"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”
--Albert Einstein

Money management with a Trusted Advisor™ starts with the Financial Road Map®. The essence of the Financial Road Map® is to demonstrate how you will bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in the future, so you can enjoy the tangible payoff of reaching your goals and the emotional payoff of experiencing your values in action.

Trusted Advisor Steve Margulin takes you through a questioning process: a conversation, which helps to clarify your values and goals. The process begins by looking at your perspective on money. While money is not the be-all and end-all of existence, it’s certainly a starting point for looking at your life. During the conversation, you realize your priorities and envision yourself in the future, and that, in turn, helps Steve create a five-year plan for your life.

Money is a way to provide the basics: shelter, food, clothing, education, health care. It’s also a way to provide sufficient security to allow you freedom from worry, as well as freedom to do what you want to do when you want to do it. It may take a good portion of your working years to reach that level. Once there, your values can incorporate a higher purpose. In addition to the more immediate needs and goals, the Road Map® conversation helps you to picture your role in the larger community and what you would like to contribute, in time or money.

Steve works with a couple only if both are present. Sometimes one may be the primary breadwinner and the other may have a secondary role in earning money, and the larger earner has made most of the financial decisions. But, it’s necessary to take both partners’ needs and goals into consideration. Both need to be happy and making progress toward what they feel is important.

Single people may also have others in their lives that they need to consider when making financial decisions, but even if they are completely independent, they will benefit from the examination of their values and clarification of their goals. (See Single People.)

The more aware you are of your goals and values and the more willing you are to examine how to bring your dreams to fruition and, thus, free your spirit, the happier you will be, no matter what challenges may come along during your life’s journey.

People’s values don’t normally go through radical changes, but their goals may change every few years. That is why the Financial Road Map® gets updated. Although the same questions are asked, the answers may be different. It’s a very gratifying process to see how you have grown and changed through working with Steve, your Trusted Advisor™ and Life Coach.