Let me be clear, many of you should not. Many of you should hire a full-blown certified financial planner (CFP) who uses a fee-only method (as opposed to percentage of assets managed). This is especially true if you have a more complicated situation such as owning multiple real estate properties, or being part of a trust, or having a complicated legal situation (among others).
So if the above is true (and it is), why am I offering this service at all? Well, three main reasons.
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- The majority of Colorado educators (my “target audience” if you will) do not have complicated situations. They have one or two incomes, have a mortgage on a house, have normal bills and maybe have some investments, but they aren’t very knowledgeable (or at least not confident in their knowledge) of how to handle their finances (and often just aren’t very interested in the topic). While they would also benefit from seeing a “real” financial planner, there are a lot of relatively straightforward changes they should probably make that I can help them think through. Which leads to reason #2…
. - A lot of you won’t hire a certified financial planner (at least not yet). A lot of folks are intimidated by financial stuff, and they are worried that someone will lose them money or, worse, actually take advantage of them for financial gain. These folks are typically not that confident in their own knowledge and are worried they won’t be able to work intelligently with a financial planner and therefore will “waste” the money they pay the financial planner for no real gain. While I think any good financial planner can add a lot of value, it doesn’t matter if you won’t hire them. By offering a free service, I hope to not only help you make some positive changes in your finances, but perhaps also get you to the place where your confident enough to work with a certified financial planner should you choose to.
. - I want to help. That maybe sound cheesy, or cliche, but it’s true. I’ve been interested in financial topics since high school when I worked in a credit union, and have continued to read a lot and learn over the years. I’ve certainly made many mistakes (and undoubtedly am still making some now, although hopefully not too many), but I feel like I’ve learned a ton over the years and am in a position to help others avoid any mistakes they might make (or possibly correct mistakes they’ve already made). For a lot of people, there are somewhere between 3 and 10 relatively simple things they can do that can make a huge difference in their financial security (and, therefore, in achieving their goals in life). I can help you figure out those things.
- The majority of Colorado educators (my “target audience” if you will) do not have complicated situations. They have one or two incomes, have a mortgage on a house, have normal bills and maybe have some investments, but they aren’t very knowledgeable (or at least not confident in their knowledge) of how to handle their finances (and often just aren’t very interested in the topic). While they would also benefit from seeing a “real” financial planner, there are a lot of relatively straightforward changes they should probably make that I can help them think through. Which leads to reason #2…
In addition to the general financial/investment knowledge I bring to the table, I’m very knowledgeable about one aspect that is key for Colorado educators: PERA. While most Colorado educators have a vague idea that PERA is a good thing, they don’t realize how good, and they also don’t realize that having PERA should affect all of their other financial decisions, and not just when they are close to retirement, but from day one that they start in PERA-covered employment.
This (along with lack of understanding of benefits and specifically 401k/403b/457 plans) is one of the main reasons I decided to offer my services. Over the years I’ve had so many conversations with very bright educators who nevertheless have very little knowledge of these areas and consequently have made decisions that have not been optimal. This may or may not be you. For some of you, working with me will end up making very little difference because you are knowledgeable and have made good decisions along the way. But it won’t cost you anything (other than a little bit of time) and it should reassure you that you’re on the right path. For others, this truly could be life changing. And I don’t say that lightly, being financially secure really can change your life and allow you to focus on what really matters – financial success isn’t the goal, it’s the means to achieve whatever your goals are.
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Photo credit: Mark Dumont via Foter.com / CC BY-NC
Fisch Financial 