Harvard Business School has reported the amazing, phenomenal difference in life success that someone achieves who has a written plan versus someone who doesn’t. So in my firm (this is Steve talking), we start with the Financial Plan.

Won’t it be great, if, no matter what is happening in the economy, the financial markets, or the world, you have confidence going forward that you can meet your goals?

I have prepared well over 100 Financial Plans. In my practice, we update your Financial Plan every year, or however often seems reasonable, based on what reality has done to your economic life or if your goals have changed.

The process is that I ask and listen:

What is important about money to you, and how does it drive your decisions?
What are you going to do with the rest of your life? 
What kind of life do you want to live?
What does that life look like? 
Should you pay off your house? 
What are you saving your money for? Retirement? Education? Travel?
When are you going to buy your next car? Will you pay cash for it?
Do you want to buy an RV or a vacation house? When?

A goal without an action plan is a dream. Most people have a “someday” list. (“Some day,” by the way, has been called the 8th day of the week.) Someday…I am going to retire; someday… I am going to take a trip around the world; someday…I am going to _______________.” Most of those goals take money. And they take getting concrete with what you want and when.

Let me tell you about a typical first meeting:

There’s no cost or obligation. What you will walk away with, after our meeting, is a clearer picture of how to live your life in the future, whether you work with me or not. (You can use this information with your present advisors or even implement it yourself.) The meeting will take about an hour. You’ll need to bring what’s on the “Things to Bring” list that we give you in advance, including copies of your documents. Investments give quarterly updates—bring your latest statements.

If you and I decide to work together, my firm will prepare your tax returns. I have prepared well over 5,000 tax returns and will bring that experience to your tax preparation. We will tell you how much cash you should have in reserve and how you are going to get it. If you have too much debt, we will create a plan to reduce or eliminate it. Based on your risk tolerance and goals, we will tell you how your investments should be allocated. We will look at your insurance needs and tell you how much you should have and, then, find the right amount of the right kinds.

Some other things we will discuss in the beginning or think about, over time, (and advise you about and implement for you) in relation to your future:

Your budget and the amount of debt you carry
The impact of inflation on your investments
Your tolerance for risk and the impact of that on investment selection
The age you should start taking distributions
The inflation adjusted-withdrawal rate
The age you should begin taking Social Security
The operating costs of your investments
Income tax effects:
Capital Gain income versus ordinary income
Taxability of Social Security
Type of investments you have and their taxability

In short, we will go over all aspects of your financial lives and suggest changes and improvements, as we see them. You always have the final decision about which changes to implement, but most of our clients are “delegators” and agree to follow our advice. We have had many of the same clients for over ten years, and they learn to trust us and rely on us and our advice.

To give you an idea of the different ways we help our clients, here are some examples of recent client questions:
From which accounts and which investments should I get my income?
Isn’t buying something on sale the same as saving?
Am I going to hit my retirement goals?
Do I have enough cash in reserve?
How do I start an investment program?
I just inherited some money; help me think through some decisions.
Should I sell this investment, or do you think it will rebound?
Do you think my asset allocation is right?
How can I improve my business? (We work with some business owners.)
Should I buy, or lease, my next vehicle? 
At what age should I start taking Social Security?
I have a lot of money in one company stock; how can I best protect my downside risk? 
How long should I take to pay off my house? 
Is my debt in check?
What investment choices should I make with my company retirement plan?
Do I have enough money paid in, or will I owe taxes on April 15th?
What can I do, today, to save taxes this year?

What sets me apart from other financial advisors and CPAs is that I am also a life coach. I’ll be a part of all your financial decisions (to the extent that you wish) so that you make smart choices about your money.

The goal of our firm is to have all of our clients be in a position where they can die with no regrets.