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Nearly every day I devote some time to
thinking of anecdotes, analogies, and other clever ways to connect
with people about the importance of creating a plan for long term
financial success. I speak with people about creating
“successful financial outcomes” and “practical
planning for real people.” I feel that each day that my
message reaches someone, whether on our radio program, in print, or
in person, is a successful day for me.
The world is conspiring against you. In
the nearly quarter century that I have been a student of financial
advice, I have watched as the amount of financial information
available to each of us has increased exponentially, leading not to
greater understanding, but rather to much greater confusion. The
media reports daily, with increasing hyperbole, about
inconsequential short term price fluctuations of individual
investments and overall markets. But rather than mention the
irrelevance of these price movements, they have taken to creating
“explanations” for the trivial and temporary changes in
value. Reporters used to report the fact; today’s media
believes it is their job to interpret the information and create
the stories.
Worse still are the advisors who believe
that planning for your financial future is a function of
mathematics and calculations. They speak to you about beating the
market, risk-adjusted rates of return and strategies to increase
tax efficiency. These poor souls miss the point entirely. A good
comprehensive plan for your financial future will certainly
consider those concepts, but it won’t be based on them. A
well thought out, all-inclusive plan for long term financial
success is based on people, relationships and love. I realize that
sounds completely contrary to the normal message, but the longer I
am in this business, the more I realize that it has very little to
do with math.
About three months ago, a good friend of
mine was diagnosed with cancer at age 56. With two sons in college,
this estate planning attorney’s life revolved around his
family, his career and his clients. Because he was an estate
planning attorney, he had taken more steps than most people to
secure his family’s future, but he never thought he would
have 14 weeks notice of the end of his life. When he passed away
this past weekend, we were all left stunned by the speed of his
demise.
While this is but the latest reminder in
my long career of how precarious life can be, I needed to try to
take this tragedy and turn it into a positive experience. You see,
it ultimately didn’t matter which mutual funds he owned, or
if he had beaten the S&P 500 for some arbitrary period of time,
or if he knew some secret method of timing the market. It
wasn’t important that he had been watching CNBC for late
breaking market news or hot stock tips. It did matter that he had
sat down with experts and outlined exactly what would happen to his
loved ones if something unexpected were to happen to him. It did
matter that he had planned for his sons’ educations and his
wife’s future in the event he wasn’t around. It did
matter that he had taken the time to plan for most of life’s
unexpected consequences, so he could enjoy his life and not waste
time on the triviality of market timing, stock picking or any other
useless silliness which the mainstream media blathers on about
every day.
Over the years, I have witnessed good
people stricken suddenly with catastrophic illnesses and worse. I
have seen their anxiety and that of their families when faced with
the unexpected. Never once did they tell me they wished they had
owned hotter investments or been better at timing the market. None
ever related that they wished they had spent more time
micromanaging their finances and less time enjoying life with their
loved ones.
Planning for your long term financial
success and that of your loved ones takes a little time up front.
It really isn’t something you can do on your own or with a
do-it-yourself guide. But once you have taken the time to reduce
the uncertainty, fear and doubt about your financial future, you
give yourself tremendous confidence and freedom. And since there
are no unexpected deaths, only premature ones, wouldn’t today
be a good day to finally address your family’s financial
future, so you can get on with more important things?
Michael Rogan is president of Rogan &
Associates Financial Planners, a locally-owned financial planning
brokerage firm based in Safety Harbor. He brings nearly two decades
of financial expertise to the local airwaves on the radio show,
Financial Planning for Life, heard at 11 a.m. weekdays on AM 1250
WHNZ. For more information, call 727-712-3400 or visit
www.RoganFinancial.com.
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