What is the "3 Page Plan" and what can it do for you?
The "3 Page Plan" is the first easy to understand financial plan that you can actually use. We got rid of all the head spinning charts and graphs that are so common among many in the so called sophisticated world of Wall Street and boiled the process down to one that just about anyone can understand and put to good use as soon as they see it.
Here is a short breakdown of what is included in your free "3 page plan"...
Page One:
On the first page will be all of your financial concerns. That's right not what I think you should do or want for you but what is it that you are really after?
What do you want to accomplish? I have found that everyone's goals and reasons behind those goals are very different. If you don't have a clear vision of what it is you want to accomplish how will you ever get there?
More importantly if your advisor has never taken the time to help you figure out what it is you want to accomplish (and why) how will he or she ever be able to help you reach your goals?
After coming to my workshop many people who request a free consultation with me come it to my office with statements and tax forms in hand ready to jump into their details. My job (as I see it) is to slow them down, have them take a step back from the details and figure out what it is they want to get done. The details are necessary but are often not the best place to start planning.
Many people never stop to think about their big picture but how can you have a financial plan if you never really do any planning? There is plenty of time to do the figuring, first let's find out what the real problem is before we start working on the solution. Can you see why this approach might make more sense? Now let's look at what happens next...
Page Two.
Page two is where all the details come into play. We take a look at all of the relevant data and map it out on one page. Where is your money now? Where are you at as far as debt? What insurances do you have in place? What savings plans or investments do you currently have and how are they doing?
Then we look at other factors like how much of your cash flow is going into these different areas and where will this get you in relation to where you want to go?
Once we have a snapshot of where you are now I then start to run some projections with my financial calculators as to where will this get you in the long run?
In other words if you keep you doing what you are doing now and you never met me where would you end up latter? Or What will be the results of your current path if you keep going down that same road? (you might just find out you are better off than you thought)
After all it would be very hard to determine if an alternate path would be beneficial if you were not even sure what road you were on to begin with right? So this process gives you something to compare all future recommendations too? Many of my clients find this process very helpful in making decisions.
Once we know what road you are already on I then highlight problem areas that can be improved upon. A problem area is something you are doing now that is not helping you reach your goals as quickly as you could.
There is an old saying that "the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement" I often find anywhere from 3 to as many as 15 problems that can be fixed or at least dramatically improved upon. Weather or not you want to work on these problems if completely up to you. I understand that this is your money and you may have reasons for doing things the way you are doing them but many times people find that they have problems they did not know could be fixed or that there were easy solutions to. So again most people find this part of the process very enlightening.
But now that we know what needs fixing, what do we do next?
Page 3.
Page 3 of the "3 Page Plan" is where it all comes together. This page is where I show you what you could do differently and how much better off you could be by making some adjustments to your current plan.
One of the best parts about page 3 is I show you how to get ahead without having to come up with any additional money. Many people are amazed at how much better off their financial future can be and even how much more financially secure they can be in the short term if they just make a few minor adjustments to what they are doing now.
This is very different to "traditional" financial planning where the planner shows you how far off you are from meeting your goals and tells you that the only way to get there is to part with $XXX.xx per month more than you are spending now.
The problem is that most planners ask you to cut into your current lifestyle in order to get where you want to go in your future. Frankly, this just does not work well. Who wants to sacrifice now to get ahead latter? Very few people are able or willing to do that and so few people take action on that kind of a plan. I think this is why my "3 page plan" is so different and so easy to act on. You don't have to come up with more money per month and you will end up with more money for your future, and more access and control over your own money now.
The strategies we apply on page 3 will help your money work smarter so you have to part with less of it to achieve more of your long term goals. Isn't that what you really want from your financial advisor? After all it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you save more you will get ahead but finding ways to make your current savings work harder and helping you find more money to save that you didn't know you had is a little more difficult. Also showing you how to turn the savings you do have into more reliable income that you can never outlive is certainly a challenge. But that is exactly what the "3 page plan" will help you do.
But Then What?
If you like the plan and it makes since to you the next step is to make the necessary changes and then monitor them over time to make sure you stay on track. Should you chose to work with me I will help you with every step of this process.
But remember it is completely up to you to move forward with your plan or not. Not everyone who does a "3 page plan" with me implements all of the strategies (and that is ok) You will never be asked to do anything you are not completely comfortable with.
What if I need to think about it before I move forward?
Many people are a bit surprised when they hear my answer to this question. I think it is because they have become so used to dealing with financial sales people that they are almost shocked to find someone who actually practices "true financial planning" Here is my answer to; I have to think about it...
Then you absolutely should take some time to sleep on it and mull it over.
This is not a high pressure sales process. You are under no obligation to do anything. I am so confident that you will like at least some of my suggestions that I let the plan speak for itself and I always leave the ball in your court. Once you see the plan you tell me how you want to proceed. You only implement the plan if you are 100% satisfied and are comfortable with the recommendations.
Where Do I Go From Here?
To set up a time to talk more about your situation please call (815) 633-9595 or scroll down to the bottom of our HOME PAGE for additional contact information.
