Growing up, I enjoyed the alternative rock band Bush and their lead singer Gavin Rosdale. In the iconic rock anthem Machinehead there is a lyric that is so raw and he sounds in deep regret where he claims, “If I had it all again, I’d change it all.”
I can only assume, and it’s fairly obvious the artist was singing about retirement plan contributions.
When I graduated college and began my career working in a bank, everyone gave me the same advice.
It was some form of max out your 401k, save at least 10% in your 401k, max out your Roth IRA, etc…
If life was lived inside of a financial planning software program this would have been the optimal advice for me and most everyone else.
However, 22-year-old Nic’s vision of the future was greatly different than what transpired over the next 20+ years.
A few quick highlights:
- Moving from Indiana > Kentucky > North Carolina > South Carolina
- Three international adoptions
- Leaving the bank to start my own business
- Move a handful of more times in South Carolina
[1. Lots of moves, 2. Life is full of curveballs you’re not going to see coming]
My friend and fellow financial advisor told me years ago that the most dangerous quadrant of knowledge is, “When you don’t know what you don’t know.”
Myself and MANY others fell victim to this quadrant as it relates to qualified investing.
I seemingly did everything right on paper, and I also burned through my six-months of emergency funds like it was “paper on fire.”
- I then took a max 401k loan of $50,000.
- Followed by pulling all of my Roth IRA contributions.
- Finally, we liquidated all the equity from our home.
Because as it turns out, and what 22 y/o Nic failed to realize, it that life unfolds and as it does, you realize moving is expensive, buying homes is expensive, adopting children and raising children is expensive, starting a business is expensive.
All of these things made our beautiful family into what it is today and Jessi and I are the most grateful for all of it, but it doesn’t ignore the fact that while I thought I was planning properly based on the back of the napkin financial advice I received 20+ years ago, I had no idea.
My net worth looked (age appropriate) great on paper, but I tied myself up, I had almost zero liquidity.
Moral of the story. Use my experience as a lesson and seek a plan and financial advisory team today that values liquidity and maneuverability.
If financial independence sounds attractive at some point in your life, if you might want to explore your entrepreneurial side, if you seek to relocate and move, let’s make sure we tailor your retirement and investment plan accordingly so that it might allow for that if and when the time comes.
You just never know when you will have the chance to start a business, buyout a partner, complete an adoption, or buy a dream house.
The funny thing is that this does not come at the expense of abandoning retirement contributions. It simply means that we fund your buckets and structure your plan so that you’ve got options should you ever want them.
If you or someone you love could use the help of a financial advisory team to help them structure a financial plan built for them, please get in touch with me. We’re currently taking on great new clients and would love to talk.
Also, if you’re already engaged and working with a financial advisor and you’re just not sure if it’s the right fit, please also get in touch with us. Making a change from one advisor to another is extremely easy, we help new clients do it all the time.
The most important thing for you and your family is that you’re hard earned money is being looked after by an person and team that you trust.
–Nic
