The Best Financial Plans are Created by... You!

I learn a lot from my one-and-half-year-old son, Spencer. 

In fact, my most valuable lessons are often taken from the dinner table with him. 

Spencer has reached the age where he has become more… selective… in what he prefers to eat come suppertime. While he likes most any kind of food, it depends on the day if he actually wants to eat the specific offering provided to him. 

More than anything else, it needs to be HIS idea when it comes to choosing what food he wants to eat from the table and he typically wants to feed himself. 

In fact, the same food rejected when offered by mom or dad can become the most pleasing choice when he gets to use his own utensil and eat on his own. 

Before we laugh and chalk it up to the innocence of youth, we should realize that as adults, we really aren’t that different.

It’s true. 

The best solutions are the ones we help develop ourselves. Think about it. 

We buy-in and commit when something is our own idea. It is much easier to take ownership of any decision when we have a big say in the choice. 

What a truly great financial planner does is present you with a process that makes it easy to prioritize your goals, identify action steps to achieve them, and hold your hand as you implement. 

The alternative is not usually effective. 

If you meet with an advisor and they prescribe to you action steps without first consulting you in detail on your goals, discussing the options, and involving you in creating the plan, it is unlikely you will embrace it. 

There is even less of a chance the plan gets implemented and is successful. 

This does not mean being involved in creating your plan is going to be stressful, take a ton of time, or cause you a headache.

Remember, the job of your planner is to present you with a process that is easy to follow, walk you through the necessary steps, while creating confidence that you will reach your goals. 

Along the way, your planner will answer questions, nudge you in the right direction, and do as much of the heavy lifting as possible to keep you moving forward. 

At the end of the day, being an active participant in the creation of your financial plan and making the important decision with the assistance of a professional will give you the best chance of creating the future you want. 

If you would like to talk about creating your financial plan, schedule a time to chat with me!