They say life is a journey. So, where’s the roadmap? How many potholes could have been avoided — or incredible destinations reached — if only we’d had the right guidance at the right time? We asked four financial professionals about the financial strategies and life lessons they wish they had been given, or simply taken to heart sooner.
SAVINGS ARE ABOUT RUNWAYS, NOT JUST RAINY DAYS
“I wish I had understood the power of savings, and the confidence and opportunities it provides in life,” says Tiffany Charles, a financial professionals with Strategic Wealth Partners in Greenwood Village, Colorado. “It’s not just about rainy days. It’s also about being in a position to take advantage of opportunities. Perhaps I would have made the leap to be my own boss years earlier if I had the financial runway to do so.”
ADOPT THE 80-20 RULE
“I used to capture the money left over at the end of the month and push that into savings,” Tiffany says. “Lifestyle first, saving second. It was a bad habit.” Now, her family saves 20 percent of income off the top and then lives on the remaining 80 percent of what they earn. The result? “We have eight months’ worth of living expenses in a savings account, ready at any time. We have a wealth building account that helps pay for whole life insurance and investments. We feel confident in our habits, our savings, and our protection.”
IT’S NOT WHAT YOU MAKE. IT’S WHAT YOU KEEP
Christopher Chow, a financial professional with Wealth Strategy Partners in Honolulu, learned his lessons early from a financially-savvy father. A key principle was to save smart: evaluate potential investments with an eye to keeping tax advantages high. “I learned to save as much as I could in a tax-efficient vehicle, like a Roth IRA,” he says. “Doing this early in life gave me the time and resources to build my business; it gave me financial confidence.”
ESTABLISH CREDIT-WORTHINESS EARLY
Christopher’s father encouraged his son to get a credit card at age 18 — and use it responsibly. “What I gained was an extremely high credit score that allowed me to obtain property easily,” he says. “It also gave me the time and resources to transition from medicine to financial services, and ultimately gave me financial balance.”
SAVE A TON. AND THEN ANOTHER TON
Randy Brickman, a financial professional with Forest Hills Financial Group in Melville, New York, wishes he had been a more disciplined saver. “I saved, sure, but I should have saved a ton more,” he says. “You just don’t know what curve balls life will throw at you.” He advises clients to get into the habit of paying themselves first. Creating a budget is a good first step to becoming a world-class saver.
BALANCE UP BEFORE YOU BREAK DOWN
Dan Spickard, a financial professional with Lifetime Financial Growth in Pittsburgh, realized he needed more balance in his life. “A few years ago, my back went out due to sitting so much and not exercising,” he says. Plus, his family time was suffering. “When you have a career you’re passionate about, it’s easy to let your calendar take over your life.” Winding up, literally, flat on his back led him to start scheduling less work and more family time. Now he coaches his daughters in soccer and has grown to love the sport himself. “Not only am I happier and healthier, I’m able to spend precious time with my wife and daughters without any regrets. Our relationships have grown to levels I never imagined.”
ENLIST A FINANCIAL REFEREE
“My wife and I are great savers, but weren’t on the same page on where the money should go,” says Dan. She favored stashing it in the bank while Dan was more into life insurance and investments. “I laid out a solid financial plan to maximize our financial future and my wife looked me in the eye and said ‘no.’” So, Dan set up a meeting with one of his business partners, who proceeded to outline a similar approach.
“When he finished, she said it was a great plan and we should have been doing this all along! I was sitting in the back of the room gritting my teeth. My wife looked at me and said, ‘I know you presented the exact same plan and I said no. It is just different coming from him.’” Today Dan and his wife have a diversified portfolio with exposure to the markets and a solid financial foundation. “Marriage is a compromise in all areas and good communication about financial balance is critical,” he says.
When we take these professionals’ hard-won strategies as a whole, a theme emerges: Growing in financial confidence is a step-by-step process. And each step — saving more deliberately, creating a balanced plan, sharing financial goals with your partner — gets you closer to the financially and emotionally confident life you want, for yourself and your loved ones.
