Throughout my career, I have worked with business owners, farmers (who love their land way more than investments!), professionals with excellent career paths, recent widows, veterans, teachers, retirees and more. Below is a short list of the things that helped them reach their goals:
- Those who started saving early, (15-20% of their income each year) had more money and much greater confidence during retirement.
- Protecting their family with enough life insurance, and reevaluating it regularly, was critically important when unexpected events happened.
- Leaning on their advisor in the tough market times helped them stay the course with investing so they were able to avoid great losses due to fear-based decisions.
- Those who asked questions when they did not understand, learned more and became empowered by the confidence they built around financial decisions.
- Understanding annual cash flow numbers before retirement (building in excess for unexpected costs), allowed retirees to see clearly if they were financially ready to retire.
- Practicing retirement well before it arrived proved to be eye-opening for many. Taking the time to envision daily retirement was beneficial so the emotional side of retirement could be anticipated.
- Tax planning created excellent opportunities to reduce tax liabilities, establish tax advantageous investing strategies, and support tax advantageous giving.
- Estate planning documents that were kept up to date proved invaluable to seamless distributions of money and the avoidance of family quarrels.
As I reflect on the lessons I learned and observed, I feel so fortunate to have worked with clients who dreamed of leaving a legacy made up of more than money. These past 39 years have been filled with many goals met, dreams had, lessons learned, trials faced, and blessings received. Yet, the greatest gift of this career was truly my clients. It has been, and will always be, a privilege to serve you.
All the best,
Cathy