The joy of giving

As the year draws to a close and with Christmas nearly upon us, I’ve been thinking about what Christmas really means. Of course, Christmas is great for lots of reasons; spending time with family, the delicious food, and enjoying some well-earned time off.

But there is one thing that edges it for me, and that’s the joy of giving.

We humans are social creatures, and we’re hardwired to enjoy sharing. We feel this every time we experience that deep, warm happiness in our hearts on seeing someone’s eyes light up when they open a gift we’ve given them.

And this got me thinking about the different ways you can use your savings to provide your loved ones with gifts at important times in their lives.

Examples from my clients

Lots of my clients have been withdrawing money lately, providing perfect examples of the very reason we save money in the first place. 

One client withdrew to help her daughter complete the purchase of a flat, which had jumped up in price thanks to the recent mortgage rate rises that followed the mini budget.

One client had not one but two children getting married in the same year, and we all know weddings aren’t cheap.

Another client had split with their partner and needed to buy her own place.

For me, these stories highlight two important lessons.

Why we save

The first is something that I mention to my clients all the time: that this is exactly why we have a financial plan in the first place. These clients were able to access money when they needed it, and while they are of course fortunate to be in such a position, it was no accident.

By having a financial plan in place, they actively worked towards being financially secure enough to comfortably afford to give when the need arose.

Flexibility

The second lesson is about the importance of building flexibility into your financial plan. As the above examples demonstrate, life can and will throw up unexpected circumstances when you least expect them, meaning it’s crucial that your financial plan is able to deal with these while remaining on track.

While you can roughly plan for some things, such as helping your kids get married (although you may not expect two weddings in one year!) flexibility is especially important for dealing with things you cannot account for, such as the turbulence following the mini budget.

Agency and control

I recently wrote about people’s different attitudes towards money. There are savers versus spenders, workers versus retirees, and homebirds versus travellers. Each take opposing views of what money is for, but the crucial lesson here is that money is for something.

Money is a tool to help us achieve things, do what we want, and help our loved ones. The security that comes with accumulating savings only provides true, tangible value to your life if you spend it.

If you don’t, you’ll end up just like Scrooge, sitting by the fire gazing at his pile of shiny gold coins, but what is he truly gaining from that?

Surely it’s far better to be like Santa than Scrooge?

Sharing agency and control

Saving money is so important because it provides you with agency and control over your life. But it can also be used to provide loved ones with that same agency and control by gifting it to them in different ways.

We have already seen how some of my clients have helped loved ones out at crucial times, providing them with the freedom to own their own place or enjoy their special day.

But there are other ways to gift, too.

For example, as part of your estate planning, you can choose to gift money to loved ones, rather than let it become part of your estate when you pass on, which would see it become subject to inheritance tax.

You can also arrange routine gifts at birthdays and Christmas. The advantage of setting up routine gifts is that these can be continued under Power of Attorney, but only if you can demonstrate you gifted regularly before the person took on the authority of acting for you. This handy document can help you keep track of such things.

Wills

Wills are of course the ultimate gift as they ensure your estate is distributed according to your wishes, meaning you can be content in the knowledge that the agency and freedom that your acquired wealth enables will be passed on to your loved ones.

As a qualified will writer, I can help you draft or update your will to make sure everything is in proper order.

The joy of giving

Remember that deep, warm joy I spoke about when watching people open your Christmas presents? Well, imagine that but on a whole new level. That is the power that your hard-earned savings possess, but only if you remember that money is there to be spent.

I’m not talking about abandoning your savings plan and giving the whole lot away. Rather, I’m here to help you figure out how you can keep working towards your savings goals while also using them to help the ones you care about most.

So, this Christmas time, why not give a little thought to how your money can spread the joy of giving? While you’re eating delicious food, and enjoying some well-earned time off of course!

Happy Christmas!