About

Futureproof My Life was created to encourage people to be proactive about planning for their later life. With busy lives it is easy to get overwhelmed and put off key decisions, difficult conversations and the practical steps needed to ensure you have the most fulfilled future and ensure your loved ones are looked after should anything happen to you.

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What inspired Future proof my life?

Whilst working on a start up travel business doing long hours I was also looking after my mum who was undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. I had visited her to help during the first cycle and trying to help my mum manage the considerable side effects of the chemo and generally help her with everyday life.  The week was challenging, doctors called multiple times and the realisation that this was just the beginning of a very long journey was upon us. As I was making the calls my mum couldn’t make, sorting out her medication that she was confused by and doing the basics of booking her grocery shops I wondered about my own future. I am acutely aware that my decision to not have children could impact me more in later life.

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The more I contemplated this I realised this was not just a problem for those without children, there were plenty of people who lived far away from their children, who had lost touch or who didn’t want to impose on them. So I started to think how can we be more prepared for these situations, the more I researched the more I realised that you can not wait until you are ill or are retired.

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The people who were organised and had a plan in place were those that had seen the negative effects of not planning; often people who had lost loved ones at a young age or had become carers for family. I want to help and encourage everyone to make their plans and think about the future to make it the best it can be.

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Why is this important now?

As a nation we are living longer this has meant that;

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• You want to maintain your physical and mental health with less illness and more independence
  (currently lifespan is increasing much faster than health span)
  
• You need more money to sustain our lifestyle
  (pension ages are increasing, cost of living is increasing above state pension, final salary pensions less common or generous)
  
• The pension gap is increasing the retirement age therefore greater importance on your work being meaningful. enjoyable and suitable for later life.
  
• Even if you do not need to work there are added years to fill; how do we fill these with meaning
• Living a meaningful and/or purpose driven life correlates to having a longer life and health span.
• Our pensions are being eroded by the highest inflation this century.

Conversely there are always exceptions to the rule, and that means not all will live a long and healthy life.

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• If you have dependents and assets you need to ensure you have thought about securing your loved ones futures without you.
• Covid showed the unpredictability of our mortality.
• With more midlife and death planning services being digital it is quicker and easier than ever before to be prepared and have peace of mind.

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