Our Process
Sound Financial Strategies understands that we all have similar desires for our money:
- To see it grow steadily without unnecessary risk.
- To have it provide an income for our entire lives and never outlive it.
- To leave some behind as a part of our legacy for our children, grandchildren, a charity, a church, etc.
- To reduce cost and fees.
So, if we know what we want, why do people not have it? Because life and the outside world gets in the way. The financial decisions you made in the past were likely the right ones…based upon the information you had at the time. What we need is a way to test out those decisions before we implement them.
Here, let us explain. We believe the root of the problem revolves around how we make financial decisions. More specifically, how do we know the decisions we are making are the right ones?
Let us start with how we make most financial decisions. Typically, we make them one at a time, and at different times of our lives with different financial professionals who are looking at our lives from only one perspective. Then, unfortunately, many times we compound the problem because we do not know all the options available to us. So, we make the best guess we can from what information we have gathered. After the decision has been made, we think, “whew, sure glad that is done”. Then put the decision away, and it may be years before we look at it again. Eventually, this creates a “Financial Junk Drawer”. Our products and decisions are disorganized, uncoordinated, and very little flows together. We need more knowledge.
This is where Sound Financial Strategies is different. The first thing we are going to do together is organize. You will be able to see your financial life all on one screen, and with the Wealth in Motion ™ simulator, we will have a way to test our decisions and have more complete knowledge of your financial well-being. Immediately we will see wonderful opportunities to take advantage of, or we will see problems to eliminate.
TESTING OUT OUR DECISIONS
Imagine, if you had an appliance where you could put into it your financial and personal information along with your questions, ideas, concerns, etc. and push a button, and out would come the ideal answer for you. Answers to questions like, retire now or in 5 years? Buy that vacation home now that you are retired or save? Now, if this appliance or tool was tied into the IRS with tax laws, estate planning tax laws, market histories, inflation tables, planned obsolescence and more, it would even be better. That would be a wonderful tool. Well, we have this tool. It is called Wealth In Motion™ . We will create a model of your financial life that you can see on one screen. From here, we can visually see how changing one variable might affect your financial life and retirement before we implement the decision. Decisions can now be based on evidence, not speculation. Decisions designed to allow aspects of your financial life to work together. We believe this is incredibly important to a successful retirement.
This tool can lead to discussions about many facets of your financial life. We will have in depth conversations regarding the protection, the savings and growth of your assets. As you approach retirement, or live in retirement, we do not want one unforeseen negative occurrence to drastically alter your financial well-being.
These conversations will also allow us to complete an Income for Life ™ analysis showing what guaranteed income streams you have, or will have in retirement. The analysis will also show what would happen if you, or your spouse/partner were to pass away. Where would that leave the survivor financially? Now we can address and potentially correct possible problems before they arise. We all want our loved ones to live out their remaining years with dignity if we were to die early.
