Our Financial Planning Process

We start with your financial goals such as saving for a secure retirement, funding a child's college education, or generating a monthly income in retirement. Based on realistic assumptions about future investment returns, our financial planning software estimates the probability of successfully meeting your goals. Of course, this is just a starting point for the many refinements that will be made to your financial plan over the years.

  1. Identify all of your unique financial goals, then rank the importance of each.
  2. Identify the resources that will help fund your goals, such as your current income, investment accounts, employer retirement plans, and other sources of income such as rental property.
  3. Determine the balance of risk and return that's right for you.
  4. Develop your personalized  financial plan.
  5. Review and discuss your plan's results.
  6. Implement your action items, such as a savings plan or generating a monthly income and establishing a low-cost investment strategy.
  7. Ongoing monitoring of your plan through quarterly reviews and annual plan updates.

 

Questions You Can Expect Us to Ask You During Our Initial Financial Planning Meeting

  1. Do you have an employer retirement plan and are you funding it to the degree you should be? 
  2. Are you planning on moving to another state when you retire?
  3. Are you responsible for the well-being of your parents or other family members?
  4. Are you or will you be funding a child's or grandchild's education?
  5. Do you have a will or a trust?
  6. What types of debt are you currently carrying other than a home mortgage? 
  7. Do you have adequate insurance? Are there any health concerns we should be aware of?
  8. Are you aware of any major purchases in the near future such as a home improvement or new car?
  9. Do you expect to inherit money?

 

What We Bring To Our Planning Relationship

  • Organization. We will help bring order to your financial life, by assisting you in getting your financial house in order (at both the “macro” level of investments, insurance, estate, taxes, etc., and also the “micro” level of household cash flow).
  • Accountability. We will help you follow through on financial commitments, by working with you to prioritize your goals, show you the steps you need to take, and regularly review your progress towards achieving them.
  • Objectivity. We bring insight from the outside to help you avoid emotionally driven decisions in important money matters, by being available to consult with you at key moments of decision-making, doing the research necessary to ensure you have all the information, and managing and disclosing any of our own potential conflicts of interest.
  • Proactivity. We work with you to anticipate your life transitions and to be financially prepared for them, by regularly assessing any potential life transitions that might be coming, and creating the action plan necessary to address and manage them ahead of time.
  • Education. We will explore what specific knowledge will be needed to succeed in your situation, by first thoroughly understanding your situation, then providing the necessary resources to facilitate your decisions, and explaining the options and risks associated with each choice.
  • Partnership. We attempt to help you achieve the best life possible but will work in concert with you, not just for you, to make this possible, by taking the time to clearly understand your background, philosophy, needs and objectives, work collaboratively with you and on your behalf (with your permission), and offer transparency around our own costs and compensation.
Source: Moving from ROI to ROL, Mitch Anthony

 

FAQ