Financial Planning

As you might expect, I often get questions from clients, friends and acquaintances regarding finances. When 2 or 3 people ask, there are probably more as well, so here are two recent questions: 1) What does it mean to max out my retirement savings? 2) Should I pay off my mortgage early?

I have a cousin who was born when I was a freshman in college and we’ve grown rather close in recent years – mainly thanks to him – so when he called around the first of the year to tell me he had quit his high-paying job I was tempted to yell, “Are you crazy?!” I care for him a great deal, you see, so my financial planner brain started to mentally calculate the future value of his lost salary over the next few months. I didn’t react that way, fortunately, and I slowly started to see his wisdom as he explained his motivation. It wasn’t that he hated his job – he was a well-compensated regional manager for Target – but that he yearned to see the impact of his hard work more directly. As it turns out, his professional journey is actually becoming more common.

Born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1980, Moneywatch was one of the very first independent, fee-only financial advising firms in the country. Now, at age 40, we manage about $180 Million in assets owned by our 343 clients. Here is our story:

Our family started vacationing on Squam Lake in New Hampshire periodically when I was in middle school and my wife, kids and I have maintained the habit. In fact, we just returned from a week at our collective happy place where, this year, we had to dig deep to cope with a challenge unfamiliar to civilized society. Here is our terrifying story.

Although we’re all living through the same global pandemic, it has affected some of us more than others. By sitting on the boards of God’s Pantry Food Bank and the YMCA of Central Kentucky, I’ve seen how many in our communities are suffering economically. For instance, the need for food assistance in Lexington alone has increased almost 90% - many seeking help for the first time - since the pandemic hit. Similarly, as the Y never turns anyone away because they can’t pay – and there are more now than ever - donors’ contributions serve needs like helping kids attend summer camp and play in sports leagues.

Below are a few random thoughts from my own experience interspersed with some from friends. What about you?

Last year I wrote what I called a “practice” graduation letter to my daughter. Now that she has officially graduated, sans in-person commencement, I reviewed what I wrote and decided the advice is still pertinent. Here goes:

Friends of ours are in the process of downsizing and would like to move to a different, hipper, part of town. (Not in Lexington) As they grapple with the details of freeing up cash for necessary work on their current home, look for a new house to purchase, attempt to decipher mortgage details and, maybe most of all, try to assemble all the moving parts in a sequence that avoids living in an apartment between houses, it can be quite stressful. Amid all of this I asked if they had ever considered renting rather than buying a new place.

What have you learned about yourself during the pandemic?

Recently, a friend of mine told me she used to dream of being at home all day during retirement…until the pandemic forced her to work from home. Although busy, she is nonetheless bored. She now believes that dream was premature and maybe she needs a more thorough plan for when retirement arrives. Her story reminds me of the importance of planning for your post-career purpose, not just for your financial future.

I realize that I don’t dream anymore. I don’t mean the “being chased by a creepy guy and my legs won’t work” kind of dream. I have more of those than ever. But, ever since the pandemic lockdown started, I don’t daydream about the future anymore. No more dreams about traveling to London, Paris and Tuscany; no plans to show Iceland to my wife and wondering whether we should visit the Faroe Islands while we’re in the neighborhood; and no thoughts of a 275-yard bomb off the tee box on the 18th. Quite frankly, I’m not sure what to dream about now and I really miss it. And that’s a shame because dreaming is the fun, first step toward doing.