What does optimizing finances look like to you? Maybe you think of putting as much as possible into your retirement accounts, or moving money around to take advantage of certain tax breaks.
We see it differently. To effectively optimize finances, you need a holistic approach that considers all three phases of wealth – accumulation, distribution, and preservation – and creates a plan that builds wealth while giving you the peace of mind that’s absent from traditional financial planning.
Here’s how:
Mindset Shift
The majority of dentists retire with just 50% of their income. Does this sound good to you? While it may be acceptable, we don’t believe acceptable is good enough. We want our clients to retire with 100% of their income. It sounds challenging, yet it’s doable.
Your first step to optimizing your finances is to shift your mindset and believe that yes, it’s possible to retire without a pay cut, and yes, you can retire without a pay cut, too, with the right planning.
Out with the Old
Next, it’s time to let go of the “conventional wisdom” you’ve heard for years from financial gurus and traditional financial planners, such as paying down all debt fast and buying term life insurance. Because if your goal is to build exceptional wealth and retire with a high-income stream, this advice doesn’t work.
We take a different approach to building wealth and some of our recommendations may seem counterintuitive at first, but they work as part of the whole Financial Treatment Plan. For instance: Some debt can be good. Whole life insurance and annuities provide guaranteed income. Distribution is just as important as accumulation.
You will be surprised at what your financial future looks like when you throw off the age-old advice and open your mind to something new.
Gather Your Team
We mostly work with dentists, smart, educated people who work hard for their success. But we see the vast majority of them make the same mistake, and that’s not putting the right team in place to help them with their finances. They may rely on a single financial advisor, or – worse – they try to do it all themselves.
This is a mistake. We recommend you have a team giving you the financial support you need, including an accountant, an attorney, an investment advisor, and so forth, each one an expert in their particular area, plus one macro advisor to advise you on the big picture. We also recommend that any financial advisor you work with is a fiduciary, who is duty-bound to act in your best interest.
Start Now
Too many people let their financial life happen to them, and they end up taking a pay cut of 50% in retirement. However, this doesn’t have to be your financial future. The sooner you start, the better the position you’ll be in to retire with 100% of your income and the peace of mind you want.
Interested in learning more? Check out our book, Your Retirement Smile, or visit our website.
