Shedload

I felt like a million bucks walking out of my financial planner’s office this week, in spite of the fact that I am nowhere close to amassing the  2.7 he forecasts I’ll need to retire at my current standard of living in fifteen years!  How can I be so happy, you ask? 

For starters, I was glad to still recognize him.  Since we last met, he’s lost a little hair, some weight and several points on his cholesterol reading, but he’s still the same whip-smart, honest guy I remembered.  And he takes and retains good notes about his clients and prepares for his meetings.  Not only did he know that I was divorced, but he knew the name of my ex and our grim financial story from long ago.  We celebrated the progress I have made on my own. I felt important and looked after.

More than that, I’m happy because so much of my future is in my own hands.  As I suspected, I’ve been doing all of the right things in terms of adding regularly to my investments.  Now it is all about managing my expenses in order to find more to save.  He has started me off with an achievable goal to increase my investing and we’ll work up from there. 

I left the office savoring just how valuable a clear line of sight into the big picture is in getting where you want to go. 

Over coffee with my best friend just prior to my meeting, we discussed the very same idea; that information is power, and before you imagine death and destruction, doom and gloom, whatever you want to call it, you need to get your facts straight.

What I most appreciate about my numbers guy is his willingness to paint me a very objective picture, even though he knows it’s not pretty and that I wished I was looking at something more pleasing.   He did me a solid by telling it to me straight. I can’t set my sail in the right direction without an honest reading of where I sit today.  I have nothing but respect for people who have the courage to lay it all out there and the bedside manner to help me remain positive in the face of a less than desirable situation. 

We all live in the moment.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of retirement saving.  As my son, just two short years away from high school graduation, likes to respond to questions about his future: “I have plenty of time” is the pat response to getting serious about planning for the next phase of life. In a world that has infused instant gratification into every aspect of living, it’s easy to see why the discipline and sacrifice required to sock money away is met with disdain.

As my advisor was working the calculator with lightning speed, he told me the story of his wealthiest clients, two school teachers who combined bring home less money than I do.  Their vigilant attention to the future has them poised to retire tomorrow, maintaining the lifestyle they enjoy today.  In contrast he described another client who we’d clearly view as a millionaire, but will find himself in the proverbial poorhouse because his current rate of spending and saving have him on track to swallow a whopping 33% reduction in income when he begins living off his nest egg.

Looks can be deceiving. 

I could have walked away from this meeting overwhelmed and frightened about my future.  Instead I feel empowered.  I have the information I need now to set goals for myself and strike a balance that allows me to prioritize my spending so that I can enjoy my life today and prepare for a secure tomorrow.  Will it require some sacrifice?  Absolutely. I’m up to the challenge.

Not only can I see my beach house in my future, I’m moving toward being able to touch it.  And share it with someone wonderful.  As I was leaving, I was handed a barefaced opening to inquire about whether he knows any single guys, fiscally responsible, of course.  He smiled and said he’d keep me in mind. 

Networking and financial advice all in one shot?  No wonder I feel like a million bucks.