The One Question That Your Advisor Must Ask

Too much focus is placed on markets, investment returns and stock prices

How you arrange your financial life is important. But so too is how you live your life. The second part is unfortunately often neglected in financial planning. Would you rather own your own business? Travel more? Write a novel?

With an enormous amount of focus on investment returns and stock prices, one key question that all financial advisors should ask their clients is this: “Are you trying to make a living or a life?”

Most of us clearly want to make a life, and so do I. Life means living the way you want to live.

Live the Life You Want

Ask any business owner their top reasons they run their own business and you will likely agree with all of them: control your destiny; choose the people you work with; take on the risk; reap the rewards; challenge yourself; follow your passion; get things done faster; personally connect with clients; and feel pride in something you own.

I help clients build the life that they want to live. Often one’s money and values disconnect. A financial planner helps point out those discrepancies and highlight ways money can match values. Some advisors, however, take clients no further than that.

Some seem to believe that financial planning involves only planning the finances of our lives. Many planners cut right to the planning without exploring behind the money. Too bad, because identifying a client’s deepest values makes it easier to talk about trimming expenses or increasing income.

Many of my clients talk about goals and values because it’s pointless for me to make financial planning recommendations if I don’t know what’s important to them and how they want to live.

Plan for What You Want

Know precisely what you want in life. A financial plan helps you map your goals that lack a clear path.

• First comes mapping out your big goals;
• That is followed by costs of each of these dreams and a monthly breakdown of those costs, which might be less than you think;
• You then look at expenses to see which ones correlate with your dream life.

You can afford what you want.

That’s what the financial advisory industry should tell clients more often. Click here to meet with a Duncan Financial Group personal advisor that’s right for you.