Time to read: 5 min

You’ve researched, taken recommendations, interviewed, and finally selected a financial planner to help you structure your finances, build wealth, and help you reach your goals. With this big decision behind you, you’re likely wondering what comes next and what to expect from the financial planning process.

During your initial meeting with a financial planner, you’ll share what you want to achieve financially in the short-and long-term. This will allow the advisor to not only responsibly manage your money, but to optimize different strategies that will help you reach your goals.

Next, your advisor will assess your current financial situation by reviewing all your assets and debt, as well as your income. This information, combined with an understanding of your goals and risk tolerance, will allow your financial planner to create a custom and realistic plan that will allow you to reach your goals in the time frames you have in mind.

This process doesn’t necessarily change based on what stage of life you’re in when you first begin meeting with a financial planner. However, what assets or debts you currently have, as well as your income and goals, usually vary wildly based on what stage of life you’re in.

Keep reading to learn more about what financial planning looks like at each of life’s stages.

Early Adulthood

While most don’t start seeing a financial planner in their early 20s, they often have the most financial milestones to plan for. Of course, their time horizons for both short- and long-term goals are much longer than those who wait to see a planner.

A financial advisor will help clients in this stage lay down the foundation for healthy financial habits, figure out the best way to allocate their money each month, come up with a plan to generate passive income through investments, and teach their client how small changes in spending and saving can have a ripple effect over the course of their life.

The planner will also help their client determine a realistic time horizon for each of their goals, like paying off student loans or buying a house, and build the financial plan around them.

Family Planning

By the time people reach their late 20s to early 40s, their goals and financial needs have started to change – and the way they structure their money should change with them.

Many people in this stage are having children, planning to expand their family, or have taken on new financial responsibilities, Parents are often eager to start a 529 Education Savings Plan as early as possible. There may be an increase in urgency to buy a home or upgrade to a larger home in a better school district, regardless of market conditions. Family vacations, a new car, and even an increase in in regular spending due to increased health insurance coverage, extra food costs, and other supplies, as well as changes in income, are all important aspects of the financial picture.

Even with new goals, shorter time horizons, and added expenses, it’s important to continue making regular retirement contributions, analyze tax benefits, and protect any assets that have already been accumulated.

It can feel incredibly overwhelming, which is why it’s no surprise that many begin seeing a financial advisor during this season of life. A financial planner will make sure that their clients are taking advantage of all the tools available to them so that they are able to work towards their growing list of goals.

For people who have already started working with a financial advisor, it’s the perfect time to reassess their plan and implement strategies that will help them reach new goals.

Peak Earning Years

When people reach their mid-40s, it’s common that they start to see their earnings climb much more rapidly than earlier stages of their life, often prompting a first visit to a financial planner.

A financial planner will focus on reaching short-term goals, defining the ideal retirement lifestyle, and identify any opportunities for wealth to be accumulated faster without increasing risk. With more income and less time to reach long-term goals, many people have a renewed focus on investing and saving.

During this stage, some people realize they haven’t saved as diligently or structured their money as intentionally as they should have and are eager to find ways to catch up. Others may want to make sure they are on track to reach a specific goal, like purchasing a vacation home or funding a college savings account. From reducing the tax burden to coming up with a realistic retirement time frame, financial planning in the peak earning years can be incredibly complex.

A financial planner helps their clients in this stage think critically about their goals and time frames, identify ways to reduce taxes, and design a plan that is intentional strategic, and specific to their financial situation.

Pre-Retirement

The pre-retirement countdown starts at different times for different people. For those who have been seeing a financial planner for a long time, the countdown often starts sooner.

The reason for this is simple. While many people think planning for retirement starts and ends with regular 401k or IRA contributions, those who work with an advisor know that saving is only once piece of the puzzle. A financial planner will help their clients make strategic decisions, such as deferring compensation, and share tools and best practices for how to use their retirement funds when the time comes, including taking social security.

Meanwhile, people are starting to take a closer look at their assets and wondering how they’ll impact their lives in retirement and beyond. Perhaps the family has a large home, but with children no longer living at home, they’re considering downsizing, but aren’t sure of the best way to use money from the sale. Others may want to finally fulfill a long-term financial goal, such as buying a vacation home or luxury car, but want to make sure it won’t put them in a vulnerable position in the future.

A financial advisor will help them understand how these decisions will impact their future finances so that they are able to make strategic decisions.

Retirement and Building a Legacy

In this final stage, clients are now retired and most of their planning is behind them. They’ll likely continue checking in with their trusted advisor to make sure their money is still growing as projected and their financial plans are on course, but after retiring, most people find their mindsets shifting from planning for the future to building their legacy.

A financial planner helps their clients create a plan that allows them to transfer their wealth and assets in the most effective way possible. Using a combination of strategies, such as gifting, life insurance, 529s, and more, a good financial advisor helps their clients structure their money so that it continues to grow – and have an impact – long after they’re gone.

Regardless of what stage you’re in, The Tranel Group is here to help you reach your financial goals. Contact us at 918.807.6793 to schedule your consultation today.

This blog is for informational purposes. Certain information contained herein (including any forward-looking statements and economic and market information) has been obtained from published sources and/or prepared by third parties and in certain cases has not been updated through the date hereof. While such sources are believed to be reliable, The Tranel Group does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information. The Tranel Group does not undertake any obligation to update the information contained herein as of any future date.