What is Wealth Management? We believe the purpose of what we do is far greater than managing investments or creating a financial plan. We strive to help you utilize your finances as a tool to gain more freedom and fulfillment in your life. You can have confidence that your goals will come to fruition when you have a tangible game plan to take you there. Here are the 3 pillars to start building a winning wealth game plan.
1. Purpose
Purpose is the first pillar to a winning game plan. Before you draw out a blueprint for your money, it is crucial to think about why you need to have a plan at all. Your reasons for sticking with the game plan need to be strong enough to keep you driven toward your goals. For example, your goal may be to retire early, and your purpose may be to spend more quality time with your family and have the freedom travel with your spouse regularly. Another example – your goal may be to save for your child’s college and help them graduate debt-free. Your purpose might be to give your child a head start in life and a promising future with limitless opportunities.
2. Plan
Creating a plan will help you recognize the gap between where you and where you desire to be. Your plan will serve as a guide on how to achieve your goals and will make it significantly easier to do so. Following an example above, if one of your goals is to retire early, then part of your plan may be to determine your retirement budget and analyze methods to generate the necessary retirement income. If one of your goals is paying for college, then your plan may be to identify scholarship opportunities and determine which college savings strategies are the best fit for you. The second part of the plan is utilizing strategies to take you from Point A to Point B – In other words, your financial playbook.
3. Playbook
Your financial playbook represents the different strategies you will execute on the way to achieving your goals. For instance, if the goal is retiring early, you may consider a Roth conversion strategy to convert some of your taxable assets to non-taxable assets and avoid some taxation in retirement. If your goal is paying for college, you may decide to use some of your FAFSA reportable assets to pay off outstanding debt and potentially increase the amount of financial aid your child qualifies for by decreasing reportable assets.
The bottom line is that every good team has more than 1 play in their playbook. Creating a playbook gives you multiple strategic options and flexibility. Flexibility is a vital part of your plan because life is constantly changing – medical emergencies happen, cars break down, and unexpected bills come in. Your playbook increases your preparedness for every circumstance.
If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to give us a call or send us an email.