The Planning Experience - What New Clients Can Expect
If you are thinking less about whether your finances are in order and more about the aspects of life which bring you fulfillment, then we consider our relationship a success. To reach that point, there are many conversations to be had and strategies to explore, and it all starts with learning about you.
First Meeting/Call – It’s a Pleasure to Meet You
During our first conversation, we discuss whether comprehensive financial planning is right for you. This meeting is always free and with no obligation to do business with us. We’ll ask that you do most of the speaking because we want to learn about you, your family, what makes you happy, your stressors, and your life aspirations. If you would like, you can share how you currently go about managing your finances and if you have any professionals assisting you. After this conversation, if we determine to proceed, we’ll schedule a second meeting.
Second Meeting – Data Deluge
Once we decide to work together, we will ask you to sign a letter of engagement which lays out the terms of how we will work together and gives you a clear picture of what you can expect from us. Then, we want to learn even more about your own financial situation so we can start crunching the numbers for your financial success plan. We can use special software to gather the data we need securely and with minimal effort on your part, eliminating the need to print hundreds of pages of loan documents, bank statements, retirement plan statements, et cetera.
Of course, we take your privacy seriously and take appropriate steps to safeguard all of your information. Any printed information is locked away safely and electronic information is securely stored in our cloud server.
After That, We Start Crunching Numbers
With the information you provided, we will spend at least a dozen hours creating a comprehensive financial plan to show if you are on track to meet your financial goals and then provide our own recommendations to improve your chances of meeting those goals. Additionally, we will create a personal budget, your own personal financial statements so you can determine your net worth, and a list of your own financial strengths and weaknesses.
Third Meeting – Presenting & Implementing Your Plan
During this meeting, we will review your financial plan and discuss the next steps to make you your best financial self. It may mean selecting different investments within your retirement or brokerage accounts, or consolidating some credit card debt into a loan with a lower interest rate, or any number of other tasks. The metaphorical heavy lifting is usually in the first several months of our relationship, and we will most likely be talking to each other often.
Maintaining Your Financial Health
After we finish all of the initial tasks to optimize your financial self, we progress from a phase of “fixing” your financial health to “maintaining” it. We loosely follow a service calendar from there forward. Some items on this calendar include making sure that your investments remain properly allocated, discussing any potential insurance or estate planning needs, and updating your financial plan to account for any major life changes. Of course, our clients are encouraged to contact us when any potential financial stressors and decisions appear, and clients enjoy unlimited calls and meetings with their planner. To see a copy of our service calendar, click here.