Financial Planning
Prudent financial planning encompasses not only saving and investing but also guidance on how to achieve a wide range of financial objectives.
What Is Financial Planning?
Just like you wouldn’t start a road trip without referring to a map, a financial plan creates a “map” that shows how to use your money to achieve your goals.
Financial planning starts with an inventory of your current financial situation:
Your assets
What are your assets (cash, investments, home, business)?
Liabilities
What are your liabilities?
Insurance
What insurance do you have (life, disability, homeowners, umbrella policy)?
Cash flow
How do you manage your cash flow?
Goal Setting
You are unlikely to achieve your financial goals unless you define them and put in place a plan for reaching them.
Investors have a number of short and long-term goals, such as:
Buying a home
Buying a car
Educating their children
Traveling
Retirement
Crafting post- retirement life
Some goals are short-term.
Others may be 20 or more years away.
Good financial planning is like climbing a ladder, one step at a time. At each step, you and your financial planning team at Emeritus stop and evaluate your situation. Your financial plan is flexible. It adjusts to changing circumstances, such as:
Death and disability
Divorce
Increased (or decreased) income
Career changes
Inheritance
Investment performance
Once you take one step on your financial planning ladder, it’s much easier to take the next one.
At Emeritus, we believe in this quote attributed to Ben Franklin:
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.
How much money comes in every month?
How much are you saving?
How much goes out?
Are you prioritizing elimination of high interest debt?
How much is spent on clothing, housing, travel, food, and the reduction of debt?
Save 20% of your gross income.
Limit housing costs to 30% of gross monthly income.
We encourage you to save 20% of your gross income and to limit the amount spent on housing to 30% of your gross monthly income.
Our financial plans prioritize the elimination of high interest debt by implementing a debt management plan where necessary.
Retirement
Accounts
While it’s commonly believed that there’s “no such thing as a free lunch,” there’s an exception to this rule.
If your employer offers a match of your contributions to a company-sponsored retirement plan (like a 403(b) or 457 plan), that’s “free” money. We encourage our clients to contribute at least enough to qualify for the maximum employer match.
As part of your financial plan, we will also evaluate the pros and cons of investing in a traditional or Roth individual retirement account. This analysis takes into account the investment options available in your plan.
Investment Options
Are the fees charged by the mutual funds in the plan low cost?
Financial Situation
Are the investment options broad enough to permit you to make choices suitable for your financial situation?
Financial Emergencies
More than half of Americans have savings equal to three months of expenses. Almost one-quarter have no emergency fund at all. Financial emergencies can include:
Loss of a job
Loss of a major client
Medical or dental emergencies
Unexpected home or automobile repairs
Unplanned tax liability
Funeral costs
Travel to visit a loved one who has taken ill
We plan for these contingencies because we understand the probability is fairly high that our clients will confront one or more of them during their lifetimes.
Investing
Our focus with all your investments in minimizing your costs and fees.
Retirement plans sponsored by your employer
Traditional and Roth IRA accounts
529 savings plans
After-tax investments
Insurance
Planning
Financial professional
An insurance review by a competent financial professional is a critical part of your financial planning.
Insurance is an often overlooked part of a financial plan, with potentially devastating consequences.
Specialized Advice
Because we have spent decades counseling employees in 403(b) and 457 plans sponsored by TIAA®, Vanguard and Fidelity, our financial plans are focused on the unique requirements of professors, administrators and healthcare professionals.
Learn about our financial planning services for professors and administrators.
Learn about our financial planning services for physicians and other healthcare professionals.
Location
One Liberty Place 1650 Market Street, 36th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103
info@emerituswm.com
Telephone
267-322-2540
