Do I Have Enough?

We have entered an exciting era to discuss finances and financial independence; investments are doing well, especially for the long term. Many folks are wisely turning away from chasing the latest craze and shifting their focus toward taking advantage of the good times without being wiped out by the bad. One of the primary questions I'm fielding as I analyze portfolios—nest eggs people have spent years of hard work saving—is whether they have enough. This is an honest and sincere question, as the folks I meet with regularly all want to be financially independent. They want to travel where they wish, spend time with the people they love, and never need to return to work. The challenge of achieving this extends beyond stating the goal. Of course, we will have the written goal of financial independence, as we always do at Lord and Richards. However, we must establish smaller goals along the way to help us get there.

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First, we must determine whether you have enough. Generic, broadly utilized ratios are insufficient; as we sit down together and develop your Financial Independence Review?, we prepare a budget and documents detailing what you need in retirement. At Lord and Richards, we’re here to help you sort through many of the things you may not have time to be concerned with. The last thing we want to do is bury you in paperwork! Our team of fantastic advisors will work with you to develop an expense plan from now through retirement to identify your needs. From there, we’ll determine whether your current portfolio and strategy can meet those needs and carry you through retirement while no longer taking an outside income. This invaluable information provided by your Financial Independence Review? allows us to determine your probability of success.

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Ideally, we love discovering your probability is already high and that we only need to refine it to build wealth further. However, your current plan sometimes puts you at risk of running out of money before you run out of life. We don’t want you ever to be fearful of running out. We also don’t want you to limit your early retirement years—when you still have the physical strength, stamina, and desire to explore and invest in hobbies—to being ultra-conservative and living on beanies and weenies.

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Before we declare that you don’t have enough, we’ll explore some changes that can be made; we’ll develop a new road map with the same assets and test it, hopefully preventing the need to put off retirement, scrimp on your budget, save in excess of your ability, or make other radical lifestyle changes. While there are times these steps are necessary, your portfolio may only need to be positioned differently. Perhaps your current portfolio is formatted in ways popular to other financial advisors or pundits on the radio or TV but won’t survive the test of time. Sometimes, we can even develop a plan that allows you to live on less money than you have, eliminating the fear of running out and affording you extra money to enhance your lifestyle. This is a topic I’ve discussed often with my clients recently, as we tend to become more conservative with spending as we age.

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I've had the privilege of helping people for many years, often through their entire life expectancy. Sometimes, I notice there’s a massive accumulation of assets to pass on to the next generation, which wasn’t necessarily the goal. Some clients do place a core focus on building a great legacy for their family. However, most prioritize living through retirement without running out of money, with a secondary emphasis on passing down assets to their spouse and/or children, especially if they pass earlier than anticipated.

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Whether you have a plan that puts you at risk of running out of money or requires you to live so conservatively that you’ll have money in excess at the end of life, my encouragement for you is to allow our team at Lord and Richards to help you develop a series of alternative plans you can compare and contrast. Perhaps you could spend more money and avoid overloading your investment accounts. Alternatively, there may be a way to structure your plan that eases the fear of being in over your head financially.

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Some of my clients love what they do and plan to work forever, myself included. However, many folks approaching their 60s are focusing on retirement or at least transitioning from their full-time job to something part-time so they can enjoy more free time with loved ones. To achieve those goals, we want you to frontload expenses during the years you have the most strength, vim, vigor, and desire to explore and live fully unless you are planning to build a greater legacy. Most of my clients, however, will prioritize their own needs in retirement and then consider legacy and how they can enhance the lives of the loved ones they leave behind.

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The first step in determining whether you have enough to retire is scheduling a time to sit down with our financial advisors at Lord and Richards and have a wonderful conversation about financial independence. We’ll analyze your portfolio and determine your probability of success, what could be improved upon, and potential pitfalls, which we will expand on in future segments. We want to ensure your financial independence roadmap includes a plan that safeguards you against threats that could sabotage your retirement. In the meantime, enjoy a complimentary conversation with our wonderful team over a warm cup of coffee or tea and our freshly baked cookies. It begins with a simple phone call.

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Investment Advisory Services offered through Lord and Richards Wealth Management, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser.