low-maintenance.

Once in place, your strategy runs quietly in the background, freeing up your mind for other matters while your wealth steadily builds.

However, there are some life events that can prompt a financial recalibration.

Marriage, divorce, starting a family, a new job, and bereavement can all have a knock-on effect on your finances – for better or for worse. Keep reading to discover how and why these life events might encourage you to revise your financial plan.

1. A change in marriage status

When you get married, the responsibility for your assets and financial objectives is shared with another person.

This might mean aligning expectations around retirement age and lifestyle, homebuying ambitions, and family plans with your spouse or civil partner.

The same applies to your personal protection; instead of an individual plan, you might want to consider switching to a joint plan to cover both you and your spouse or civil partner.

Once your shared goals are mapped out, you can structure a financial plan that works towards your combined vision for the future, rather than your individual expectations. This can help you jointly build and reach your objectives more efficiently.

If you go through a divorce, the opposite happens: you’ll need to detangle yourself from your partner's finances and redefine your personal life and financial objectives.

While this time is likely to be difficult, redeveloping your own financial plan can help you regain autonomy and control. Having structure and certainty can help you navigate the early – and most complicated – stage of divorced life with confidence.

2. Starting a family

Just as marriage combines your interests with your spouse’s, when you have a child, you’ll also need to account for their financial future within your own plan.

For example, according to research from the Child Poverty Action Group, it costs on average more than £250,000 for a couple to raise a child, a figure that rises to £290,000 for a lone parent. These calculations don’t even consider costs after your child turns 18, like university fees.

Factoring these expenses into your financial plan can ensure there aren’t any surprises later. And the sooner you do so, the less strain they will have on your budgeting, spending, and savings plan.

Similarly, starting a savings account early could provide your loved ones with a valuable financial nest egg that they can use in their adult lives.

It’s also important that you take protection into account – now that you have dependants, life insurance, personal protection, and critical illness cover can provide valuable financial lifelines to your loved ones should you suffer from injury, illness, or worse.

3. Promotion

A new job or promotion can mean a larger salary or extra benefits like company shares.

While it’s understandable that you’ll want to enjoy your income boost in the short term, it’s also important to consider how it can be used to strengthen your long-term financial plan.

For example, you could increase your pension contributions or bolster your investments and other savings so that you reach your financial objectives more quickly. This could mean you’re more likely to achieve your dream retirement lifestyle or can even retire earlier than planned.

If you don’t change your financial plan in response to a salary bump, you could be at risk of lifestyle creep – a gradual, often unconscious, increase in spending. While this would allow you to enjoy more of your money in the short term, it could simultaneously harm your future financial objectives.

Having a financial plan can help you strike a balance between spending and saving your income, allowing you to get the best of both worlds.

4. Bereavement

Bereavement, particularly if sudden, can often cause immediate strain on your financial plan due to a loss of income, pension changes, and career disruptions.

You might need to claim any cash payouts from life insurance schemes a loved one had in place to help fund any funeral costs or time off from work while you emotionally recover.

Additionally, you may receive an inheritance when somebody close to you passes away. It’s important to consider how you will manage this large influx of wealth.

You may also need to rewrite your will or adjust your Lasting Power of Attorney if the deceased was your main beneficiary or attorney.

The period following a loss will always be difficult. But if you don’t factor in the effect of bereavement on your financial plan, it could add unnecessary stress while you’re grieving. Fortunately, you can rely on your financial planner to take much of the financial burden of loss from your shoulders so that you can focus on healing.

Get in touch

Whatever life throws at you, your Rossborough Financial contact can help provide structure, reassurance, and expert financial knowledge to help keep your finances healthy and stable.

You can email enquiries@rfsl.co.uk to book an appointment with your adviser today. Alternatively, call 01534 502000 in Jersey or 01481 747940 in Guernsey to set up a meeting.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

Note that life insurance and financial protection plans typically have no cash in value at any time and cover will cease at the end of the term. If premiums stop, then cover will lapse.

Cover is subject to terms and conditions and may have exclusions. Definitions of illnesses vary from product provider and will be explained within the policy documentation.

Rossborough Financial Services Limited is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 and licensed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.