STARTING TO PLAN

Starting to Plan

Many of our clients come to us with similar circumstances and concerns. To help you understand how we work together with our clients, we’ve put together sample client profiles. These profiles aren’t all inclusive and any advice would be tailored specifically to each client’s situation.

married in 40s

SHIFTING GEARS

ON YOUR OWN
married with children

THE BIG PICTURE

Shifting Gears

GOALS

A married couple in their 40s whose children have moved out and are becoming independent have an increased focus on preparing for retirement.

CONCERNS
  • How much money do we need to retire?
  • Will we be able to retire when we want?
  • Optimize savings strategy?
  • Investments performing to meet retirement goal?
  • Balancing paying down debt versus saving more.
STRATEGIES
  • UTILIZE financial planning software to help create and maintain a budget. This is tracked automatically over time and keeps them accountable. This can help clients to save more, stay on track and understand where they are spending their money.
  • PROVIDE GUIDANCE on how much to save and where: 401k, Roth IRA, regular investment account, savings at bank.
  • Annual retirement PROJECTIONS to determine whether they are on track and review expected financial needs in retirement.
  • REVIEW investments and recommend changes where appropriate.

On Your Own

GOALS

A single professional is focused on paying down student loans while saving for both retirement and travel.

CONCERNS
  • Should they focus on paying extra on student loans or save more in their retirement account?
  • How can they reduce their taxable earnings while saving?
  • How would a job change impact their financial situation?
STRATEGIES
  • Goal/career DISCUSSIONS and how to create financial flexibility
  • PROVIDE Employee benefits analysis
  • CONDUCT analysis to show differences between paying down debt versus saving more
  • Start INVESTING outside of a work retirement plan to provide for other goals such as travel or down payment on a house.

The Big Picture

GOALS

A married couple with young children at home is looking to build an emergency fund, invest towards retirement, and save for children’s education

CONCERNS
  • They don’t feel like they are making financial progress.
  • How to balance expenses of a family while saving for retirement or a home?
  • How can they prepare now to help their children with college costs?
STRATEGIES
  • UTILIZE financial planning software to help create and maintain a budget. This is tracked automatically over time and can help them get a better handle on where their money is going.
  • PREPARE education financial plan to estimate future costs of college and how to start saving now to contribute towards the cost.
  • REVIEW debt structure and make recommendations.
  • REVIEW life insurance to determine coverage needs to protect the needs of the family.

SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION

We begin everything with a conversation – complimentary, casual, and pressure-free. Our goal is simply to get to know you and your ideas, and then determine whether we’re a good fit to help you work toward them.

Thinking about retirement?

  • Understand your retirement readiness with our free RETIREMENT PLANNING CHECKLIST.
  • RETIREMENT IS...