Securing Your Independence and Dignity

By Dan Crimmins on November 5, 2013 in Behavioral Factors in Investing

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist and philosopher.

What is the benefit for taking the time to envision and plan for the future you desire? That is what each prospect consciously or subconsciously thinks about before they meet with us.

While the answer to that question varies for each person, we do believe focusing on one aspect helps people make changes to capture the future they envision. That one aspect is securing your own independence and dignity in your later years.

The ability to provide for yourself and your loved ones as you approach your 70s and to continue to provide for that independent living for the next couple of decades is crucial to most of us. And for most, that is achievable if you are able to take time now to plan for that outcome.

Financial planning can be used to understand the changes you could make during your working years in order for that goal to become a reality. Understanding the importance of using tax-deferred vehicles to the fullest extent as well as getting a disciplined approach to saving will provide great comfort for you and your partner in the later years.

For even as most people dream of retiring in their mid-60s, they have to ensure that they are able to provide for the lifestyle that they envision and maintain that lifestyle through what will likely be more than 25 years in retirement.

Securing this lifestyle is why most of us should be seeking to work with a competent financial adviser to show us the course that we can take to capture this result.

The worst outcome for a senior citizen is not having to go back to work at some menial job, but more likely, the worst outcome would be to have to rely on your children or family members to provide for you and your partner. The human desire to have independence and maintain your dignity is ultimately the reason why most people should begin as soon as possible to work on a financial plan.

While the plan will change over time, the act of planning requires the conscious understanding of what actions need to be taken in order to work towards that goal. As Winston Churchill, the famous British politician, stated

There is in the act of preparing, the moment you start caring.

Or as General George S. Patton., Jr. stated on the subject:

“There are three ways that men get what they want: by planning, by working, and by praying. Any great military operation takes careful planning or thinking. Then you must have well trained troops to carry it out: that’s working. But between the plan and the operation there is always an unknown. That unknown spells defeat or victory; success or failure. It is the reaction of the actors to the ordeal when it actually comes. Some people call that getting the breaks. I call it God. God has His part or margin in everything. That’s where prayer comes in.”

Once this goal is met, other goals are achievable such as leaving a legacy to your children or grandchildren or to your local community.