You’ve been diligent and smart, working with your financial advisor for years, preparing for what you know are life’s ups and downs. But these are uncertain times and things are different. The news is on all day long, and you’re getting a lot of conflicting messages. You’ve been stuck at home for a couple of months and not sure when the end will be. Your money is safe, but something is keeping you up at night. You know you are in a good financial place – but still, you worry.
You may have been retired for 15 years already, but maybe the worst-case scenarios are running through your head and you’re losing sleep.
It’s your adult kids and grandkids. What happens to them if you get sick? Or if they get sick? You have carefully planned your finances, but have they? You know they have your good genes (and appreciate good financial planning), but have they done enough? Have you planned for what happens to your estate? Have you planned enough for the future? How do you even plan for a future that is so uncertain?
We want you to know that we have your back and are working to help you make sure you, your money, and your legacy can be satiated.
Here’s what we have done (for the majority of our clients) and could do to protect your money, put safeguards in place, make sure you and your family are reassured for the long term.
What we’ve done or typically suggested for comprehensive Financial Planning:
- Initiated a process for your money that prepares for tough times like these.
- Lined up your guaranteed income to match your imperative expenses so that income to cover your most important expenses isn’t compromised.
- Reviewed if adequate insurances should be in place – such as Long Term Care insurance.
What works in these times:
- Guaranteed income
- Waiting out the market to sell at a gain
- Preparation in advance for times like these
- Taking care of yourself mentally and physically
- Talking to your financial advisor
- Possibly rebalancing your portfolio
What doesn’t work:
- News programing is meant to be watched for short periods of time, having the news turned on all day may interfere with thinking or sleeping well.
- Selling your investments based on the emotional rollercoaster of the market. Buying investments based on the emotional rollercoaster of the market.
- Failing to plan.
- Trying to control what you can’t control.
- Buying a stock that your friend bought
- Buying a stock that pays a high dividend but not remembering to line it up in your “aggressive bucket” of stocks. Is that really predictable, guaranteed income?
How have you helped them put safeguards in place for their kids?
- We encourage our clients to fill out a Family love letter and share it with their loved ones – please let us know if you’d like one.
- Talking with your children about money. Even as adults they can learn from you.
- We discuss life insurance if clients want a certain amount of money to go to their children. This might make sense in these situations:
- You want to spend the majority of your money but want to be certain there are some funds for your children.
- You have a blended family and want to make sure your spouse or family are taken care of with certain assets so you are using life insurance as the “other asset”.
- You have a potential estate tax liability.
- You have a special needs child or grandchild.
- You own a family business and not all of your children want to participate. You want to equalize their inheritance.
- Wills & Trust – we have encouraged you to make sure these are in order.
- We like to bring it to your attention to impress upon your grandchildren that money doesn’t come easily. Your beautiful house and shiny car are products of hard work.
- We have spending plans for clients if their objective is to preserve their principal. Times like these are built into these plans.
- We have encouraged and helped you purchase Long Term Care insurance if it makes sense for you financially.
- Sometimes, practicing tough love in regards to money might be the best route for some adult children. There is a term called Economic Outpatient Aid coined by Thomas Stanley, the author of The Millionaire Next Door. Sometimes, unwittingly to their detriment, we are giving our children this sort of aid and it may stunt their financial maturity. While these matters are never easy, it might be thoughtful preparation for when you aren’t here to guide them or bail them out.
Plan for the future
Our team at Well Lived Wealth shines in times of crisis. This is when the true value of what we do really comes through.
We want to hear from you. Even though you have stayed on top of things financially, what are you worried about? There might be a solution to stop the worry.