Wealthy Choices For You

When do you need a financial planner?

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A friend asked this question-- "When would I need a financial planner?" and I thought is was worth exploring with you.
If you wake up with a toothache or a painful, maybe contagious rash, you know you need to call a doctor. But is your need for financial advice that clear and dramatic? Probably not.
Let's consider the five top reasons you may need a financial planner and then
let's look at what financial planning can do for you.

A financial planner can help if you are in one of these five situations. They happen to all start with the letter "U". Your situation is 1) Unusual 2) Unexpected 3) Ugly 4) Unruly
5) Uncharted

"Can I retire? "My friends tell me the answer is --"I don't know." In addition it is a threatening question. It makes them nervous just to think that they may not have the time to grow enough assets. So "Penelope,-- go away". I hear them and I hear all of you who might agree with them, but as the founder of Wealthy Choices (R) LLC with over 20 years of advising people about life and money I have to say people are amazing. I am continually impressed by how clever you are. You are creative and you will figure out a path to retirement success, maybe with the help of a financial planner, or maybe just because you have bailed yourself out of lots of difficult situations. You will adapt whether there is enough money or not.

Money with laughter and praise

Today's question is-- What does $100,000 buy?
Yes, I bet you can list a lot of desirable items from cars to trips to home improvements. But if I ask you in terms of the goal of financial security for your family what does $100,000 buy, maybe the question is not so easy to answer.

$100,000 may seem like a good sum of money when you are paying your monthly bills. And the bills are each for under $2,000. But how many months of bills would that hundred thousand cover for your family if you had died last week? Have you recently added up all of what you spend to maintain your life style? What is the absolute minimum the family needs? What is the amount you are currently living on? What would be the right target?

Suppose you had $100,000 of life insurance or of assets in the stock or bond market how long would that money keep your family's bills paid?