How often should a financial plan be updated?

At least once a year, and whenever something significant changes: a new job, retirement, an inheritance, a death in the family, or a move.

What do I need to bring to start a plan?

Recent account statements, your Social Security statement, insurance policies, and a rough idea of your monthly spending. Paul will help fill in the rest.

Financial planning

Financial Planning With a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional

A financial plan is a roadmap for every part of your money: what you have, what you want, and how to get there. Paul builds plans that put the pieces together, with retirement at the center.

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What does a financial planner do?

A financial planner looks at your whole financial picture, including savings, spending, investments, insurance, taxes, and estate plans, and builds a written strategy to reach your goals. Unlike a one-off product recommendation, a plan considers how each decision affects the others and is updated as your life changes.

What a plan covers

Cash flow

What's coming in, what's going out, and what's left to save or spend.

Goals

Retirement, travel, helping children or grandchildren, a second home, giving.

Retirement

When you can retire, and how your savings become income.

Investments

A strategy matched to your timeline and comfort with risk.

Insurance

Life, disability, long-term care, and liability coverage, and any gaps.

Taxes

Opportunities to manage taxes over time, coordinated with your CPA.

Estate

Beneficiaries, titling, and coordination with your attorney.

Why plans need updating

Personal, family, and financial circumstances change from year to year. Many new clients find that their existing plan, and their investments, no longer reflect their lives. A plan that's reviewed regularly by an experienced professional also helps you avoid emotional decisions when markets are volatile.

Why a CFP® professional

The CFP® designation requires coursework across retirement, tax, investment, insurance, and estate planning, a comprehensive exam, professional experience, and an ongoing commitment to the CFP Board's ethical standards and continuing education. Paul has worked in financial services since 1986.

Straight answers

Frequently asked questions

"Financial advisor" is a broad term. A financial planner, especially a CFP® professional, focuses on building a comprehensive plan across all areas of your finances, not just investments.