Helping People

I recently flew to Boston to meet with a couple who were referred to us by the husband's brother for whom we had completed a comprehensive financial review.  I will call them John and Judy, although these are not their real names to protect their privacy.  John was a non-profit and foundation consultant whose business was significantly down due to some health issues he has had and Judy works for a software technology company.  They had two grown sons.  John is 60 and Judy 59.  Judy was also having some health issues due to her stress from work and working long hours.  They, like many of the people we initially meet, were not confident that they could reduce their current savings so that Judy could perhaps work less, or work a day or two from home, and still be able to have enough to retire in a few years.  They were very diligent savers and had saved quite a bit in assets which were spread across many disparate accounts with no real portfolio management plan.  We ran various scenarios using Monte Carlo software simulation and worked through a budgeting process with them, which gave them more confidence that they could spend a little more now, reduce their stress level, live a little and still be able to retire and live comfortably in a few years.  They were so thrilled with our process that as John's brother did, Judy wanted us to go through the same process with her mother, which we are currently doing!

There are obviously many assumptions and factors that go into this type of analysis and nothing is guaranteed in financial projections and hypothetical analysis, however, we have found in our over seventeen years of experience helping clients like John and Judy achieve their financial goals that it is the process and exercise of compiling all the data, thinking about and writing down your goals, putting a plan in place to achieve those goals and then regularly reviewing this plan to determine if you are on track and if not what needs to change, that provides clients like John and Judy with the most value!

Admittedly, there have been times, albeit thankfully very few, in my experience over my seventeen year career as a financial planner that I question whether we really do provide value to our clients and it is times such as meeting with clients like John and Judy, going through our analysis and facilitating a discussion between them about very sensitive and difficult issues, which they would probably not have done on their own, that remind me why I got into this business and why I stay in it!!  WE CAN AND DO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLES LIVES! 

I cannot explain the feeling of extreme satisfaction and happiness that I felt personally as I was leaving John and Judy's home knowing that we had really helped them in a significant way, during a difficult time, however, it is one that I will never forget and look to duplicate each and every day! 

White House Financial & Settlement Consulting helps families live easier and less stressful lives through the proper management of their financial resources.  We do this by acting as our clients’ trusted advisor providing a personal touch customized to the client’s needs!  Please visit our web site at www.whitehousellc.com for more information!

Required Compliance Testimonial Disclosure:  Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of other clients; and are not indicative of future performance or success.