What is Financial Planning?
"Financial Planning" has become an over-generalized term. True financial planning takes the guess work out of managing your finances. With an overwhelming number of options for saving and investing, managing your finances can be difficult unless you find a way to understand the big picture.
Do I need a Financial Plan?
So often we default to letting our finances guide our decisions. One of the goals we have for each of our planning clients is to help them flip the script; let their goals and dreams determine how they manage their finances. Completing a plan can also be a great resource if you have a big decision to make or simply want to make sure you are on the right track for the future.
Our Financial Planning Process
The process usually takes at least a month to complete, but is really dependent on how quickly you get information to us.
1. Set up a 15 minute phone call
This call helps us get to know each other. We will try to get a basic understanding of what your situation is and answer any questions you have about us or what we do.
2. Initial Meeting
If you are interested in learning more after the 15 minute phone call, we set up a longer meeting to dive deeper into your goals and what you want to get out of the financial plan. At the end of this meeting we will give you our client profile. This questionnaire will tell you what information to gather for us and ask questions to get you thinking about your long-term goals.
3. Homework
Most people take a few weeks to complete the questionnaire and gather the information we request. Once you are ready, you return everything to us and our financial planning relationship officially begins.
4. Analysis
Once we get your information back, we take a couple of weeks to review it and do our initial analysis. We will naturally have some follow up questions as we go through your information. We will typically set up a meeting to go over these with you. Once we go over our follow up questions and get answers, we will take a couple of weeks to finish our observations and recommendations.
5. Presentation and Follow Up
We like to block out 2 hours to go over your plan. We will discuss our recommendations, answer your questions and leave you with a list of action items. After we present the plan we will give you a couple of weeks to digest the information and then reach out to see if you have any additional questions or want to discuss options for continuing our relationship.
Why you should work with a CFP
Working with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional is assurance that he or she is a credentialed expert who is to high ethical and professional standards. Many people believe that all financial planners are certified, but this isn’t true. The certification comes with extensive training in financial planning, estate planning, insurance, investment management, tax planning, employee benefits and retirement planning, as well as in CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, which are rigorously enforced.
CFP® professionals are required to uphold their certification through continuing education – something to consider with new financial instruments appearing regularly on the consumer market. CFP® certification is one of the most recognized in the industry for personal financial planning.
"Although many professionals may call themselves “financial planners,” CFP® professionals have completed extensive training and experience requirements and are held to rigorous ethical standards. They understand all the complexities of the changing financial climate and will make recommendations in your best interest.”
-The CFP Board Consumer Guide to Financial Planning
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the CFP® certification mark, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification mark, and the CFP® certification mark (with plaque design) logo in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.