Realize Your Dreams Through Financial Planning By Caroline Wetzel
to be their Certifi ed Financial Planner and Private Wealth Advisor. Our fi rst two hours working together were spent at their kitchen table talking about who they are today and who they wanted to become over time.
A They described the parents they
wanted to be to their young children, the partner each aspired to be to one another, and the visions they had for their respec- tive careers. They described how they felt when it came to managing their money and what kind of fi nancial fears kept them awake at night. We spoke briefl y about the fi nancial statements that they shared with me and we agreed to meet again in a few weeks to review the results of the fi nancial plan that I would develop for them.
lmost a year ago an accomplished doctor and her successful busi- nessman husband entrusted me
About a month later we met again in person at their kitchen table. Using the fi nancial plan that I developed for them as a guide, we talked about how likely they were to achieve their life goals given their current savings, spending, investments, insurance, and debt management activities. We talked about the tradeoffs between sav- ing for retirement and college and enjoy- ing a certain standard of life today. And I suggested some specifi c changes that they could make to improve their likelihood of success realizing their fi nancial dreams.
After we fi nished discussing their
fi nancial plan, I was deeply moved when both the wife and husband volunteered that they found the process helpful, even describing our work together as, “life changing – like marriage therapy, but the kind you want to go to because you feel better afterwards.”
That’s what holistic fi nancial planning is all about. It starts and ends with you. It asks the question, “What do you want to do with your life” and systematically analyzes all aspects of your fi nances to project how likely you are to realize your ambitions. As a result of fi nancial planning, you have information and analyses you can use to make thoughtful decisions today to create the future you want tomorrow.
Three years ago I met Jan (client’s name has been changed), a woman who had just fi nished going through a very dif- fi cult divorce with her husband of several decades. In our fi rst conversation together, Jan confi ded that she had avoided working with someone like me because she didn’t have the clarity she thought she should have over her fi nances. Jan explained that her husband always took care of their money, they shared a single fi nancial advi- sor, and when the divorce took place her entire world was turned upside down and she was still recovering. I assured Jan that for many clients it’s when they feel most overwhelmed by their fi nances that I can offer the greatest help. I emphasized that what was done in the past is behind her.
Jan and I talked about what her life had been like and how she wished it would be different. We talked about how impor- tant her grown children were to her and the fi nancial support she wanted to provide them and her grandchildren over time. We talked about her fears about living until her mid-90s, and since she divorced in her late 60s, what living independently for 25+
52 Natural Nutmeg - 10BEST Awards/Essential Living Guide
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