What is Financial Vision?
If you know what your finances will look like in 10, 20, or even 30 years, then you have financial vision. Financial vision is the ability to see your future finances clearly. In the same way that most of us aren’t born with 20/20 eyesight, perfect financial vision is rare, but achievable with a little help from a professional.
What does that help look like?
For most people, financial vision is the product of a soundly built financial plan. Financial planning not only helps you build your finances toward an ultimate goal, such as retirement, but it lets you spot potential problems in advance. Let’s take a look at that process:
Find Your Prescription
If you’ve ever tried looking through someone else’s glasses, you know that what helps one person see can leave another squinting. That’s because nobody’s eyes are exactly the same. This is also true of finances. Your financial plan is a prescription, calibrated to your unique situation, preferences, and aspirations. At Cowen Tax Advisory Group, we use a comprehensive approach to financial planning, that incorporates income, tax, estate, and long-term care planning, to help you meet your needs and achieve your goals.
Check Your Financial Plan’s Overall Health
As we age, our vision changes—we become near- or far-sighted, we develop cataracts or astigmatism. Our finances also change as we get older and lose our ability to recover from bad investments and volatile markets. Working with a financial advisor can help you make sure your financial plan remains healthfully aligned with your retirement goals.
Look at Your Finances Through Bifocals
Bifocals help you see both near and far; financial planning also helps you focus on both short and long-term goals. A short-term goal could be getting rid of credit card debt, which can eat away at retirement savings, while a long-term goal could be planning your legacy so that assets are left to family members and charities. A good financial advisor helps you plan for both.
Schedule Regular Appointments
Like an annual exam with your optometrist, preventative meetings with your financial advisor can help you catch problems before they hit your wallet. In some instances, major legislation, such as the SECURE Act, may create new opportunities for savings and investments that you might miss if you don’t speak with your advisor on a regular basis. These meetings can occur on an annual, biannual, or quarterly basis, depending on your schedule or situation.
Ready for a clear look at your financial future? Schedule a free financial planning consultation with Cowen Tax Advisory Group.
