The Magic of Financial Planning

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Financial planning is MAGIC. Financial planning, real financial planning, transforms lives. And a recent New York Times story by Rob Lieber beautifully articulates this belief. In his piece titled “Dad, a Death Sentence, and the Planner Who Set Us Straight”, Lieber shares his Dad’s heart-wrenching end-of-life story and the ways a financial planner helped his family navigate the personal and financial journey.

We felt so heartened as we read his piece – heartened to see the magic of financial planning touch and impact another life, and to see a reflection of the Yeske Buie journey in Ron’s journey. Next to each quote from Lieber’s piece below, we share thoughts and resources detailing how we execute these pieces of the financial planning journey at Yeske Buie.

“There are few things in life more fraught than conversations about illness, death and money.”

It’s true. Discussing money, even with a financial planner, can be difficult. In fact, according to a Wells Fargo Financial Health study, people are more comfortable talking about politics and religion than they are about personal finance. Despite the possibility of discomfort, having meaningful conversations with family about money is essential to maintaining a transparent dynamic around one of life’s most sensitive subjects, and minimizing conflicts that could arise down the road. We share tips for having meaningful money conversations.

“Financial planners are often at their best when your life is at its worst.”

As financial planners, we are in a unique and privileged position to share in the rhythmic changes of our Clients’ lives. In fact, it is during periods of transition that financial planning takes on new meaning. One of the ways we view our role during these life transitions is to act as a sounding board and guide for our Clients. We aim to help Clients think through the opportunities and challenges that may lie ahead, and to empower them to navigate life transitions confidently. See what tools, resources, and strategies we implement during transitionary periods.

 “…real financial planning is a process, not a collection of investment products.”

We couldn’t agree more! For us, the financial planning process starts – and continues – with the discovery process. During discovery, we endeavor to uncover your greatest hopes and dreams, and we learn about what matters to you. After the discovery meeting, we learn about the numbers. What you have, what you owe, what you earn, what you spend. And about your specific financial goals – retirement, education, legacy wishes, and more.We then transform the 360-degree view of your life that you’ve shared with us into concrete recommendations, And we regularly review those recommendations to help ensure you stay on track toward your life goals through changes in the landscape and in your circumstances. Learn more about TheLiveBigWay^® Financial Planning Process.

“Our planner seemed to care as much for Dad as we did.”

It is our genuine hope that our Clients feel that we care not just for them, but also for their family. The financial services industry has long debated regulations to require advisors to uphold the fiduciary standard, which is to put your client’s interests first. This issue has been near and dear to us for many years, but our standard of care goes beyond the fiduciary standard. In our work with our Clients, our goal is to feel the world through their hearts. To know their goals and dreams and preferences so well that we’re anticipating their needs before they do and serving them comprehensively and continuously.

“Good financial planners are really in the wellness business… That involves more than papers and powers of attorney. It’s about clearing space in one’s brain to contain the joy that comes from anticipating the next fun thing that is still in the realm of the possible.”

We call this Live Big^®. For us, it’s about the size of your life, not the size of your wallet^®. And this belief is at the heart of everything that we do for our Clients. When times feel crazy, it can sometimes be difficult to remember the areas in our life where we can Live Big. But if we can find a place of gratitude for what we have, we can find joy in the simplest of places (like Lieber’s examples of enjoying a Cubs game, checking out a Bruce Springsteen concert, and having epic feasts with family and friends) and, hopefully, at least get our minds off of how scary the world can feel at times. With the help of our Clients, colleagues, and friends, we’ve put together a few visual collections that express our Live Big philosophy:

• • The Live Big List – A list of tangible ways you can Live Big without spending money.
  • Where in the World is the Live Big Glass? – A collection of more than 90 Client submitted photos depicting different embodiments of Live Big.
  • The Hope Chronicles – A collection of feel good stories and videos that renew our energy, remind us of our humanity, and keep us grounded in hope.

“My siblings and I were also lucky that her personality matched our family well”

As was shared earlier, money conversations can be uncomfortable. It’s helpful, then, to have a connection and genuinely enjoy your interactions with the financial planner you’re engaging with. We like to say that in addition to being good people to think with, we’re good people to laugh with! Have you read the scrolling personality statements on our meet the team page? We think they’ll bring you a laugh! You’ll also find casual photos of each of our team members when you hover over the professional photo on their bio pages. And here’s a collection of Fun Stuff and Firm News and Events that provides a deeper sense of our firm culture.