What is the cost of not having one’s finances organized, simplified, and planned? Without putting a precise number to it—depending on the situation, the costs could end up as high as five, six, or seven-plus figures.
Beyond this, problems can extend past more just finances. The wrong planning—or lack thereof—can wreak psychological, emotional, and relational havoc on an entire family when crisis hits. So what is the cost of not planning? Better asked—what is the cost of family turbulence, not being able to retire, or possibly even lost childhood?
That last item, though sounding extreme, is why today’s presenter, Matt Bowden of RFC Financial Planners, helps people with their financial plans. Matt knows firsthand what can happen when crisis hits before having a solid plan present:
As a child, through no direct fault of himself or his parents, his family’s earning capacity diminished overnight when his dad became disabled while working a steady job. This suddenly required the rest of the family to pick up what they could of the difference with a round-the-clock vending business. As a kid in this business and not even a teenager when it launched, Matt had to be its primary muscle alongside his mother, until his younger brother could catch up in size too.
Though these experiences shape us into who we are and he is highly-resilient and resourceful for it, Matt graciously does not want his own kids or those of any other young families to miss out on the weekends, evenings, and summers of fun and relaxation that he had to as a kid due to financial necessity and lack of resource.
While we just spent a good deal of time on Matt’s origin story—he shared it briefly today, then focused primarily on how his team at RFC Financial Planners can help you plan your financial life going forward.
At RFC, their process goes like this:
After introductory consultations and signing, clients undergo a thorough discovery and visioning process. Here Matt learns goals, fears, hopes, etc,
After this, the team does an even more thorough document deep dive to make sure they can have the absolute fullest picture of your family’s financial situation.
From here, they tailor a personalized plan to meet your family’s specific needs in maximum pursuit of the goals outlined.
Lastly, and possibly most important, RFC can help activate and deploy your plan for you and with you, with minimal residual effort.
Many people think they are great at managing their money, and may even be able to operate an investment account, but as Matt showed today, that’s really just the beginning.
Despite there being much else to consider, having an advisor will likely make you better at managing your money too—by as much as 3% annually according to Vanguard.
Though this is a wonky graphic that Matt shared, it works to attributes that 3% advantage or “alpha” to various factors. Interestingly, nearly all of that benefit is from the allocation expertise and behavioral coaching advisors provide, and not from advantages trading.
That attribution—away from lucky stock picks and toward behavioral factors is a testament to doing things right consistently, with the guiding help of experts like Matt. If you’d like to get started organizing, simplifying, and planning your life now, connect with Matt today. He would love to meet you and help you achieve your family’s goals.
To connect with local businesses and hear or potentially deliver more great presentations like Matt’s, visit one of our meetings any time, and consider joining to become a member!
