The Power of What If: Your Current Wealth Beliefs Could Be Quietly Costing You the Retirement You Actually Want

It is very easy to become “blinkered” by the current status quo.  Getting stuck into thinking that the “current plan” is the “only plan”. However, I recently had some very profound strategy sessions with a number of clients where we challenged the status quo. 

We asked, “what if….”

One of these conversations went like this…

We are 55.  We both work full time.  In 3 years, our kids will be finished high school. 

We have a number of investment properties, with a reasonable amount of debt, and we have always believed we should, “never sell a property”…..  However, currently, the property portfolio is cash flow negative (including capital repayments) and it seems like it will take us forever to repay enough debt that we can live off the income.  

We are asset rich and cash flow poor, and it feels like a grind, and retirement seems a long way off…

So, I looked at their financial situation, I wrote back simply saying:

“What if, you had a debt free house and $15,000 per month after tax cash flow without having to work.  What would you do….”

Without getting caught up in the “how”, I challenged them to think about what they would “do”.

This sparked many great conversations between them.  Would they retire now, rent out their home, rent a small farm with a horse and buy their oldest child a car so he could drive both kids to school each day?  Would they work full time until the kids finish school and then retire completely and travel more.  Would they work part time now, travel more now and retire fully at some point in the future…

It was important not to get caught up in the “how”, as their entrenched belief in not selling properties would have detracted from their thinking about what was possible.

Once they had agreed on their desired outcome, an outcome they were both passionate about pursuing, then we could discuss their what their belief about never selling property was actually costing them…. which was their dream life now.

By the way, their dream life was entirely possible, by challenging their thinking about selling “some” properties to repay debt, by diversifying their investments to produce higher income and by using strategies which reduced tax, they could now work part time, have more holidays now and have the peace of mind that they could “retire” any time they wanted.

This is the power of asking “what if….”. 

What is your current thinking, your current biases, your current strategy, actually costing you…

For more guidance on retirement planning services for high-net-worth individuals in Australia, book a chat with our team.

---

Absolute Wealth Advisers are private wealth managers based in Sydney, serving high net worth individuals and families across Australia. Through our Private Wealth Pathway, we deliver personalised retirement planning and wealth management strategies. Helping high-net-wealth families optimise, grow, protect, and share wealth with purpose, so you can live well today and leave a lasting legacy tomorrow.

The information contained in this article has been provided as general advice only. The contents have been prepared without taking account of your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should seek advice before making any decision regarding any information, strategies or products mentioned, to consider whether that is appropriate to your own objectives, financial situation and needs.