Is FP for Me?

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This page is provided to help you understand what financial planning is and decide if you would benefit from engaging in the financial planning process.

Two techniques are used to provide you with insight.

Scenario 1 – The Big Five-O!

You, and perhaps your spouse or partner, are approaching age 50. Your household income is between $65,000 and $250,000. To supplement Social Security and your employers promised pension benefit, you have been saving toward retirement at a pace you’ve felt comfortable with and would like to retire prior to your Social Security retirement age of 66. You have no idea if you are saving enough to do so.

Scenario 2– Eying Retirement!

The time when you hope to retire is fast approaching (or you’ve already taken the plunge). You have numerous pots of gold (IRA’s, 401K’s, annuities, taxable accounts, etc.) but aren’t sure how much is enough. You also wonder how to tax efficiently consume your retirement savings, when to take money from which pot and what your approach to investing should be throughout retirement. Perhaps you’ve heard about Roth IRA conversions and are wondering if you should be taking advantage of this option. You feel as though you will need a new level of ongoing support managing your financial affairs.

Scenario 3– The Home Owner

You, and perhaps your spouse or partner, own a home and have an outstanding mortgage. Current mortgage interest rates are lower than the rate you are paying. Your house has appreciated in value due to strong demand for housing in your location. You are wondering if you should refinance your mortgage. Additionally, recently you heard a friend tell a story about a friend of a friend who’s house burned down and the insurance company only paid a fraction of the amount needed to rebuild the house. After hearing this story, you are unsure if you are carrying enough insurance to rebuild your own home.

Scenario 4– Parents

You have young children. You are wondering how best to save for their college expenses, how much life insurance you should have on your and your spouse or partner’s life and how to teach your kids about money management and investing. You’ve noticed lately that you are no longer paying off the monthly charges to your credit cards and feel as though you could use help developing a budget to gain better control of your cash flow.

Scenario 5– Employee Contributing to a 401K/403B

You are building a nest egg in your employer’s 401K or 403B retirement savings plan. You don’t understand the differences between the various investment options in the plan and as a result have little confidence that you have invested wisely. You are also wondering if you should be saving more or should be supplementing this savings with IRA savings.

Scenario 6– Rising Star

You have been employed for 5 years or more and have changed employers several times, each time improving your employment circumstances in some key way such as increasing your salary, benefits and/or job satisfaction. As a result of the changes, you have retirement savings dollars residing in numerous 401K/403B plans and you wish to simplify and consolidate. You are wondering how best to do this.

Scenario 7– Grieving a Love One

You have just lost a spouse or partner whom you miss dearly in so many ways. You are overwhelmed by the prospect of taking over management of the household finances. Adding to your stress are the financial challenges of administering the probate of your loved one’s will, asset transfer complexities, investing insurance proceeds, receiving retirement plan distributions, and the like. You could really use the empathetic guidance of an objective professional to help you get your bearings with your new responsibilities.

Scenario 8– The Non-traditional Couple

Perhaps without having given it too much thought, you and your life partner have partially or wholly woven your finances together. To the degree possible, you wish to formalize and optimize your financial connections with each other to ensure that you are both protected in the event of an untimely death, that your wills and joint ventures won’t be challenged by relatives and that you haven’t unwittingly created any taxation time bombs. You may also wish to ensure you’ve created a solid financial foundation upon which to raise, or continue to raise, children

Scenario 9– Divorced

You are struggling through the divorce process and realize you need to take charge of your own finances. This prospect is bewildering to you. You would like to learn and be guided by some one you can trust who will help you get situated and will be available to you on an as-needed basis going forward to coordinate you retirement investments, answer questions about debt management, insurance, taxes and saving for retirement.

Scenario 10– College Graduate Lands First Job

You are both celebrating and secretly a little bit anxious. You’ve landed that first job after college but don’t feel completely prepared for the financial responsibilities and challenges of being on your own. You wish to take optimal advantage of your employer’s many benefit offerings, use credit cards wisely, budget to pay your bills and pursue your hobbies, and set and prioritize your financial goals. You may be interested in saving to buy a house or new car. You have heard that if you start saving a little bit now for retirement that the magic of compounding will reward you generously down the road but you’re not sure how best to get started. Plus, you want to get off on the right foot early with a trusted financial advisor.

Scenario 11– Windfall Recipient

You have received some money unexpectedly (inheritance, insurance policy proceeds, winnings, liability settlement, etc.) and you are wondering how best to do the following:

Scenario 12 – Using a Stock Broker and a Brokerage Account?

You have money invested in mutual funds, stocks and/or bonds through a brokerage account. You have been advised regarding these investments by a stockbroker or commissioned advisor. You would like to get an objective second opinion about these investments. You are also concerned because you’ve heard on the news that some brokers have not been on the up-and-up with their clients. You would rest easier if an objective third party reviewed your portfolio.