Financial planning guards against pitfalls. Unfortunately, no one is free from risk and you could lose all your assets by investing poorly, failing to have the proper insurance products, or by exposing yourself to too much risk. Financial planning looks at your entire situation and protects you from these nuclear threats. Your financial health is only as strong as its weakest link.
Financial planning increases your chances of success in the future astronomically. Nothing is sure to destroy your future hopes and dreams more than failing to plan for them. Failing to plan is truly planning to fail. Conversely, financial planning takes stock of your entire situation and asks where you want to be at in 10,20,30 years, etc. and then charts a path to help you get there. This is not simply investment management. It is specialized financial advice catered to every aspect of your financial life. Failing to utilize financial planning is like trying to build a house without an architect.
Financial planning gives you peace of mind. Perhaps you’ve handled your own finances for decades, but something seems a little off. You suspect that you might be needlessly paying thousands of dollars more in taxes than you should. Or you worry that you’re invested above your risk tolerance for your age. Uncertainty in these areas can be very stressful and lead to anxiety and loss of sleep. Financial planning gives you the peace of mind that you are right where you need to be and that all your affairs are in order.
Financial planning pays for itself. When you pay for financial planning you are paying a flat fee for impartial advice regarding your investments, retirement, taxes, insurance, and estate. When this advice is implemented it pays for itself rather quickly, and then some. Over the life of the implemented advice, this planning could save you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Financial planning opens new doors of possibility for you. Financial planning answers the questions you didn’t know to ask. Financial planning might inform you that you can retire right now because you have enough money to accomplish all your goals. It can help you pass on your legacy to children and grandchildren or a charity. It can help pay for your children’s education. It can do so many things, but you won’t know what it can do for you till you do it.
