Celebrating Client Success

One of our greatest joys is seeing clients make progress toward their goals! During this season of gratitude and celebration, we wanted to share a few client stories.

The common factor in all of them is action. A financial plan is only worth the action taken from it. Without action, there won't be progress. Very rarely are we able to offer a quick "fix."  Much more often, success is achieved over a period of time with persistence and dedication, along with support and updates when needed.

As Mark Twain said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

Our first example is a client who came to us in her early 60’s. Although she wanted to retire, take social security as soon as possible, and stay in her home, she was faced with high interest credit card debt, a mortgage, and no plan for medical coverage until Medicare kicked in at age 65. Over time, she switched to a 0% interest credit card and was able to pay off her debts by carefully monitoring expenses and increasing her income with a higher paying job. Not only did her distributions from retirement accounts stop, she was also able to take the additional cash flow from having paid down debt and increase her retirement savings, increasing her likelihood of a financially secure retirement.

By postponing taking social security, signing up for healthcare during open enrollment, and reallocating her investment portfolio, she has been able to stay in her home and increase her net worth over the last few years. Instead of needing to withdraw from her retirement assets early, she is now contributing to and increasing it - and was able to retire in 2021!

Another example of success is a young couple. Their focus was on building a strong family, traveling, paying down their home, saving for their dream home, and retiring early. They began their financial plan each having employer retirement accounts and Roth IRAs, a new mortgage, and two children with plans for additional children. After completing their estate plan with a qualified attorney, they accelerated home payments, started college savings accounts (529s) for each of their children, maxed their retirement contributions, and increased funding to their HSA. Step by step they have reduced their debt, increased their net worth, have planned (and budgeted!) vacations, and are on a path to purchase their dream home.

We have worked with a business owner this year who felt 'stuck' between their business' financials and their personal finances. Uneven income from the business, family dynamics, and a changing industry environment prompted a broader conversation from an existing client about looking at both the business and personal finances holistically. By carefully reviewing their business financials, together we were able to identify key data points that reflected some of the key drivers to their profitability. Once they were identified, they were able to make business decisions that were connected to and supported their personal goals! They have taken action this year that will make a difference to their business, employees, and family for years to come.

And one last example is a couple nearing retirement. Four years ago, in their mid-sixties, they wanted to continue working in their fields and prepare for downsizing, moving closer to family, and making sure they had enough to retire in a few years. The couple had two small college loans still left to pay for their children, a mortgage, and credit card debt. They aggressively began paying off credit cards and college loans, planned for a wedding, and then used the now available money to max contributions to his 401k and their taxable account. This year they have implemented a specific retirement budget, reevaluated insurance coverage needs during retirement, sold their home, and purchased a home closer to family. During these last few years, they increased their contributions to retirement accounts and increased their total net worth and are now beginning retirement with confidence.

We are proud of all of our clients’ progress and happy to be a part of those accomplishments.

What support do you need to take action on your plans?