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Designing your ideal life

Designing your ideal life

Most of our Ideal Clients do not understand the journey upon which they have embarked until they have worked with us for several years. Some think they hired a stockbroker. Others think they hired a CPA firm. Others think they hire an insurance agency. And others think they hired financial planners. The answer to these assertions is we are none of the above and a little bit of all of the above. But we are much more.

If you think we are any of the above firms, you will miss the point, because what we do is subtle. Yes, over a period of a year or two, you will gradually begin to figure it out. But we have clients who have been clients for more than ten years who really don’t understand our value proposition and many don’t take advantage of that proposition.

So let me explain. View us first as a team of professionals who work together to help you achieve all of your goals for reasons that are important to you. Once you learn to trust us, you can free up a lot of time that you would previously have spent running to your CFP®, to your CPA, your estate planning attorney, your insurance specialists and your money managers. Back and forth you run getting advice from one that conflicts with the advice from another and all the while not knowing what to do.

But as we take care of your financial issues, as you get all of the insurance you need and get rid of what you don’t need; as you get your wills and trusts in perfect order and as your beneficiaries on all of your accounts match your wills and trusts; as you get your taxes in perfect harmony with your financial plan and your investments, so you are paying the minimum taxes possible; as you are saving enough so you will achieve your goals; and as your investment reviews becomes consistent and predictable; as all of these things come together our advice becomes more and more routine. Over time there are fewer and fewer surprises. Your financial house becomes in order. Everything is as it should be and you are on track to attain all of your goals for reasons that are important to you. There will come a point where your financial life is in harmony with your Financial Road Map TM and you know exactly where you are and where you stand.

It is at this point that you will discover true financial freedom. And it is at this point that we switch gears a bit and redirect the time that we save you toward designing and living your Ideal Life. So what is your Ideal Life? Have you ever thought about that? There are many dimensions to life. Some are money oriented but most are not. Money is the tool by which we live our lives, but having money or not having money in and of itself does not create our Ideal Life.

No your Ideal Life is more about who you are and how you live. So what dimensions are we now describing? One dimension would be your health. To many of my senior clients, health is clearly the most important thing in life. Without health you can’t enjoy anything. What is another dimension of your Ideal Life? To a psychiatrist it would be mental or emotional health. What else is critical to living your Ideal Life? Let’s list a few others: having fun, being with the ones we love, spending time with the ones we love and care about, helping others is important to many of us, making a difference in others lives. To some it is spiritual wellbeing. How is your spiritual life? To others it is having a successful business or career. But what is a successful business or career? Can we truly be happy doing what our career asks of us? Perhaps we will find greater happiness by changing paths? To some people this concept resonates, to others it doesn’t resonate.

Each of us has certain core values we hold dear. Since you are a client, we already had a conversation where we explored what was important to you. You see we practice a concept called Values Based Financial Planning TM. It is our belief that your core values are like a compass, pointing northward. Your true values describe who you are and what is important to you. And as you gain understanding of those values, like a compass, they will lead you to true north. True north is where you will find the greatest happiness and fulfillment. And it is our goal to help you align your goals, your daily activities, your career, and your entire life to your most deeply held values.

By helping you gain insight into what is important to you, you can live a happier, more fulfilled and complete life. One filled with joy. One where your time is spent doing the things you love and that truly matter to you.

To help you out along the way, we free you from all of those nasty financial tasks people have to do in life. We make you the director of your financial life, but free you from the mundane tasks of handling your financial life.

That is core to what we do for you. Our goal is to free you as much as possible from the mundane and from the tasks that you can delegate to others, so you can explore your most deeply held values and goals and have more time to do the things in life that really matter to you.

The Road Map was the first step along this path. There will be many others. Don’t feel rushed. We have plenty of time. We have the rest of your life. But don’t miss this opportunity. Now is the time to start exploring what you want your life and your future to look like. Now is the time to design you and your spouse’s future together.

Chris Morris, MBA, CFP®, CPA, PFP, RFC