Financial Planning

Did you know that most people spend more time planning their vacation than they do their retirement? You wouldn’t think of jumping in the car and heading to some favorite vacation destination without at least some amount of advance planning.  So if we spend all of this time planning for a trip that might last a week or two, where is the logic in spending no time planning our retirement that might last 20 or 30 years?  Here are a few questions you should ask yourself.

·  Do you have an idea of how much money it will take to fund your retirement years?

·  Have you taken into consideration the effects of inflation?

·   Are you currently saving and investing enough to reach that goal?

·   Do you have a plan to minimize taxes?

·   What about college expenses for your children?

·   Have you considered the financial consequences to your family of an unexpected
    death or disability of you or your spouse?

·   What about long-term care needs?

·   Is your estate in order?  Do you have a will?  If so, has it been updated recently? 
    Did you know that if you die without a will, your state will decide who gets
    your assets?

Most people don’t like to face these issues.  They are not easy to deal with and require detailed calculations as well as various assumptions about inflation and return on investments.  At Holmes Financial Group, we encourage each of our clients to go through the retirement planning process so they will be able to see a picture of what retirement might look like.  If that picture is not so attractive, then we make needed revisions to the plan to help clients attain their goals.

Retirement planning is not a one-time thing that you do and then forget about.  It is a continuous process.  The initial plan is only the beginning.  Our clients have online access to our planning software where they can track their progress over the years and enter updates as needed.   We are available to meet with clients periodically to make sure they stay on top of their plan.