On the journey of life, there are many things that can quickly detour or sidetrack us. There are often financial barriers that create obstacles in our lives. They can sometimes be a tiny pothole in the road, possibly a quick pit stop, a small detour, or even a large roadblock.
I remember one time I took a long trip from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania for a wedding. I had the route mapped out perfectly. I knew the exact number of miles, the length of time it was expected to take down to the minute. I had a list of freeways to avoid and left at the most opportune time - after the morning rush hour spree. My goal was to make it to New York before evening rush hour and coast right into the Philadelphia area.
I calculated and tracked my time methodically. Things could not have been going any better. I even started to envision making it there early and having a little time to myself before the rehearsal dinner. There was no traffic. It was like everyone knew I was coming and I was the only car on the road. A little exaggeration, but you get my point. Life was good. I was making progress until I hit the Bronx area, and then BAM! Road construction! I exclaimed,"No, not today. This cannot be happening!" I felt like all my plans went down the drain.
My plans changed
My travels and plans were suddenly at a dead stop. From there, it only got worse. We were re-routed off the highway through the city streets all the way to the next exit some five miles away. It took nearly an hour to progress what would have taken less than five minutes on the highway. The rest of the trip did not improve: pit stops, traffic jams, trouble with one of my tires, and an extra two hours of driving. So much for my plan! What started out as a carefully calculated, precise plan turned into a long tedious, exhausting trip. However, much of this could have been avoided (alternate routes, leaving earlier, tire check before leaving, etc). Still, once on my journey, I could also have made some adjustments along the way that could have made my trip more bearable.
Sometimes we have great intentions and expectations, yet life throws us a curve. Even worse, many times we think we are fully prepared yet nothing can be further from the truth. A couple came into see me the other day. We'll call them the Robinsons. They had saved nearly $500,000 for retirement. They planned to stop working within the next year or two and expected to be able to live comfortably in retirement. They had a false sense of security and expected God would take care of them. I agree God does provide for our needs but this does not excuse us from carefully planning our future. It will never go exactly according to plan, but it's much easier to recalculate, readjust, and make minor changes rather than having to completely shift course.
It starts with an assessment
You need to have an advisor sit down with you and examine what your financial goals are and where you currently stand financially. This will help your advisor determine if you are headed in the right direction. After this initial assessment, adjustments can be made in the necessary areas to make sure that you achieve those goals. Your advisor then needs to provide you with ongoing support to make sure you are staying on target and make adjustments when necessary.
An eye opening experience
Through the assessment, it was quickly determined that the Robinsons needed some additional planning. What they had assumed to be a solid plan actually lacked many core foundational strategies. This was an eye opening experience for them.
Many times we base our decisions on faulty or unrealistic data. We assume we will be fine. Yet fewer than 10 percent of people will ever truly experience financial freedom and independence. Will you be in the 1 of 10 who succeeds? Or will you be in the 9 of 10 who fail? Do you know if you're heading in the right direction? I challenge you to take advantage of our free tool and access your current situation. You may be quite surprised or relieved once you get the results. What are you waiting for?
I remember one time I took a long trip from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania for a wedding. I had the route mapped out perfectly. I knew the exact number of miles, the length of time it was expected to take down to the minute. I had a list of freeways to avoid and left at the most opportune time - after the morning rush hour spree. My goal was to make it to New York before evening rush hour and coast right into the Philadelphia area.
I calculated and tracked my time methodically. Things could not have been going any better. I even started to envision making it there early and having a little time to myself before the rehearsal dinner. There was no traffic. It was like everyone knew I was coming and I was the only car on the road. A little exaggeration, but you get my point. Life was good. I was making progress until I hit the Bronx area, and then BAM! Road construction! I exclaimed,"No, not today. This cannot be happening!" I felt like all my plans went down the drain.
My plans changed
My travels and plans were suddenly at a dead stop. From there, it only got worse. We were re-routed off the highway through the city streets all the way to the next exit some five miles away. It took nearly an hour to progress what would have taken less than five minutes on the highway. The rest of the trip did not improve: pit stops, traffic jams, trouble with one of my tires, and an extra two hours of driving. So much for my plan! What started out as a carefully calculated, precise plan turned into a long tedious, exhausting trip. However, much of this could have been avoided (alternate routes, leaving earlier, tire check before leaving, etc). Still, once on my journey, I could also have made some adjustments along the way that could have made my trip more bearable.
Sometimes we have great intentions and expectations, yet life throws us a curve. Even worse, many times we think we are fully prepared yet nothing can be further from the truth. A couple came into see me the other day. We'll call them the Robinsons. They had saved nearly $500,000 for retirement. They planned to stop working within the next year or two and expected to be able to live comfortably in retirement. They had a false sense of security and expected God would take care of them. I agree God does provide for our needs but this does not excuse us from carefully planning our future. It will never go exactly according to plan, but it's much easier to recalculate, readjust, and make minor changes rather than having to completely shift course.
It starts with an assessment
You need to have an advisor sit down with you and examine what your financial goals are and where you currently stand financially. This will help your advisor determine if you are headed in the right direction. After this initial assessment, adjustments can be made in the necessary areas to make sure that you achieve those goals. Your advisor then needs to provide you with ongoing support to make sure you are staying on target and make adjustments when necessary.
An eye opening experience
Through the assessment, it was quickly determined that the Robinsons needed some additional planning. What they had assumed to be a solid plan actually lacked many core foundational strategies. This was an eye opening experience for them.
Many times we base our decisions on faulty or unrealistic data. We assume we will be fine. Yet fewer than 10 percent of people will ever truly experience financial freedom and independence. Will you be in the 1 of 10 who succeeds? Or will you be in the 9 of 10 who fail? Do you know if you're heading in the right direction? I challenge you to take advantage of our free tool and access your current situation. You may be quite surprised or relieved once you get the results. What are you waiting for?
SHARE
