By Matthew Gaude & Shawn McGuire
When’s the last time you made a major purchase sight unseen? You most likely haven’t.
It would be incredibly risky to buy a car without driving it first, or put an offer on a home you haven’t walked through. So why should you pay for a financial plan without knowing what to expect?
Because we develop custom financial plans for each client, it’s no easy task to provide one without working extensively with you. However, we wanted to create something that could help you better understand what a financial plan may look like so you could see the benefits a plan could bring to your financial life. If you choose to work with us, this is what you can expect:
What Does A Financial Plan Involve?
Financial plans often address a myriad of concerns and goals, from college planning to retirement income strategizing. Depending on your needs, your plan may narrow in on one overarching element or address multiple goals you’d like to achieve over time. Whatever you choose to focus on, your financial plan is designed to serve as your road map, helping you get from point A to point B.
We believe a good financial plan should give you a detailed, comprehensive snapshot of your current financial situation, a thorough modeling of where you want to be, and the actions you need to take to reach those goals. It should address all the pieces of your financial puzzle, from stresses and fears to your values and dreams, and encompass risk analysis, cash flow, retirement, estate planning, taxes, education, and income strategies to help bring you clarity and guidance. It is through our planning process that we can help you prepare for life’s expected and unexpected circumstances.
Throughout the planning process, our clients gain a complete picture of their wealth and understand each of the integrated components, including:
- Understanding what true wealth means to them
- Defining their unique purpose
- Clarifying their financial goals
- Prioritizing what is most important to them
- Planning to leave a lasting legacy
The result is a simple yet powerful road map to guide our clients toward financial freedom. Through our tailored approach, we focus on providing you with effective advice and a game plan. Our comprehensive retirement plans are created to help weather any economic climate so you can experience confidence in your financial future.
While most people leave meetings with their financial advisor confused about what’s happening with their money, we do all we can to ensure you’re completely aware of your financial strategy and the reasoning behind our recommendations. Money doesn’t have to be complicated, and we work hard to make the complex simple.
See A Sample Financial Plan
We’ve developed a sample financial plan that reflects our planning process. It looks at a fictional couple’s lifestyle income plan and how we developed it. This plan focuses on the couple’s retirement needs, addressing longevity, expenses and inflation, income, withdrawals, asset allocation, and other goals.
Keep in mind that this is only a hypothetical plan presented to illustrate what a client’s plan may resemble should they work with us. The characters and circumstances are completely fictional and are for illustrative purposes only. Be sure to seek the advice of a qualified professional for your particular situation and not rely upon any of the information herein to make personal financial decisions.
Here’s a sample plan that shows you how easy it is to see all the pieces of your financial plan in one place. With just one glance, you can see your current retirement cash flow situation, including potential shortfalls.
Next, you see customized Social Security benefit amounts and the differences between claiming at full retirement age (FRA) and at age 70.
Then your plan will go on to analyze every piece of your financial puzzle, showing detailed projections for income, expenses, assets, and more. This will show you where you will stand in retirement and give you something to aim for as you draw closer to your retirement years.
Finally, we propose an action list to optimize your financial plan and improve your estimated cash flow in retirement.
We also consider risks that may affect your finances in retirement, such as healthcare, inflation, market risk, and longevity risk, and propose solutions to mitigate these risks.
Take a look through the complete sample plan here. Once you’ve reviewed, schedule a 15-minutes phone call with us at Live Oak Wealth Management so we can discuss how we can create a financial plan personalized for you. Schedule an appointment online today or call my office at 770-552-5968 or email [email protected].
About Matthew
Matthew Gaude is an *investment advisor representative and the co-founder of Live Oak Wealth Management, a financial services firm in Roswell, Georgia. He serves the planning and investment needs of corporate employees, those approaching or in retirement, and 401(k) plan sponsors. Working first as a commodity broker and then as a Business Development Manager for a national broker-dealer in previous jobs, he has the insights and experience to help clients understand the complexities of the market and implement strategies to minimize risk. To learn more about Matthew, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit www.liveoakwm.com.
About Shawn
Shawn McGuire is a financial advisor and the co-founder of Live Oak Wealth Management, a financial services firm in Roswell, Georgia. He serves the planning and investment needs of corporate employees, those approaching or in retirement, and 401(k) plan sponsors. He has worked in financial services since 2002 in positions ranging from financial advisor to stock broker and portfolio manager. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, he is trained to help clients with virtually all their financial needs. To learn more about Shawn, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit www.liveoakwm.com.
Securities offered through American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through *American Portfolio Advisors, Inc., a SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Live Oak Wealth Management, LLC is independently owned and not affiliated with APFS or APA.
Any opinions expressed in this forum are not the opinion or view of American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS) or American Portfolios Advisors, Inc. (APA) and have not been reviewed by the firm for completeness or accuracy. These opinions are subject to change at any time without notice. Any comments or postings are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell securities or other financial instruments. Readers should conduct their own review and exercise judgment prior to investing. Investments are not guaranteed, involve risk, and may result in a loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investments are not suitable for all types of investors.
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