Many people who have just begun working with us are surprised by how our planning process starts. We don’t begin by talking about your current pension plan, or how much you’re saving. Instead, we begin by talking about you, not your money.
Putting your life before your financial plan
As Life-Centered Planners, our process begins with understanding your life plan. We start by asking you about your family, your work, your home, your goals, and the things that you value the most.
Our job is to build a financial plan that will help you make your life plan a reality.
Of course, building wealth that will provide for your family and keep you comfortable today and in retirement is a part of that plan. So is monitoring your investments and assets and doing what we can to maximize your return on investment.
But we believe maximizing your Return on Life is just as important, if not more so. People who view money as an end in itself never feel like they have enough money. People who learn to view money as a tool start to see a whole new world of possibilities open in front of them.
Feeling free
One of the most important things your money can do for you is provide a sense of freedom. If you don’t feel locked into chasing the next euro, you’ll start exploring what more you can get out of life.
Feeling free to use your money in ways that fulfill you is going to become extremely important once you retire. After all, you’re going to have to do something with the hours you used to spend working! You’re going to have to allow yourself stop focusing on saving and start enjoying the life your assets can provide.
Again, having money and building wealth is a part of the plan. But it’s not THE PLAN in and of itself.
The earlier you start thinking about how you can use your money to balance your vocation with vacation, your sense of personal and professional progress with recreation and pleasure, and the demands of supporting your family with achieving your individual goals, the freer you’re going to feel.
And achieving that kind of freedom with your money isn’t just going to help you sleep soundly at night – it’s going to make you feel excited to get out of bed the next morning.
What’s coming next?
So, when does the planning process end?
If you’re like most of the people we work with, never.
Lifestyle Financial Planning isn’t solely about hitting some number with your savings, investments, and assets. We’re much more concerned about how your life is going than how the markets are performing.
Instead, the kinds of adjustments we’re going to make throughout the life of your plan will be in response to major transitions in your life.
Some transitions we’ll be able to anticipate, like a child going to college, a big family holiday you’ve been planning for, and for many of you, the actual date of your retirement. Other transitions, like a sudden illness or change of work, we’ll help you adjust for as necessary.
In some cases, your life plan might change simply because you want something different out of life. You might start contemplating a career change. Perhaps you might decide home doesn’t feel like home anymore and start looking for a new house. You might lose yourself in a new hobby and decide to invest some time and money perfecting it or you might decide it’s time to be your own boss and start a brand new company.
Planning for and reacting to these moments where your life and your money intersect is what we do best. Come and talk to us. See how Lifestyle Financial Planning can help you get the best life possible with the money you have.
