Every year at mid-year, I see the same pattern. In January the resolution was there: finally sort out the retirement planning, finally start the savings plan, finally take a look at what the old contracts are actually doing. Then the year rolled in with quarterly closings, vacation, kids and day-to-day business. And the topic of money stayed exactly where it was in January.
The short answer. It's almost never about willingness. It's that nobody has a clear first step in front of them. That's exactly what the financial check is for. Three questions, in the right order, and at the end you have the one step that makes the biggest difference for you.
I'm Eduard Strekert, financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG), tied agent, based in Lüdenscheid, and I support families, self-employed professionals and business owners in the Märkischer Kreis region. I run this check with my clients at mid-year. You can put it to yourself right now.
Why does the topic of money so often get left undone?
Most people think they lack discipline. That's rarely true. What's really missing is a clear next step. As long as a topic sits in front of you, big and unsorted, you put it off. Not out of laziness, but because with a large, unclear task your mind prefers to switch to whatever can be done today.
The solution isn't more pressure. The solution is more clarity. Anyone with a single, concrete step in front of them almost always gets started. That's exactly what the financial check does. It turns a vague mountain into a list of three points.
The three questions for your financial check
Take twenty minutes, a calm moment, and answer these three questions honestly. In this order.
- What do you really want to achieve? Not return, because return is only a means. The goal is what it's there for. A paid-off home. Being able to decide at 60 whether you still work. Giving your kids a start. Without a clear goal, you optimize into the void.
- What must not go wrong under any circumstances? This is the question almost everyone skips. They talk about opportunities and forget the foundation. What happens to your plan if your income stops for six months? If that isn't secured, everything else is built on sand.
- What time horizon applies? Money you'll need in two years doesn't belong where money that gets to work for twenty years belongs. Many investing mistakes are really mistakes about the time horizon.
Once you've answered these three questions, the next step falls into place almost on its own. Usually it's the point where you hesitated longest while answering.
A model case from the Märkischer Kreis region
Take Anna, 38, self-employed, from the Märkischer Kreis region. In January she finally wanted to save regularly for old age. By mid-year nothing had happened yet, because the whole thing felt too big.
In the financial check, it becomes small. Her goal is clear: an additional pension, so that at 67 she doesn't have to count every euro. Looking at the foundation, she notices that her ability to work isn't yet protected. That becomes her first step, before any savings plan. Only after that comes building up through a flexible fund savings plan she can scale down in quiet months.
How much comes together in the end depends on the term, costs and performance, and can't be promised across the board. The decisive lever isn't the perfect product anyway, but the early, orderly start. Over the years, time and compound interest work for whoever gets going.
A financial check doesn't replace advice or hard numbers. It only sorts what comes first. That's exactly its value. Whoever starts with the product holds the magnifying glass over the least important thing. Whoever starts with goal, protection and time then makes the product decision calmly, and usually much better.
From the step to putting it into practice
The financial check shows you the direction. Putting it into practice is then often simpler than the big mountain in your head suggests. If you're self-employed, the next thing worth a look is often retirement planning without an employer. If you don't yet know how much you'll be short later, you can get a rough sense from the pension gap overview. And if detailed questions come up along the way, you'll find many answers already in the frequently asked questions.
There's no need to rush anything. But the second half of the year starts now, and a single orderly step is worth more than ten good resolutions.
Frequently asked questions about the financial check
How often should I do a financial check?
Once a year is usually enough. Mid-year is a good moment, because you can see what's left of your January resolutions and still have half a year to change course. More important than the exact date is that you take twenty minutes and a calm moment for it.
What belongs in a financial check?
Three questions in a fixed order: what do you really want to achieve, what must not go wrong under any circumstances, and what time horizon applies to your money? Anyone who answers these three points honestly turns a vague mountain into a sorted list. The next step then follows almost on its own.
Do I need an advisor for the financial check?
No, you can ask yourself the three questions; twenty minutes and a calm moment are enough. An initial consultation helps if you want to make sense of your answers and pin down the one step that moves the most for you. It's about the structure first, not products.
Your next step in Lüdenscheid
You don't have to do the financial check alone. In an initial consultation, we go through your three questions together and pin down the one step that moves the most for you. No commitment, no sales pitch, structure first.
I'm Eduard Strekert, financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG), tied agent, based in Lüdenscheid, and I help people in the Märkischer Kreis region put their finances in order with structure, at their own pace. Next step: book a free initial consultation, and we'll sort out your next step together.
Related reading:
- Retirement planning for the self-employed: how to build it without an employer
- How big is your pension gap?
- Frequently asked questions about financial advice
Eduard Strekert is a financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG), tied agent. This article is general information and does not replace personal advice. It does not constitute investment or tax advice.