When you retire, things change. After all, you no longer have the stability that comes from having a steady job or owning your business. And the simple mindset of “spend less than what you earn” no longer applies. So, you might have more questions than answers as you enter this new phase of life.
Small business owners and real estate investors both understand that taxes can be considered a filter on how much wealth you accumulate. Early on, they hire accountants to help them avoid tax mistakes and to ensure their business decisions are tax-savvy ones. This allows them to keep as much money as possible to reinvest in their businesses, which in turn allows them to accumulate wealth. This also assumes that a successful small business owner or real estate expert is expert in their field.
Years after their deaths in 2016, Prince and David Bowie have drawn numerous comparisons from admirers. They both had edgy musical styles that captivated millions of people. They both created numerous hits over several decades. They both courted controversy. And they both amassed hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of their star-studded careers.
Instead of writing an article trying to convince everyone to hire someone, I figured I’d write an article to a different audience. This audience is filled with people who feel like they’re well enough on their own, but are trying to figure out what they’re missing by not hiring a financial advisor. No advisor, regardless of how good they are, will be able to add value to their client’s life if the client perceives there is no value to add.
A financial plan is a snapshot at a moment in time accompanied by a list of recommendations intended to put you on track to achieve your goals. Conversely, financial planning is an iterative process that identifies what needs to be done and is updated routinely as changes in your life occur. In other words, hiring a financial planner to present a financial plan is like going to the doctor one time for a checkup. Hiring a financial planner to help with ongoing financial planning is like routinely seeing your doctor, even when you feel perfectly healthy.
An often-overlooked quality of a good financial advisor is the ability to do work that you might not have time for. After all, hiring someone to write a financial plan is completely useless if you aren’t able to (or don’t set aside time to) put the recommendations into action. Even when people feel they just need a checklist of action items to do on their own, life has a funny way of interrupting at the wrong time.