Life comes at us fast; it may sound trite and cheesy, but it’s true. While some days, weeks, and even years (pandemic times) may feel slow, when looking back at any significant periods in your life, it’s evident that the days can be long, but the years are short. I don’t say this to scare anyone or create a sense of urgency; no, I say this to remind myself of how life events happen fast and the importance of keeping a steady course of action for all the bumps along the way.
For decades, I’ve been a financial consultant in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. It’s my job to help my clients best prepare for the future while living fulfilling, engaging, and confident lives in the present. Just like my clients, I have to remind myself that balance is not necessarily giving equal attention to work, my wife, kids, and self-care at all times, but focusing on which needs the most attention at any given point in time.
Too often, I’ll meet with clients for the first time, and they’ve spent their entire lives saving without a strategy; these people are often regretful about what they could have done in years past. If they had received the right guidance from not just an accountant or consultant but a family financial planner that had the same experiences they did. Things might have turned out a little differently; do-overs are expensive!
This sentiment has inspired me to create a series of articles that help provide insight into the strategies and plans that families can develop to help with life’s obstacles and opportunities. I want to share my life with you and paint of picture of how my experiences directly inform my advice and strategies for my clients’ lives. Over the past 20 years, I’ve created 12 different financial plans for myself and my family.
My Life and Growing Family
- Our Past
My wife and I grew up in the New England region, and we lived in Boston for many years before deciding to leave the city for the North Shore. We wanted to give our growing family the space and the environment we felt they deserved. Even though we both loved living in the city, we knew that the opportunities for our needs and lifestyle would work better out of the city.
I’ll never forget the feeling of excitement, fulfillment, and, yes, some fear when our first boy arrived early on in our careers. It was like, ok, this will be a dramatic change in how we operate. Everything from lifestyle to financial habits had to be oriented to consider what was best for our growing family. Thankfully, I went into parenthood with a solid foundation and core plan that would set the course for the foreseeable future.
- Our Present
Today, I am happy to announce that my family has grown quite healthily over the past eight years, and we just welcomed our fourth child and the first girl to the flock. Isla, our first girl, arrived in February 2022, and she’s as beautiful and healthy as we could have asked for. If you’re keeping count, yes, that’s three boys and one girl; my wife is ecstatic that Isla is here to provide some variety to the rest of the household.
Of course, the beautiful gift of Isla wasn’t without its challenges. The ongoing global pandemic entering a surge during my wife’s 3rd trimester didn’t make this already difficult balancing act any easier. Picture a household with three energetic, eight and under boys. Then picture running my business from home, navigating countless school closings (or COVID close contacts), and all the extra fatigue and stress of a pregnancy.
We took every necessary precaution to keep risks and exposure down – including on a few occasions having the two eldest boys and myself move into a rental house down the street for days and weeks at a time. We did this to keep them in school and reduce the risk of complications for my wife as she entered the final stages of pregnancy.
These were not ideal circumstances, but we could navigate the obstacles without dramatically overcomplicating an already complicated situation because of planning, foresight, and sure-footing.
Obstacles and Opportunities
There’s no such thing as an entirely smooth, calm, peaceful life. Events happen, whether macro or micro, on the world stage or in the living room; obstacles and opportunities present themselves everywhere. The people who live the most fulfilling and even-keeled lives know how to approach these events with confidence, poise, and an understanding that “going with the flow” is often necessary.
I work with my clients to help them understand that having a core financial plan is essential so as not to over-correct or make irrational decisions when life’s obstacles and opportunities present themselves. It’s human nature to be excited, reactionary, and sometimes instinctually irrational when unforeseen events and circumstances present themselves – I’m here to help calm these impulses and reassure clients that there are better ways to go about their lives.
When a client asks me, “How do I begin financial planning for my family?” I tell them it starts with plotting a course, setting parameters, and not deviating far from the set plan when life throws variables your way.
As a family financial planner, it’s my responsibility and joy to help people create maps for life and be there whenever the sun on the horizon becomes hard to see.
Please reach out to schedule a meeting to discuss how you can begin preparing for the journey ahead.
