3 Reasons to Be Thankful for Financial Planning & Wealth Management

November 18, 2019

Between concocting Thanksgiving dinner plans and December peeking around the corner, the holiday season can be a hectic time. Before we blaze through our Thanksgiving grocery shopping, let’s take a deep breath and refocus on what this holiday is all about: thankfulness.

Here at SWM, we’re thankful for the opportunity to help clients take charge of their finances so they can achieve their goals. That can mean helping a client save for retirement with a smart savings plan. It can also mean reevaluating a client’s financial plan after a big life change, like having kids or receiving an inheritance. 

Everyone’s life roadmap looks a bit different, so everyone’s financial plan will be different, too. No matter what your path looks like, one thing is for sure — everyone benefits from a plan that reflects their goals.

Whether you have a robust plan, or you are setting intentions about starting one, here are 3 reasons to be thankful for financial planning and wealth management.

1. A plan challenges you to identify the gaps in your financial strategy  

Have you set your retirement plan on the back burner? Does investing feel like an untamable beast? Maybe you’re not even sure which parts of your finances you’ve left unaddressed. 

That’s why financial plans are so helpful — they get us to look at the whole financial picture. 

Taking a good look at our finances helps us mitigate risks that could otherwise cause stress. The last thing we want is to have our money swept away because we didn’t realize our insurance policy or investment strategy was a bad fit for us.  

By examining each piece of the financial puzzle — like our income, debt, and investment plans — we can see where we’re doing well and where we could be doing better. We give ourselves the gift of financial clarity.

2. A plan springs you into action   

Identifying the gaps is a crucial step in the right direction, but it’s what we choose to do about those gaps that make for a successful plan. 

This is especially easy to do when you have someone by your side to spot the gaps and strategize about how to fill them. Financial advisors are trained to do just that, so if you could use a second pair of eyes as you sift through your finances, don’t hesitate to ask. 

Remember, it may seem daunting now, but building a plan is the first step away from procrastination and one step toward achieving your goals. Thank yourself for taking a step in the right direction.

3. A plan boosts your ability to strategically save and spend your money 

Planning helps us efficiently handle our money, saving strategically so we can spend on the things that we really need (like a roof over our heads) and the things that provide us with the most fulfillment (perhaps you’d like to travel when you retire).  

Financial plans help us build wealth so we can turn these aspirations into reality, reducing stress along the way. A comprehensive financial plan will consider factors like:

• cash flow — the amount of money coming in and going out of our accounts
• investment strategy — how we aim to grow our savings while staying within our risk tolerance
• retirement planning — how we save so we can have a comfortable retirement

If a financial plan helps us accumulate wealth, a wealth management plan can help us preserve, grow, and enjoy that wealth. While not everyone will need a wealth management plan, it can address additional financial factors, like more complex tax planning and charitable giving plans.

Let’s give thanks for financial empowerment!

At the end of the day, these pieces come together so you can save and spend on your terms. 

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