The One Thing Most People Wait Too Long to Do Financially

I wish…

Remember the Skeel-Lo song from the 90’s? (1995 to be exact)

A fun song that had many basketball references in a time when I thought I might just be the next Larry Bird.

Okay, you know me well enough, back to financial planning.

Here’s a list of things I wished people knew sooner about financial planning:

1. Financial planning is not intended to limit you.  It’s simply about aligning your money with your values.  This means we save & invest first and have the freedom to exhibit guilt free spending second. Get paid and fund the plan—then do whatever you want with the rest.

• Highest returns (%) are not the most important.  We all want the best investment outcomes; however the real value is not solely in investment management, but ensuring everything works together.

We invest the proper amount of money in the proper accounts in the proper vehicles that give us the greatest historical probability of fully funding our most cherished goals (fulfilling our plan).

• Understand the critical nature of ‘the foundation’ – life insurance, disability insurance, and our important estate planning documents.  Everyone is one split-second decision or diagnosis from it being too late to have these things in place.  Waiting on these is non negotiable.

• Design a plan to cover the cost of future health care.  Not everyone needs a long-term care policy, but everyone needs a plan to cover this cost.

• Unfortunately, most people will wait until they have a major “life event” or pain point to pursue a relationship with a financial planner; Retirement, inheritance, selling a business, a big tax bill, a substantial investment loss, etc.  It’s a fact that you will have more financial options today than you will when you’re going through it.

If we’re not currently working together and you don’t have a plan in place, now is the time, please reach out.

We’re here when you’re ready,

A quick note:

*If you have friends or family that might find this helpful, please forward this their way.

**If we’re not yet working together and you’re already working with an advisor but have considered making a change, please know that we help people do this all the time. It’s a simple transfer process that can be done without you having to be involved at all (if you like).

—Nic