Financial Planning – The Why Behind the Why

Financial planning provides freedom and flexibility, and it’s critical to have a plan in place to make smart decisions about your money and your life.

We all see numbers everywhere, every day.

Whether you’re checking up on your fitness goals, watching a game, or monitoring moves in the market, numbers come at us from every angle – like reports from a stock ticker updating us at all times, whether we ask for it or not.

And those numbers get a lot more personal when they involve you and your finances.

Why plan anyway?

Benjamin Franklin only scratched the surface when he said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” In the realm of finances, he could have added, “…planning to fail and have a nervous breakdown while standing in the grocery store bread aisle.“

Enter the need for strong financial planning.

With peace of mind on the table and the potential for increased or decreased freedoms to spend, save, give, or invest, it’s critical that you have some plan in place to make smart decisions about your money and your life.

Even a rudimentary plan is helpful, but sometimes it takes time to even know if your self-created roadmap will get you where you want to be.

Motivations for financial planning

Don’t be confused – having a solid financial plan does not mean you have to abide by rigid categories of do’s and don’ts. Quite the opposite.

Financial planning allows you the ability to be flexible with your saving and spending decisions. It may require some self-control now, but your future self will thank you in the long run. Intelligent financial planning allows you to make decisions ahead of time that set you up to be the seemingly spontaneous friend or grandparent who picks up the bill for… you name it.

Or maybe you’ve really wanted to carve out time to volunteer, travel the world, or donate a large sum to your favorite arts organization. These are the kinds of things that can happen when you’re confident that your financial plan is working for you instead of limiting your choices.

Options and outcomes: why all financial planning paths don’t end at the same place

“I’ve tried financial planning – it doesn’t work.”

“I already have a financial advisor, but how do I really know I’m ok?”

“I’m saving and investing, and I keep up with everything myself. Surely that’s enough.”

“I’ve tried a lot of different things….”

Can you relate?

Maybe you keep financial matters private. You’ve strategized with your spouse, created a spreadsheet, did your best to stick to the budget, sprinkled in a few investments, and saved as best you could, but all to no avail.

Or perhaps a well-meaning friend offered to provide her expertise. After all, she took accounting in college and has been around the block a few times.

Or maybe you’ve gone so far as to meet with a financial advisor who painted an overly rosy picture of the future, making everything sound wonderful, only to find out that you still don’t really know if your portfolio’s performance will live up to your expectations.

Even with the best intentions, not every financial planning path will end up in the same place. How can they!

The paths we’ve listed above all start in different places, with different goals and guides, and use different means to achieve some level of financial organization. It should be no surprise that some of them just don’t get people where they want to be.

That one distinction could mean the difference between confusion and financial clarity. It’s the idea that changes everything.

Unless your financial advisor has made it clear (in writing) they are fiduciaries – they may be working on commissions and may have incentives to sell you products.

Traditional, commission-based strategies differ significantly from the fee-only, fiduciary advisor approach. A fee-only financial planner provides advice for a fee, and, as a fiduciary, they are legally bound to work in your best interests.

Because a fiduciary’s hands are not tied to the selling or pushing of products, they are able to use their expertise to align financial strategies with your real-life goals.

Getting this right

Getting this distinction right – and making sure this category exists in your mind – could change everything about the way you see your numbers.

No more just hoping for the best, banking on internet searches to deliver answers and peace of mind, or wishing you had just begun in a different direction. It’s time to say goodbye to the days of constantly wondering if there’s enough money to _______________ [fill in the blank].

It’s time to find an expert – someone who puts your interests first.

Ready to get started?