In our last post in our ongoing series, Your 4 Futures, we introduced you to our Blueprinting Your Financial Future Model. We think it’s the best way to get greater confidence, wealth, and freedom in your finances.
By focusing in on three foundations, Plan, Secure, and Invest you can move towards true happiness in your financial future.
And if you missed the rest of the series, you can find the previous posts here:
Post 1: Your 4 Financial Futures – Which Line are You On?Post 2: When Is Now Going To Be The Right Time To Jump Retirement Lines?Post 3: Symptoms and Signs of Retirement Overwhelm and Apprehension.Post 4: What Retirement Contentment Looks Like – and Why It’s So DangerousPost 5: What a Happy Retirement Looks Like - and How to Achieve It
Do You Have A Plan?
Most people don’t treat retirement planning in a way that gives them confidence, wealth, and freedom. At least not at the level they want. There are nine supports that we use as a map to the dignity and grace our clients deserve in retirement.
So let’s zoom in on the first foundation of our Blueprinting Your Financial Future model—Plan. Around the edges of each of the foundations—Plan, Secure, and Invest—we have supports. These supports strengthen each foundation.
We’re going to dive into each support. What we want you do to is to score yourself a 1, 2, or 3 in each support. But first, download this worksheet to keep track of your scores.
DATA
When it comes to a plan, data is the first support. Data is critical. You must know exactly what you need to fulfill all your financial goals.
How clear are you about your current financial circumstances and your future financial goals?
Not clear about either
I'm clear on my circumstances or my goals, or I just have a general idea of each
Know exactly where I stand versus where I need to be to realize all my financial goals
Where do you fall? Go ahead and write that number in your worksheet.
Why is data important?
It’s simple, you must know exactly where you stand and where you want to go in order to map the route between the two. The route is the path between where you are and where you want to go. This is the process we call your Financial Framework.
STRUCTURE
The second support is structure. When we talk about a plan, we're talking about a plan that caters for all of life's unexpected moments as well as the expected and anticipated ones. For instance, weddings are expected. There are things that we know or can anticipate that will draw on your resources. This means that the plan is date-specific and dollar-specific and looks at all the factors of your financial life.
How confident are you that life’s unexpected and expected events won't jeopardize your financial future?
I have no plan
I have a general idea, but I still have questions
I have a date-specific, dollar-specific plan that accounts for the unexpected.
Where do you fall? Go ahead and write that number in your worksheet.
Why is structure important?
You need a timeline, a road map that will help you get to where you want to be and stay there is a critical thing. We call this process your Custom Financial Blueprint.
REVIEW
The third support in plan is Review.
When was the last time you re-examined your complete financial picture? This means looking at everything together… your income and spending, your goals, your wills, insurances and so on to really know that everything was under control.
I’ve never done that, or ten+ years ago
I looked at everything 3 to 5 years ago
I review it with a professional at least annually
Go ahead and write that number in your worksheet.
Why is review important?
We all know life does change, and your plan must change with it. We all know that reality doesn't always go according to plan. That’s why we have a Periodic Wealth Check-Up.
Three Supports for a Strong Foundation
With Data, Structure, and Review in place, you can have a Plan that can give you more confidence, wealth, and freedom in your finances. In our next post we'll dive into what it takes to Secure.
You can find the three supports for secure here and the three supports for invest here.
If you’d like to see what might be possible for you, then we should get on the phone and talk. Don’t worry, the first call is less than 15 minutes and there’s no charge.
In that time we’ll…
Look at your savings, your goals, and when you want to achieve them by.
See what’s possible for you in terms of your plan, security, and growth.
Look at your current situation, how much you’re saving, where you’re saving it, and how much you want to spend.
Find out what’s working and what’s not, and what you’ve tried so far.
We’ll also identify the number one thing that’s holding you back from confidence, freedom, and wealth. Then, you’ll get a three-step action plan to get you even more growth, clarity, and security faster than you ever dreamed was possible.