The Story:

Dave and Shelly believe they are about 5-7 years away from retiring.

Dave is a commercial pilot and Shelly is a full-time mom who has some side hustle income. They’ve been proactive about their retirement plans and diligent savers over the years.

They have 3 kids all of whom will begin college in the next 18 months.

Overall they feel proud of their financial accomplishments so far.

But they tell me that for some reason they can’t describe, they still feel uneasy…

The Challenge:

The issue is that Dave and Shelly don’t actually know when they can or SHOULD retire…

They explain that they know that they “don’t know what they don’t know”.

They don’t know if they are saving the right amount, or into the right account types.

They hear that they should be “tax planning”, doing ROTH conversions or contributions - but they don’t know whether that’s actually appropriate for their situation.

Overall, they have felt comfortable doing what they’ve been doing and are nervous to change things… But they' want to really make use of the end of their accumulation run way and ensure they are in a strong financial position once the kids are through college and out of the house.

Dave and Shelly both agreed they were too busy to become professional financial planners on their own. It was time to reach out to a qualified professional who could build them a plan and help them execute.

The Solution:

Right off the bat Dave and Shelly knew they wanted more than just an “investment strategy”. They wanted someone who could help them visualize their financial picture and create a step-by-step action plan that addressed their entire financial life.

They wanted a comprehensive financial plan that would include:

• Models showing them how much portfolio income they could generate in retirement if they kept their current saving strategy
• Models showing them if they could generate additional portfolio income were they to make changes to their savings or investment strategy
• Models showing them how much portfolio income they would need each year in retirement if they wanted to keep their spending habits the same.
• The optimal age for them to claim social security
• The optimal age for them to retire based on their desired level of spending in retirement
• Strategies to minimize the tax they would owe
• An expense tracking system that they would not have to monitor or execute themselves
• A proactive investment strategy that was consistent with their goals rather than being a “shot in the dark”.

Dave and Shelly found it extremely helpful to have all their models and possible action items documented into a simple, easy-to-use financial dashboard.

They felt that their financial life was much more organized having consolidated all their notes and goals into one place. They could see the road ahead of them more clearly and evaluate the options in front of them more accurately.

And most importantly, they now know exactly what options they have to improve their spendable wealth in retirement. All they have to do from here is choose what to implement and then execute!