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As we approached the end of the tax year last week, you probably saw us banging on about “end of tax year, do this, do that, use your allowance….” But did everyone pay attention – probably not. That’s because people don’t care about how to do something, it’s all about why they do it. Why does anyone do anything? It’s because it makes them happy! Happiness and success is the key to everything we do.

In financial planning, I enjoy the process. I enjoy talking to clients, I enjoy going through the planning stages, I enjoy being able to offer them help and advice on how to achieve their goals. I’m one of the ones who actually enjoys going through the investment process and all the nitty gritty details – that’s why I do what I do. But that’s not why a client does it.

A client comes to us for a reason. It isn’t to use their ISA allowance, or to make a better return than their bank account, or to open a pension. They come because they have a more important goal. They want to get to a point where they can look back with a sense of achievement, being able to do what they want to do and not what they must do. It’s their happiness which is what we are all aiming for – and only if they are happy, has it been a success.

Some people want to retire at 55, some people want to build their house, some want to prepare for their kids and others just want to know they have savings to fall back on when they decide exactly what it is that they want to do. They don’t really care about the details of what we’re doing, they just want to know the end result. Some like to see their investment make money, some like saving tax, but everyone likes to see they are on track to achieve their goals, and even happier when they finally achieve them.

Am I saying anything new here? No. Do we all know this? Yes.

Think of advertising: We buy Haribo because “Kids and Grown Ups Love them So…” or a McDonalds because “I’m Lovin’ It” or L’Oreal products because “You’re worth it.” They appeal to our happiness and to our success.

Think about buying a car: Did you go and buy the first car you saw that would get you from A to B? Of course not because then we would all own a Dacia. You bought your car because you liked the way it looked. You like the way it feels to drive. You like the space it affords you. All new cars will get you there and yet we still go and spend money on an expensive Audi or BMW and the really rich people go and buy their Porsche or Ferrari.

We buy things because we are happy to own them, and they make us feel like we’re a success. We maybe didn’t enjoy the process of looking for it and doing the deal, but the end result is what drove us on.

Financial planning and investing is similar. It’s perceived as a hassle to get set up. Your cash ISA you set up three years ago is only paying 0.25% but your current account may pay 3%. They take a monthly fee for the privilege, but it’s worth paying that because it’s less hassle. But is it?

We make our process as interactive and hopefully as enjoyable as possible, but at the end of the day, we all just want to know we are making money and on track to what we define as our success.

We have already started with our existing clients, and they are on their way to achieving their goals, to being a success. They took some time at the beginning and now they know what they have to do going forward. Most have automated it so there isn’t any hassle, and when the time comes, hopefully they will be surprised (in a good way) at just how much they got for 20 minutes of set up. If something new comes up, they let us know. That’s what our clients want, and that’s what we try to give them. A no hassle, straightforward approach which helps them achieve their goals and be a success in their own eyes.

And if we can do that for our clients, then we at Destination are a success and we can all be happy and successful together.