Glory Hallelujah, It's Almost 2021
InsightsAre you holding, are you without / If you live the life there can’t be no doubt
As 2020 comes to a close, we can most certainly expect a variety of New Year's cliches to scroll past on social media and groan at over Zoom holiday dinners. To spare the inevitable eyeroll with examples, I think the painstakingly long list of trite phrases can be summed up with “The end of the year is a new beginning”. While overused, our collective experience requires such a mindset for 2021. We were shown that normal life can halt quickly, that new common courtesies can be formed instantaneously. As a financial advisor, this year has reinforced the importance of the contract I make with my clients; to have a comprehensive financial plan in place to make certain that their financial future is secure.
Are you a suspect, or are you clean / Are you like me kinda in between
In my experience, most prospects have done some planning. Many have a variety of professional relationships; they have an accountant, they perhaps drafted a will when they were first married or first had children. Many take the advice of a broker or two on their investments. Perhaps they have purchased life insurance from a college buddy or whoever their most recent call was from. The issue lies in the fact that none of these professionals are consistently speaking to one another. They are acting in a professional vacuum and, as a result, financial futures are being managed on a piecemeal basis. This approach often leads to significant gaps, overlaps and inconsistencies which water down the overall efficiency of the plan and therefore lead to a variety of potentially negative consequences. This can include, but is not limited to, unnecessary taxes, duplication of fees, gaps in risk management and estate planning and suboptimal investment returns. In other words, missed opportunities.
Let my children see my dreams / they are intertwined with theirs it seems
If nothing else, 2020 will forever be defined as the ultimate hard reset. As difficult as the day-to-day has been for so many, it’s imperative to put our faith in the future, in the path forward. For most, that future is our children. Over the course of this year, we have all spent a lot of time with our kids. They are seeing firsthand the purpose that we normally left at the office or carried in our heads before March of this year. More than that, they see the depth of the relationships that we build with our clients. This access to the process cannot help but rub off on them, contributing to the construction of their own purpose as they grow. Our kids have never seen us work like this before. Daily access to the human side of the client-planner relationship has reinforced the fact that life can and often does get messy. As humans we all aspire to a better tomorrow and with faith, purpose and planning, the heart and science come together to build a bridge to that brighter future.
Though my good words may sound profane to some / You sure don’t wanna be last when that holy spirit gets past
As powerful and important as hope is, to believe that things will simply work out is not a plan. More than ever, it is so necessary to ensure financial stability given a life-altering event as widespread as COVID or as individualized as a freak accident or a concerning diagnosis. When the extreme becomes reality, you simply do not want to be unprepared.
After all of the uncertainty of this chaotic year, perhaps a little cliche is a good thing. Now’s the time to take advantage of a hard reset, a change in priorities, this life altering wake up call. Now’s the time to have a comprehensive plan in place for any eventuality to secure your and your family’s future. Now’s the time to have faith that no matter what happens, you and your family are going to have the resources available to tackle it head on. Take control of your financial well being and let this new year truly be… sigh...a new beginning.