Celebrating Father’s Day and Fluid Financial Plans
Key Points – Celebrating Father’s Day and Fluid Financial Plans
- Father’s Day Is a Great Opportunity to Plan for More Special Moments with Your Father
- It’s a Good Time to Create or Review Your Financial Plan
- Time Is Our Most Valuable Asset
- Remembering My Father, Glen Duderstadt
- Thank You to All the Fathers, Grandfathers, and Father Figures Out There!
- 6 Minutes to Read
Happy Father’s Day!
On behalf of our Modern Wealth Management team, I want to wish a very happy Father’s Day to all the fathers, grandfathers, and anyone who serves as a father figure. That includes all the mothers out there that are pulling double duty. You are all rockstars, and I hope you have a blast celebrating your special day with your loved ones.
One of the main goals that our founder and CEO, Dean Barber, has for our firm is to not think of clients as clients, but rather getting to know them well enough that you know what kind of person they are. Several of our clients are fathers, grandfathers, or play a father figure role as a teacher, coach, etc. By the way, this is Dean’s first Father’s Day as a grandfather, so make sure to wish him an extra special Father’s Day this year.
Father’s Day Is a Great Opportunity to Plan for More Special Moments with Your Father
I think many of you will agree with me that most fathers seem to have a gift of explaining things in simpler terms so that their children can understand them. Before I even knew that Dean was a father of five, I could tell he had that gift with the way he explained various aspects of financial planning. Within my first month of starting my role as Modern Wealth Management’s content manager last fall, Logan DeGraeve joined Dean to produce our video, Making a Big Purchase in Retirement. They laid out in very simple terms how a financial plan is critical to giving you clarity and confidence in retirement.
Although retirement isn’t on my radar at all, there were so many concepts from that video that I took away even as a 31-year-old. While the market volatility we’ve experienced for much of the past year has been uncomfortable for everyone, Dean and Logan highlighted another uncomfortable feeling that can be avoided.
Creating or Reviewing Your Financial Plan This Father’s Day
Remember that the day of your retirement marks your financial independence. That is something that’s worth celebrating by living out your dreams, especially if you didn’t get much of a chance to during your working years. By creating a dynamic, forward-looking financial plan using our Guided Retirement System, you can plan to live out those dreams rather than experiencing a retirement filled with uncertainty, which the uncomfortable feeling I alluded to earlier.
So, whether you’re wanting to purchase a second home, travel more, or ensure that you’re leaving the legacy you deeply desire, I hope you follow your dreams rather than sitting on a bed full of your hard-earned money in retirement. As you hopefully celebrate Father’s Day with your loved ones this weekend, this is a great opportunity to plan for that next family trip or second home where you can spend more time with them.
Treasuring Memories of My Late Father on Father’s Day
There’s part of me that feels a little bit hypocritical about that last sentence, as I’m spending Father’s Day in Southern California about 1,600 miles away from my family. But at the same time, it’s not hypocritical at all because it’s where my father would want me to be.
Unfortunately, this is the first Father’s Day I’ll be celebrating without my father. After battling major diabetic complications for much of the past decade, Glen Duderstadt passed away on April 6 at the age of 67.
I don’t have any specific Father’s Day memories that really stick out above the rest, but just about every one of them was spent going to church in the morning and then enjoying a relaxing afternoon watching the Royals game and family lunch/dinner. Even before my dad passed, I had actually planned to be in Southern California on Father’s Day (I just hadn’t realized it then). However, my dad was just as excited as I was for the reason I’d be in Southern California.
Celebrating Father’s Day in the City of Angels
One of my dreams that I’d like to achieve before retirement is to attend a game at all 30 MLB stadiums. Prior to this week, I had only been to seven of them (although I’m guessing I’ve been to about 200 Royals games at Kauffman Stadium). I will double that by the end of this trip.
When I saw that the Royals would be playing the Oakland A’s, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Angels on a road trip this season, I figured that was the perfect opportunity to see games at every MLB stadium on the west coast (and Arizona). I watched the Boston Red Sox square off against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday for the first of the seven games I’ll go to on this trip. Driving down the rest of the west coast should be a blast aside from when I’m filling up for gas. At least I’ll be able to give Dean and Bud Kasper the latest scoop on how ridiculous California gas prices are before the next episode of America’s Wealth Management Show.
I have to admit that this Father’s Day will probably feel a bit weird, and no doubt somewhat sad, since I won’t be watching a Royals game with my dad like we’ve done for so many years. However, the thought of celebrating his special day watching the Cleveland Guardians take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the City of Angels feels quite appropriate.
Time Is Our Most Valuable Asset
Attending Royals games and other sporting events with my dad are easily some of my favorite times I spent with him. Sports were a massive part of our father-son bond. I’ll treasure those memories forever. However, due to his health challenges, the opportunities for me to go to games or do any traditional father-son activities were very limited over the past few years. The most important thing is that he’s no longer in pain and in a better place. But there’s a Deanism that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately that is so true: time is our most valuable asset.
Dean has also said many times that your 401(k) will likely one day be your largest financial asset, but he’s not contradicting himself here. Think about it. It takes a lot of time for your 401(k) to become your largest financial asset. It also takes time to do the proper financial planning to ensure that you’re maximizing your 401(k) earnings. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for outlining why time is our most valuable asset.
Even in the short time I’ve worked at Modern Wealth Management, I’ve heard Dean tell too many stories about clients seemingly being in good health, only to suddenly pass away having far too many retirement dreams unfulfilled. I don’t say that to scare you, but unfortunately, Ben Franklin was right about nothing being certain other than death and taxes.
A Forward-Looking Financial Plan in Pivotal
Health is a crucial component of financial planning. In fact, one of the first articles I wrote as Modern Wealth Management’s content manager was, What Is Medicare Open Enrollment? Having witnessed my dad’s health struggles and the insane health care costs that came with them, I was already fully aware of how complicated things like Medicare are to understand even before interviewing Medicare Expert and Consultant Tom Allen for that article.
The bottom line, though, is that none of us know how much time we have left. That makes the creation of a forward-looking financial plan that much more critical. There are few things that make Dean and our other advisors happier than hearing stories from clients who are living their one best financial life. In order to live your one best financial life in retirement, though, you need a fluid financial plan.
Father’s Day and a fluid financial plan are two things that are definitely worth celebrating. While I’m unsure what Father’s Day will look for me in 2023 and beyond, I already have some ideas. I might go on another baseball game road trip. Or maybe I’ll go on a trip with my mom somewhere. The excitement she had when I surprised her on Mother’s Day with a plane ticket to go see her best friend in Upstate New York later this summer was well worth the price of ticket. And, like I just said, I’m already starting to do some planning for next year.
Planning for Your Ideal Retirement Takes Time
As you know, planning for retirement and the dreams you want to achieve in retirement takes time so that it is done right. If you’re a Modern Wealth Management client and have a special purchase that you want to incorporate into your retirement, contact your advisor so you can get the put those plans in motion.
We’re also happy to help those who aren’t Modern Wealth Management clients. If you’re searching for that clarity and confidence that’s crucial to living your one best financial life in retirement, you can schedule a complimentary consultation or 20-minute “ask anything” session with one of our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals. We’re happy to meet with you in person, virtually, or by phone. We hope you all have a fun and safe Father’s Day weekend and can’t wait to talk to you soon about your retirement goals.
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The views expressed represent the opinion of Modern Wealth Management an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Information provided is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. Modern Wealth Management does not accept any liability for the use of the information discussed. Consult with a qualified financial, legal, or tax professional prior to taking any action.