Blueprinting Your Financial Future is the model our clients use to get confidence, wealth, and freedom in their finances. There are three foundations that help our clients get and maintain dignity and grace throughout their retirement. And each foundation has three supports. So far, we’ve covered Plan’s Data, Structure, and Review and Secure’s Assess, Control, and Protect. In this post, we’ll unveil the final three supports to this model.
And if you missed the rest of the series, you can find the previous posts here:
Post 1: Your 4 Financial Futures – Which Line are You On?Post 2: When Is Now Going To Be The Right Time To Jump Retirement Lines?Post 3: Symptoms and Signs of Retirement Overwhelm and Apprehension.Post 4: What Retirement Contentment Looks Like – and Why It’s So DangerousPost 5: What a Happy Retirement Looks Like - and How to Achieve ItPost 6: Blueprinting Your Financial Future ModelPost 7: The 9 Supports of the Blueprinting Your Financial Future Model: PlanPost 8: The 9 Supports of the Blueprinting Your Financial Future Model: Secure
Are You Invested for Growth?
If you've been following along, you should have scored yourself in six of the nine supports of Blueprinting Your Financial Future. In this post we are going to finish out the final three key pieces. But before we dive into the last foundation--Invest--grab your worksheet, or if you don’t have one you can get one here. What we want you do to is to score yourself 1, 2, or 3 based on which option with which you identify most.
Ready?
By the time we reach invest, we should have a plan and secure in place. Those two foundations are really going to start to build your confidence and your wealth. Now we'll need to pay attention to completing the wealth picture and letting you have real freedom of stress.
This comes from the invest foundation…
Alignment
The first support under invest is alignment.
How tailored are your assets and investments to address any concerns you have for the future, but also to the dreams and realities that you have? (Hint: Most 401k plans are using a cookie cutter approach.)
I’m in an employer sponsored retirement plan
I’m not sure how my investment choices support and impact my dreams
I have a custom-tailored investment strategy developed with my dreams, fears, and reality in mind
Where do you fall? Go ahead and write that number in your worksheet.
Why is alignment so important?
Your assets and investments have to match your risk tolerance goals, financial situation, everyone is different, and we need investment strategies that match your needs. This is why we use a Custom Tailored Strategy.
Assets
The next support is assets. A crucial piece of hitting your financial goals is growth. Your assets and investments must grow to fulfill your goals.
How satisfied are you right now with the growth of your assets, your current assets and investments?
I’m disappointment with my growth
My assets are growing… but is it enough?
I’m getting the growth I need to fund my dreams
Where do you fall? Go ahead and write that number in your worksheet.
Why are assets so important?
When you’re constantly executing your assets, in alignment with your strategy, to make sure they are actually hitting your goals and fulfilling your goals. We use a process called Wealth By Multiplication.
Stewardship
The last support under invest is stewardship. Most of the people we talk to don’t have time for this and if they have a broker they have a hard time getting them on the phone. This is a key issue for use…
Are your assets and investments getting the respect and care they deserve?
I know it’s important and I should be doing more
I did the right thing and hired help, but they aren’t making me a priority
I have a focused, diligent team that is frequently communicating with me, and they’re willing to have the uncomfortable conversations
Where do you fall? Go ahead and write that number in your worksheet.
Why is stewardship so important?
You need someone to help you with your finances that will always act in your best interests and keeps a closer eye on these and what might impact them than you probably have the time to do. It's about making sure that these assets and investments are being respected and looked after. That’s Our Fiduciary Promise.
The Full Picture
Let’s just pause for a second…
If you’ve been following along with us through the entire nine supports, and did all that work, you should congratulate yourself. It’s not easy to take such an honest look at your situation, where you stand, and your finances. We know money can be scary and intimidating, but isn't not knowing worse?
As you look at that model and the new clarity you've gained in your finances, think about the scores that you had against each of the accelerators… Let’s grade ourselves like a traffic light.
Red is 1Yellow is 2Green is 3
Where do you say most of those are? How many of those are green and how many of them are red or yellow? And so, as you look at that model, how does that feel? What color is most of your map?
Sample Wealth Multiplier Self-Assessment Map
So what we have now is a visual guide of where we are now, how likely we are to get the Dignity and Grace we deserve.
Take a look and based on how you just rated your finances, how likely are you to get Dignity and Grace?
In our first post in this series we introduced you to Your 4 Retirement Futures, we asked you to pick the line you are on. You were either overwhelmed, apprehensive, content, or happy.
Do you feel like you picked the right level, or now that you have more context that you should be a level lower?
Obviously to have the best shot at getting the Dignity and Grace you deserve, we need significantly more greens around the outside of your Wealth Multiplier than you likely have. And the less greens we have, the more oranges and more reds we have, the harder it will be for you to get that much deserved dignity and grace. And to grow the greens, we need to focus on getting a plan, securing your future, and investing for growth.
Nine Supports for Dignity and Grace in Retirement
If you want to transform your yellows and reds to greens quicker, with less stress, we should get on the phone and talk. Don’t worry, the first call is less than 15 minutes and there’s no charge.
In that time we’ll…
Look at your savings, your goals, and when you want to achieve them by.
See what’s possible for you in terms of your plan, security, and growth.
Look at your current situation, how much you’re saving, where you’re saving it, and how much you want to spend.
Find out what’s working and what’s not, and what you’ve tried so far.
We’ll also identify the number one thing that’s holding you back from confidence, freedom, and wealth. Then, you’ll get a three-step action plan to get you even more growth, clarity, and security faster than you ever dreamed was possible.