ALTRINCHAM-based accredited financial planning firm Smart Financial has confirmed it is giving its full support to the national Financial Planning Week (FPW) campaign which launches on Sunday, November 24.

Organised by the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP), and now in its sixth year, the initiative is designed to raise awareness amongst the general public of the importance of financial planning; encouraging people to think more about their financial future and take action to improve their financial “fitness” to help them achieve the life they want.

Steve Martin, managing director at Smart Financial said “There are still far too many people who don’t recognise the importance of properly preparing their future finances and are therefore not taking the appropriate steps to enable themselves to satisfy their lifestyle goals and aspirations, both now and in the future.

“The economic uncertainty of recent years has, probably understandably, encouraged a trend towards people concentrating on the present rather than planning ahead, however in the tough times it is more important than ever to take control of your finances, to give peace of mind and reduce the worry.”

Financial Planning Week is a ‘no jargon, no gimmicks’ campaign providing practical tips, tools and useful information and guidance to help people improve their finances and really ‘make a difference’ to their lives.

Martin continued: “Financial Planning Week is a great initiative which, as an Accredited Financial Planning FirmTM, we are delighted to support. This is an opportunity for the financial planning community to work together, to share the expertise and knowledge that it has in order to help people across the UK to become more “financially fit” and, at the same time, put Financial Planning on the map.

“We are driving a range of our own initiatives including ‘Top Ten Tips’ guides, a blog series around ‘all you need to know about making your plan’, free financial planning ‘surgeries’ and a host of handy tips and information which will be circulated through our social media channels, especially @smartfinancial.

“I’m also going to be taking part in a live Twitter interview organised by the IFP at 1pm on 29th November (#FPWUK) answering whatever questions are put forward.”

Steve Gazzard, Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Planning comments: “We applaud the great work that leading firms like Smart Financial are doing in support of this worthy campaign. I really hope that people will seize the excellent opportunities that this campaign provides to help them take positive action to improve their financial ‘fitness’ - and make a real difference to their lives as a result.”