Why Starting a Financial Plan in 2026 Matters

While a financial plan in 2026 can differ from one person to another in terms of goals and steps required to achieve them, the majority of financial plans are designed to help improve both their current financial situations and their financial future. In this article, we are going to look at some of the steps that you can start today to help begin your financial planning timeline.

1. One of the first steps you should take when starting your financial planning is to identify both your short-term and long-term financial goals you currently have. This could include clearing any credit card debt, car loans, or any mispayments you may have, as the interest on these can be quite higher than other loans, such as a mortgage and can restrict your ability to save. Long-term goals could include paying off your mortgage or reaching a certain amount in your pension fund.

While your financial goals may change depending on unexpected life scenarios, by clearly identifying your current goals, you can feel at ease due to a clear timeline that now provides clarity and perspective for your financial plans.

2. Another key step is to identify all forms of expenditure that you incur over the course of a month, and then identify which are unnecessary. By doing so, you can identify which payments you make over the course of a month that can then be either reduced or removed entirely. This will allow you to allocate additional funds towards your financial goals, such as reducing the time needed to clear certain loans or additional contributions to your pension pot.

3. The next step we would recommend is to meet with an independent Certified Financial Planner. By doing so, not only are you receiving clear and non-biased information, but you are also receiving the most up-to-date advice regarding financial, retirement and investment planning. This will allow you to identify a clear path to achieving your goals in the most tax-efficient way possible. By meeting with an independent Certified Financial Planner, they will also be able to analyse where you are right now in your financial plans and provide further insight into what is needed to help achieve these goals through using cashflow modelling, which is a software that runs your financial future out to the end of life

4. Having a safety net in the form of a ‘rainy day fund’ is also crucial for your financial future. Just as you will learn when you start your financial plan, nothing will go according to plan, while you never hope for the worst to arrive, preparing for this situation will help ease the pain if it does. Depending on how much you are willing to allocate, having 3-4 months of savings set aside for a rainy-day fund helps ease the stress of worrying about your financials if the time comes when you are unable to work for a period of time.

5. While many will include maximising pension contributions in their financial plans, we believe it’s vital to mention this, as some may feel this is something that they can ignore/focus on later on in their working career and put more effort into clearing their mortgage. While it makes sense to pay off your mortgage first, if you were to look at it from a financial standpoint, between the compound interest and additional tax-free contributions available, you can generate a greater pension fund than the overall amount of interest that you will have pay to clear your mortgage.

6. Another key step that can appear in your financial planning is focusing on either an occupational pension scheme or sticking with the new My Future Fund Scheme. This will largely depend on your current financial situation. If you are earning less than €40,000, or your current employer’s occupational pension scheme is not of better benefit than the My Future Fund scheme, it might make more sense for you to remain on the government’s new pension scheme. However, for the vast majority of cases, it’s of better value for you to pursue a pension scheme for your occupation, as having the option to contribute additional funds towards your pension fund can allow for greater flexibility than the My Future Fund.

7. One of the last steps we would recommend is to review the process regularly, to ensure that your plans are on track and that you are following them accordingly, with further options down the road that’ll allow you to deviate from the plan if certain obstacles are met.

If you are looking for expert, knowledgeable industry advice from Certified Financial Planners™ about what these changes mean for you, talk to our team for tailored advice and planning today.

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