We all seek it, but very few of us are fortunate enough to grasp the sense of true wealth.
I’m not referring so much to the amount of money you have, but to achieving complete fulfillment in your life. To find the answer, I will take you on a short journey and demonstrate why your best efforts to date might not have delivered on your aspirations and dreams.
Firstly, I believe most of us set ourselves up for failure from the outset by looking for the quick fix. We confuse speculation with investing. Let’s not kid ourselves; most of us spend more time planning where we are headed over the holidays than our future well-being. We’re trained in fields other than financial management yet somehow feel we have the smarts to do it ourselves.
Some of us have realized that it would be wise to consult an expert, which is a positive step but still fails to consider how each of the different financial initiatives affect each other. By working with a mutual fund salesperson you may have achieved a good RRSP plan, but not given any thought to adequate insurance coverage or paying down the mortgage. One step forward, two steps back in my humble opinion.
“Once an overall plan has been put in place the role of the specialist can be better defined“
I’m a strong advocate of financial planning as the one discipline that considers all aspects of your financial situation and the development of a plan to suit your individual and family needs. Once an overall plan has been put in place the role of the specialist can be better defined whether it is investing, insurance, debt consolidation or estate planning.
Having dealt with literally hundreds of clients over the years has confirmed my belief that the only sure path to success is to have a holistic plan. Sounds simple enough, but is rarely achieved.
True wealth is…
As a professional financial planner, I start off by challenging clients to really think about their lives in a way that they haven’t before. I’ve developed a number of tools to challenge my clients to evaluate where they stand and articulate future life aspirations.
In the simplest terms, our lives can be divided into five categories:
- Financial
- Health
- Relationships
- Adventure
- Spiritual
While these are obviously interconnected, each one is distinct and should be considered separately. I then focus on incorporating a plan that is needed to allow them to achieve ‘true wealth’. This is about finding the ideal balance between all the various elements of financial planning as it relates to their specific goals and aspirations.
At TriDelta, we look at your lifestyle and get you involved to clarify your priorities before we start on a financial plan. We offer unbiased advice and solutions because our compensation has no bearing on the product or package you select. We are about the big picture and we focus on finding the right balance between all the aspects of your financial life – investment management, protection (insurance), estate planning, tax minimization and cash flow management to achieve your goals.
We are part of a new breed of financial boutiques whose growth is being spurred by clients looking for better value than they get from their bank.
How do you define true wealth? What do you value in a financial planner? We encourage you to take the next step towards true wealth by contacting us.
While you’re here, please leave a comment below. This article was written by Anton Tucker, VP of TriDelta Financial. You can follow him on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.
