Have you fixed your Nagging, Unfinished, Tasks, (NUTS) that keep you from building wealth?
Most people wait until the last minute to finish their NUTS especially when they come to see me, their Wealth Coach. Time and money are the biggest obstacles that keep people from getting their finances in order. But not addressing your NUTS can drive you nuts .
Take for example, Mr A & Mrs. B, they couldn’t agree on what to do with their money and so did nothing . Mrs. B is worried that that won’t have enough for retirement and Mr. A might lose his job and both worry about the rising costs of college tuition . They watched their assets decline in value and talked about it and worried about it and still did nothing . Both work and haven’t had decent raises in years and both have no idea of how much they spend annually. . They came to me wanting to fix their Nagging, Unfinished, Tasks. To Eliminate their NUTs, it took hourly phone calls every other week for almost a year at a cost of $6,500 to eliminate their Nagging, Unfinished, Tasks . What happened over that time?
I started with a financial foundation-I got them an emergency savings account, updated estate plan, and a review of all of their insurance. I taught them how to continually get the best rates on their cash and even with the cost of an estate planning attornry, they saved over $1500 .
I got them to blend their accounts together and designate them for goals; IRAS, Roth IRAs, pensions, 529 college plans, 401Ks, brokerage statement, etc. I helped them prioritize and agree on what they wanted with their money. Aligning money with values and goals is just as important as investing . They now know how to manage their own portfolio as a unit for the purposes they intended. They also agreed on what they would do when things go south.
Mr. A understood that he couldn’t contribute to retirement and college education if he was out of a job for a long time and Mrs. B understood that she would need to cut back on expenses if she still wanted the family to take vacations every year. Both knew what each had to do to meet their goals.
How much did they save? Hard to say. Both know how to implement their plan on their own and both are extemely happy . Waiting so long to fix their Nagging Unfinished Tasks is their only regret .
If this couple went to a financial advisor, they would have easily paid $10,000 or more and had ongoing fees and expenses and still worried about if they were doing the right thing. Now they are armed with the tools, resources, and education to stay on track. They took the time and truly saved money, saved on taxes, and reduced their stress. Can you put a price on that?
Fern Alix LaRocca CFP® Wealth Coach
