Have you Fixed your Nagging, Unfinished, Tasks, (NUTS)?
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 have no idea of how much they spend annually and both haven’t had decent raises in years. They came to me wanting to fix their Nagging, Unfinished, Tasks. It took hourly phone calls every other week for almost a year at a cost of $6,500 to take eliminate their financial N.U.T.s.. What happened over that time?
I started with a financial foundation-I got them an emergency savings account, updated estate plan, and a followup of all of their insurance. Even with the cost of an estate planning attorney, they saved over $1500, and I taught them how to continually get the best rates on their cash.
I got them to blend their accounts together and specify them for goals; IRAS, Roth IRAs, pensions, 529 college plans, 401Ks, brokerage statement, etc. I helped them agree on what they wanted with their money and how to prioritize.. Aligning money with goals and values 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. Their only regret is why they waited so long to get help to fix their financial N.U.T.s.
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 genuinely saved money, saved on taxes, and decreased their stress. Can you put a price on that?
Fern Alix LaRocca CFP®
