One of your proudest achievements in life might be that you have accumulated enough wealth to support your loved ones and enjoy your desired lifestyle.

This said, “wealth” isn’t just about how much money you have in the bank. While working hard to earn the financial wealth you are proud of, you are likely to have sacrificed other aspects of your life along the way, such as time with your family, a healthy sleep schedule, or hobbies you simply can’t find the time to enjoy.

If so, you might be what we call “time poor” – and for most business owners, this way of living eventually becomes the norm.

If you’re working towards your retirement and find yourself time poor, maintaining efficiency where your personal finances are concerned is crucial. Although managing your wealth requires time and effort, this doesn’t mean you should be resigned to having disorganised finances that don’t work hard enough for you.

Keep reading to discover how time poor business owners like you can form an efficient financial plan that doesn’t cause a headache.

1. Curate a simple investment strategy and stick to it

Constantly rehashing your investment strategy and keeping up with daily market movements is time-consuming, and over the years, might exhaust you. Luckily, there is no need to do either of these things in order to become a successful investor.

As you might have read in our recent guide, successful investors don’t usually spend every minute of the day using trading apps and reading the financial news. Instead, they form an investment strategy, set a time frame, and stick with their investing principles over the course of many years.

Indeed, as a time poor business owner, taking a more passive approach to your investments might actually help you see greater success. Rather than trying to micro-manage your portfolio, sticking to a long-term plan takes unnecessary financial tasks off your plate, leaving more time for you to enjoy life and pursue your goals.

After all, markets are likely to move up and down over the short term due to events outside of your control, so staying the course may mean your wealth benefits from a long-term upward market trajectory and produces reliable returns.

Read more: 3 timeless quotes from investors that could help build your investment philosophy

2. Learn to balance cost and convenience, and avoid lifestyle creep in the process

The balance between cost and convenience is a difficult one to strike for business owners who often work plenty of overtime and don’t have a “normal” routine.

Simply put, if you have little time for regular day-to-day tasks, you might spend more to make up for being time poor.

Some examples of cost versus convenience include:

• Hiring a cleaner or housekeeper to take care of your home
• Employing a child minder
• Ordering takeaway food or eating at restaurants rather than cooking from scratch
• Taking taxis instead of public transport
• Paying for next-day delivery on items you order online.

A number of these might have become staples in your routine since you founded your business and began working long hours.

Even so, it’s worth reviewing your spending on “convenience” every year or even more frequently, ensuring this isn’t rising in line with your income – a phenomenon known as “lifestyle creep”. This can cause your saving and investment progress to stagnate, as your spending on “essentials” creeps up in line with your income.

Some business owners inadvertently succumb to lifestyle creep simply because they aren’t paying close attention to how these costs stack up – don’t be one of them. Building the necessary staples into your financial plan and doing away with some of the surplus expenditure could help to ensure you remain on track to meet your goals, while maintaining a routine that works for you.

So, if you’re worried about unnecessary funds slipping away almost unnoticed, try spending just 15 minutes each month reviewing your spending and making small but meaningful changes to your budget.

3. Give your wealth a home and a purpose

If you earn a significant amount but have little time to think strategically about where to position your wealth over the long term, try following this simple principle: your wealth should have a home and a purpose.

For instance, you may be investing within a pension in order to afford a comfortable retirement. This is a great example of wealth that has a home (the pension) and a purpose (your retirement).

Outside of your pension, though, you could be saving and investing just because you know you “should” – this is wealth with a home, but no purpose, giving you little motivation to remain disciplined.

It’s relatively easy to ensure your wealth has both a home and a purpose, and it could be a huge help in streamlining your personal finances.

For example:

• You may set up an investment portfolio to supplement your retirement wealth
• You could designate your properties and business assets as an inheritance for the next generation
• Consider building a high-interest cash fund reserved for emergencies, such as home repairs
• Perhaps open another high-interest cash account containing “fun funds” for holidays and luxury spending.

While these might take a little time to set up, following the “home and purpose” principle might save you hours of indecision in the long run.

When you receive your income, you can simply divide the funds among the “homes” you have created, knowing they’re being put towards a specific purpose rather than being frittered away or sitting stagnant.

4. Form a relationship with a financial planner

Having little time to manage your wealth, even with efficiency tips like those mentioned above, may mean you’d benefit from professional financial planning.

Our planners work exclusively with business owners like you, curating a personal plan that takes your goals, time frame, risk tolerance, and ultimate desire for complete financial freedom into account.

To get started on your wealth management journey today and begin focusing on your all-important personal goals, get in touch.

Email us at clients@iqf.ie, or call 353 71 915 5560.

Please note

This article is for information only. It does not constitute advice.

It describes financial planning services that iQ Financial can offer to you. Financial planning services are not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.