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Community Investing Achiever in the Social Investment Forum 1% For Community campaign since 2002. Calvert Foundation Advisor of the Year in 2004. Learn more!

(Network Services Member)

Why Financial Planning?

The economy and volatile financial markets have citizens worried about their finances and looking for ethics and competency standards in their financial advisors according to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. research. 

Thirty-nine percent of upper income consumers are worried about their own lack of control over their finances, going into debt, their families’ financial future and not having enough money for retirement, according to CFP Board's 2004 Consumer Survey. Source: Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. 

Here's a little three minute video introduction from Tracy Gary, "What a Financial Plan is and Why it is Important"...

Topics

Your sessions and analysis may include help with the following:

• Retirement and Financial Independence
• Harmonizing Financial Decisions with Lifestyles
• Dreams and Goals Planning
• College Funding
• Money Issues and Relationships
• Philanthropic Planning
• Estate Planning
• Small Business Coaching

Common Mistakes

Topping a survey of the most frequent mistakes people make when approaching the financial planning process is not setting measurable financial goals. The next most common mistake is making a financial decision without understanding its effect on other financial issues. View full survey results at: http://www.cfp.net/media/survey.asp?id=5 

Process

• The financial planning practitioner and the client mutually define the scope of the engagement before any financial planning service is provided.

• We help you crystallize your goals, needs, and priorities; We then collect and compile your relevant data.

• We analyze the information to gain an understanding of the your financial situation and then evaluate to what extent your goals, needs and priorities can be met by existing resources and current course of action

• We identify and evaluate financial planning alternatives, develop financial planning recommendations, and present the financial planning recommendations

• We agree on implementation responsibilities and select products and services for implementation

• We mutually define monitoring responsibilities and if agreed upon, we conduct periodic reviews of your changing situation.

For more about the process, see Your Financial Planning Experience.

Capabilities

We use a top rated, sophisticated, professional-level financial planning software platform. Early on, we tried getting by with cheaper, simpler, and consumer type programs, but it soon became apparent that the results were insufficient at best and downright wrong at worst.

Financial planning engagements may be basic conceptual level, sophisticated and comprehensive, or somewhere in between.

Financial counseling and guidance is an ongoing process throughout your life-stages. You can identify and address your life goals through consideration of appropriate, socially responsible, and money-making decisions.

Your Participation is Key

Your willingness to be frank with us about your financial situation, your goals, and your expectations will greatly help us to help you. We may ask you to complete a financial profile or other questionnaire. You will also probably need to provide your most recent tax return and investment account statements.

You may be asked to prioritize your concerns from a list of possibilities and answer questions regarding your financial goals, and objectives. We exchange ideas and together will arrive at sensible recommendations.

Service Fees

Financial planning service fees are disclosed on the Advisory Fee Schedule. An estimate is provided before you are asked to sign a service agreement. Some planning projects may be completed cooperatively with one of our professional colleagues on a fully disclosed basis. 

Note: Investment management services, investment recommendations, and specific investment advice are not provided on an hourly basis. For more information about investment management services, please see the investing services page.