How Long Would It Take to Rebuild What You’ve Built?

Building financial security doesn't happen overnight.
It happens gradually.

You buy a home and start paying down the mortgage. You build up some savings. You contribute to KiwiSaver. You invest when you can. You develop your career, build relationships and increase your earning potential.

Perhaps you start a business and spend years turning an idea into something that provides an income and employs other people.

Little by little, you make progress. And then, sometimes, circumstances change. Not necessarily in a way that means everything you've built disappears. But perhaps enough changes that you have to take a few steps backwards.

Which raises an interesting question:

How long would it take you to get back to where you are today?

Progress takes time

We often focus on the value of what we have today.

The value of our home.
The balance in our savings account.
Our investments.
Our business.
Our income.

But behind each of those numbers is something that is much harder to measure:

Time.

The time spent working.
The years of mortgage repayments.
The decisions to save rather than spend.
The years spent building a career.
The relationships developed with clients and colleagues.
The experience gained.
The business gradually built from the ground up.

Financial progress is often measured in dollars, but it is accumulated through years of effort.

What happens when progress is interrupted?

Imagine you've spent 15 years building equity in your home.

Then circumstances change and your household income is significantly reduced for an extended period.

You may need to use savings to meet everyday expenses. You may pause investments. You may reduce KiwiSaver contributions. Plans that were once comfortably affordable may need to be postponed.

You haven't necessarily lost everything.

But you may have lost momentum.

And rebuilding that momentum can take years.

The same can happen in business.

A business owner may spend 20 years developing a client base, building a reputation and creating a successful company.

If a key person becomes seriously ill or dies, the business may face disruption.

Clients may need to be reassured. Responsibilities may need to be redistributed. New people may need to be recruited and trained.

Again, the business may survive.

But recovering from the disruption can take time.

Sometimes the biggest cost is what you stop doing

When finances come under pressure, the immediate focus is usually on meeting the essentials.

The mortgage.
The groceries.
The power bill.
The business expenses.
The debt repayments.

But something else can happen quietly in the background.

You stop contributing to your long-term goals.
Perhaps investments are paused.
Maybe KiwiSaver contributions are reduced.
A planned renovation gets pushed back.
A business expansion doesn't happen.
A career opportunity is turned down because the financial risk is too great.
A family holiday is postponed.

None of these decisions necessarily feels significant on its own.

But over several years, the difference can become substantial.

Rebuilding isn't always as simple as starting again

If you lose $50,000 from your savings, you might think:

I'll just save it again.

But how long would that actually take?

If you could save $500 a month, it would take more than eight years to replace $50,000, ignoring interest and investment returns.

And during those eight years, life continues.

You may have other expenses. Children may grow up. Your mortgage may still need to be paid. Retirement gets closer.

The same applies to lost career progression, business growth or investment opportunities.

You don't simply lose the thing itself.

You can also lose the time you would otherwise have spent building the next thing.

Protection can help preserve progress

Financial protection isn't necessarily about making sure nothing changes.

Life doesn't work that way.

It's about considering whether you have resources available to help absorb a significant financial disruption.

Savings can provide a buffer.

Other sources of income may help.

Existing assets may provide options.

And insurance can be another part of that financial resilience, depending on your circumstances and the type of risk being considered.

Income Protection may help provide an ongoing income if you're unable to work because of illness or injury, subject to the policy terms and conditions.

Trauma Cover may provide a lump sum following certain specified medical conditions, again subject to the policy definition and terms.

Life Insurance can provide a lump sum to beneficiaries following death, while business protection arrangements can address particular risks involving key people, shareholders or business debt.

Each serves a different purpose.

The important question isn't simply “Do I have insurance?”

It's:

“If something significantly disrupted my progress, what resources would I have to help me keep moving forward?”

What have you spent years building?

Take a moment to think about your own situation.

How long have you been paying your mortgage?
How long have you been building your savings?
How many years have you spent developing your career?
How long have you been contributing to KiwiSaver?
How many years has it taken to establish your business?
How long have you spent building relationships with clients, suppliers and professional contacts?
And how much of your future depends on continuing that progress?

You may be surprised by just how much you've built.

The value of being able to keep going

Financial resilience isn't about having enough money to deal with every possible event.

That's unrealistic.

It's about having options.
Options to take time away from work.
Options to focus on recovery.
Options to make sensible decisions rather than immediate ones.
Options for a business to adjust.
Options for a family to maintain some stability.
And perhaps most importantly, options to keep working towards the future you've spent years building.

Because when something unexpected happens, the question isn't always:

“Will I lose everything?”

Sometimes the more useful question is:

“How much progress could I lose - and how long would it take to rebuild it?”

You've already invested years creating your financial security, your career, your business and your family's future.

Protecting what you've built can also mean protecting the time and effort you've already invested in getting there.

If your circumstances have changed or you've built significant financial, personal or business commitments over the years, it may be worth reviewing how financially resilient you would be if those circumstances were disrupted. At New Vision Financial Services, we can help you understand the different protection options available and how they may fit into your wider financial plans.

Amy Callon
Financial Adviser
New Vision Financial Services

Plan your future and let us help you have peace of mind along the way.