How Excited Are You About Life?

I’m feeling rather excited today – how about you? How’s life with you? Actually, this blog is about “life” and what you can do to really make the most of it. My name is Emma Crossick and I discovered that Alan is doing some super work in helping people to have more “exciting”, fulfilling lives. Here’s what he had to say to me.

Recently, Alan uploaded this video on life planning…it’s worth viewing because it’s all about enhancing life and making the most of it https://interfacefinancialplanning.co.uk/financial-planning-videos/life-planning-video/ (he’d love to hear your feedback). After all, depending on your belief – you get one shot at life, so we should all make it a good one!

The video is about how to plan your life and not only financially. While Alan might be a financial advisor, his real passion is in helping people get the most out of life – even without making financial investments. So much so, that for those of you that don’t know, Alan trained to be a Life Planner at the Kinder Institute (kinderinstitute.com). The training focused on enabling people to gain the freedom to make life-long dreams happen and get the most out of life. There’s lots more and if you want to hear about it; let him know.

Bucket Lists

If you watch the video you’ll see that Alan talks about Bucket Lists – you know, the list of things you’d like to do to fulfil life, whether it’s educational, personal, in business or to help others. It could be travelling to far off places and exploring different cultures – most people think of those types of things when considering a bucket list. You might want to go back to studying to be a lawyer or learn how to paint inspiring views. The point is, your bucket list is entirely personal and you can put whatever you want on yours. Contrary to what you might think, your bucket list doesn’t have to have financial implications. If you have financial freedom to travel the world and want to do it, Alan says that he would encourage you to do it, to never have regrets. Of course, for many, there are financial restrictions. That trip to Oz won’t be free but there’s plenty of things you can really enjoy that are free or don’t cost the earth.

With Alan’s help, I’m going to spark your imagination and give you suggestions. By all means, ignore them if they’re not your thing but maybe they’ll be the seeds of an idea and if you don’t have a bucket list and do just one thing this week, Alan says please start one! Bucket lists change and evolve over time and when you tick off one of your goals, it’s a real accomplishment (take it from him).

One more thing Alan wants me to say on bucket lists, they’re for everyone, regardless of age. Here’s a story he told me:

“I once had a long-standing client couple come to see me for financial advice. The wife was 85 years young. I asked them both what they’d always wanted to do. She told me and her husband that she’d always dreamt of going to Venice – his answer? You never told me! So off they went to Venice and they even sent me a postcard!”

The point is there is no limit on age for wanting to do things and doing them.

Bucket List Ideas that Don’t Cost the Earth

One of the things that Alan mentions doing in his video is a nice thing a day for a stranger over 21 days. It could be anything from holding open a door or offering to help someone carry their shopping to the car, or baking a cake for a neighbour you don’t really know. The action is pure kindness but what this exercise also does is become habit. So once those 21 day are up and you’ve completed 21 acts of kindness, he told me that he’d bet you some money (he’s a financial guy after all) that you’ll keep on doing nice things for strangers without even realising you’re doing them!

How about some charity work? Yes –we’re all busy people but actually it is so rewarding and just volunteering an hour a week to visit a care home or homeless shelter (difficult in times of Covid-19 I know), or to offer your services delivering meals on wheels is so worthwhile. It might cost you a little petrol but what’s that compared to the reward you’ll feel? If you have some spare cash (it doesn’t take much) why not sponsor a child in a war-torn country or somewhere where schooling is out of reach (actionaid.co.uk)?

Alan talked about helping others (nice to have on your bucket list) but what about doing things for yourself? Here are a couple of ideas (and they might not be for you but Alan’s sure there are lots of things you’ve thought about trying but dismissed for one reason or another). Now is the time to stop dismissing ideas – get that tattoo, even if you’re 80!

There are certain aspects of nature that are so awe-inspiring, both Alan and I believe it’s criminal not to experience them. One is waterfalls. Neither of us expects you to invest your hard-earned cash on a plane ticket to Niagara but you could visit the waterfalls in the Lake District. The higher you get, the more spectacular the view. The water tumbles down the rocks with such force and the surrounding areas are breathtaking. Make seeing a waterfall something you must do. For more information on waterfalls in the Lakes, this is a great resource www.visitcumbria.com

Another interesting idea to add to your bucket list is your life story. You’ve doubtless led an interesting life. You have life experience too and probably some funny anecdotes that you’d like your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren (and the generations to come) to hear. Capture it all, write a couple of pages a day or record your voice. If you do decide to write your story, there are so many online businesses that will print it and bind it into a coffee table book. Of course, it doesn’t have to be an autobiography, for example, if you are a keen cook, you’ve likely got hundreds of recipes, why not put them together in your very own recipe book?

Be an actor, an actress or a singer! This doesn’t mean that you go on the X-Factor (although why not?). If you’ve got a talent, there’s no reason why at whatever age you are you can’t enjoy some of the limelight! If you’ve always wanted to record a song, there are recording studios all around the country that aren’t costly and you’ll always have your recording. Fancy your chances as an actor? Sign up as an extra and spend a day on-set, it’s definitely something different and gives you a peek into life as a star!

Finally…

The point of a bucket list is to enhance your life, to give you little adventures that you can tick off as another life goal. They’re about memorable experiences and they certainly don’t have to involve travelling to the other side of the world! By doing things that make you smile and feel fulfilled inside, you’ll know that you’re living your best life!

For more on life planning (financially and generally) why not give Alan a call? He’d love a chat!