OUR FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS
What is a financial plan?
We work with our clients to align their savings rates and spending habits to reflect their short-term and long-term financial goals. One of the first steps to making your dreams a reality is becoming aware of your cash flows and monitor them as necessary. This can be a very monotonous and overwhelming task. Our team has implemented several techniques and resources that make this a much easier assignment. In addition, we can help as needed to reinforce that you are taking actions most in-line with the desired outcomes. Starting a plan is key, as it not only increases the likelihood that savings can reach desired levels, but it also decreases the chances of making costly financial planning mistakes. The financial world, whether it be the stock market, mortgage companies, insurance companies, or even banks, can be very complicated. Often times, a second look by someone who has experience in that arena can save you time, headaches, and money.
What is a financial plan?
We work with our clients to align their savings rates and spending habits to reflect their short-term and long-term financial goals. One of the first steps to making your dreams a reality is becoming aware of your cash flows and monitor them as necessary. This can be a very monotonous and overwhelming task. Our team has implemented several techniques and resources that make this a much easier assignment. In addition, we can help as needed to reinforce that you are taking actions most in-line with the desired outcomes. Starting a plan is key, as it not only increases the likelihood that savings can reach desired levels, but it also decreases the chances of making costly financial planning mistakes. The financial world, whether it be the stock market, mortgage companies, insurance companies, or even banks, can be very complicated. Often times, a second look by someone who has experience in that arena can save you time, headaches, and money.
So how do you get started?
When we first engage with our clients we walk you through a thorough four-step up-front financial plan.
- Data Gathering: Once you decide to move forward with financial planning, the next step will be to collaborate with us in your data gathering. For this step we will ask you to securely upload to us a copy of your bank account statements, prior year tax returns, any liability statements, insurance policies and credit reports, as well as get setup on our data aggregation software.
- Financial Statement Presentation and Goal Setting: Just as every business creates financial statements and review them quarterly, we create for you a Net Worth Statement and Cash Flow Analysis and review that with you to provide clarity to all parties on the specifics of your financial life. In addition, we review all your life goals in detail, and become very specific about incorporating those into the planning for your future.
- Financial Plan Presentation: We then project out based on all the assumptions we have made thus far what the balance of your lives could look like. As a result, for each category of your financial life we summarize for you both where you are today, and what shifts need to be made to for you to achieve your goals.
- Implementation Guideline: Once we all are excited about the financial plan in place, we take all the recommendations made thus far and organize them in a timeline so you know exactly what steps you should be taking this month, next month, by year-end and in future years.
And how do you make that plan a reality?
After we have completed the initial financial plan, most of our clients work with us on an ongoing basis. What this typically looks like is an annual retainer broken out into a monthly recurring fee. As a part of that service you will receive from us:-Monthly reporting tracking your budget, progress towards your goals, and net worth history.
– Three meetings a year to update the planning, incorporate best practices, and revise the strategy based on changes on your lives and financial guidelines.
– Complimentary access to our financial planning software so you can track your progress daily.
– Financial advocacy meetings where we work with you and the other financial professionals in your life to implement the planning recommendations.
– Implementation instruction to send you reminders and guide you through each step of your financial plan.
– Complimentary working sessions in which you can take action on your financial plan with a professional reviewing your actions to ensure you are appropriately applying the recommendation.
– Unlimited access to us! We know that life changes in a minute, so when you have a career shift, are pursuing a new home purchase, have changes in your family, or experience medical events to name a few, we are a click or phone call away.