The Next “Financial Eclipse” | Jordan Ranly, MBA
We hope your year is off to a nice start! Our Nvest team is enjoying an exciting start to 2024, and we are feeling settled in the new office space at 9757 Fairway Drive. Please schedule a time to visit!
Unexpected financial challenges can obscure from view well planned goals – a sort of “financial eclipse”. Just as the moon veils the sun’s brilliance this month, we too will experience various “financial eclipse” events in our life. An organized and holistic financial plan can illuminate the path forward even during challenging times. LIVING LIFE Financial Planning is here to help.
What exactly is LIVING LIFE financial planning? Quite simply, LIVING LIFE is our method to deliver financial peace of mind and empower clients with the information they need to make educated decisions throughout the stages of life. Many of our wonderful clients are now fully engaged with LIVING LIFE, including the utilization of our client portal which provides you a real-time view of your full financial life.
The portal is a powerful tool to fully organize and retain important records, map out cash flow needs, and project financial health many years into the future. Similar to our goal of building a diversified investment portfolio, LIVING LIFE is designed to cover all areas of financial life. Once a detailed balance sheet and cash flow is constructed, our team is equipped to provide personalized and pointed advice in numerous areas – from preparing for college, to retirement planning, estate planning, and more.
One common area of support is insurance planning. Nvest does not sell insurance, nor are we fond of many insurance products, but we do understand the importance of risk management. With a detailed balance sheet and cash flow needs, our team is in a position to offer pointed advice on the types and amount of insurance necessary. Is long-term disability insurance appropriate? What about long-term care or can you “self-insure”? Is current life insurance coverage adequate or still needed? If so, should you own whole life or cash out and purchase a term policy? What are the tax consequences?
Speaking of taxes, tax management is always an area of high interest. Within the law, most clients are inclined to optimize their tax liability (and minimize Uncle Sam’s piece of the pie long-term). A few strategies we explore include qualified charitable distributions (QCD’s), Roth conversions, municipal bonds, and contributions to retirement accounts (pre vs. post tax).
Steve & I enjoy this area of our business as much as the investment & portfolio management because it’s what makes purposeful investing possible. It is thoroughly satisfying to see the “light bulb” turn on once a client can visually see their current financial situation and projections many years into the future – fully prepared for the next financial eclipse.
LIVING LIFE financial planning is an included service for Nvest clients and is a key component of our promise to deliver financial peace of mind. Please reach out if you would like to learn more or there are new scenarios on your mind for us to help study.