8 Reasons Why People Seek My Help with Financial Planning

Financial Planning

Mar 19

Written By Charles Petitjean

There's typically a triggering event that causes people to reach out for financial planning help.

Do any of these reasons resonate with you?

Do Any of These Scenarios Sound Familiar?

The older we get, the more life we experience and the more complex things get (financial or otherwise).

However, there is usually a predictable set of circumstances that causes someone to reach out to me for financial planning help.

Here are the 8 most frequent reasons why people want to meet with me (in no order):

I just celebrated a birthday (say, 55 or 60) and realized that retirement is right around the corner but I’m not yet sure of how all the pieces come together.
A family member, friend or neighbor just retired and it got me thinking as to when and how I might be able to do the same.
My finances have become too complicated. I feel like I’m drowning in managing all of this on my own and I’m scared of what I might be missing.
I have a lot of cash in the bank earning next to nothing. It feels like I should be doing something more productive with my money.
I’ve decided that I’m retiring soon but have no idea how to logistically replace my income from my paycheck. What assets do I pull this from? When do I start social security?
I got hit with a larger-than-expected tax bill and am wondering what to do to avoid that in the coming years.
I haven’t heard from my “financial advisor” in a while and/or it doesn’t feel like they provide me with future-looking strategy and guidance about my situation. They mostly just talk about my investments.
I was referred to you by a friend/ family member or my CPA/ estate planning attorney who said that I would benefit from a conversation.

Of course, my work with people extends far beyond these initial concerns but this what typically gets us talking in the first place.

Financial planning should be a full-scope discussion, covering everything from estate planning to taxes to investments to retirement, etc. While practically no one schedules an intro call to solely discuss the contingent beneficiaries on their IRA, the particular details are crucial—and we make sure they’re addressed along the way and that we have our blind spots covered.