Financial organization leads to better decision-making. And better decision-making means being better prepared for achieving your long-term financial goals.
At Eddy & Schein Group, we are big believers in the benefit of getting finances in order. In fact, we have built a business based on the concept of financial organization.
Throughout our 20+ years in business, we’ve often been referred to as Personal Chief Financial Officers. We perform the same function as a financial officer for a corporation – providing the chief executive with information and analysis to inform financial decisions and actions. In our case, the “executives” are our clients.
When people come to us feeling overwhelmed and stressed about their personal finances, we work with them to dissect their problems identify information needed to address the issues, and present them with choices to achieve their financial goals. This process, along with our analysis and guidance, gives them the tools for informed financial decision-making.
They ultimately feel equipped to take purposeful actions like modifying spending behavior, developing a savings regimen, and revising estate planning strategies.
Financial Organization Challenges
Some of the issues our clients are faced with include:
- Finding the best way to pay for long-term care expenses
- Reducing credit card debt
- Curbing overspending habits
- Determining how much rent they can afford
- Balancing priorities for children’s tuition against expensive vacations
We have helped clients address these matters and many more. Let’s look at specific examples.
Credit Card Debt
A high-income couple has a significant amount of credit card debt. Slow collections from the husband’s business and previous inattention to excessive spending have been contributing factors. They want to reduce their debt, especially now with rising interest rates.
A chart with details of their numerous credit cards enabled them to prioritize payment of higher-interest-rate cards and put new charges on lower-interest-rate cards. Armed with this new financial organization, they reduced total interest expense without increasing their total monthly payment amount.
Renting a New Apartment
A young client had finished business school and landed a high-paying job in another city. With her move, she needed to determine how much she could afford to pay in rent. While she desired a stylish apartment with modern amenities in an appealing neighborhood, she also wanted financial flexibility for other spending priorities, as well as savings.
A review of prior patterns of discretionary spending and a projection of expenses in her new lifestyle gave her the information to budget for rent. She was then equipped to conduct a productive apartment search.
Funding Home Health Care
An elderly woman needed home health care services and was drawing down on her investments to pay the high cost. She wanted to see if there were ways to reduce the pull from her investments.
We identified the different financial vehicles she owned, some of which she did not fully understand. We presented her spending needs and the full range of assets to her financial advisors and tax accountant. Together, the team decided the best course of action was to liquidate her annuities and a CD in her IRA while retaining her investment portfolio. To minimize the tax liability from the asset sales in any particular year, the sale of her annuities was spread over the course of three years, with her home-care expenses offsetting capital gains and other income.
Curbing Unnecessary or Undesirable Spending
A woman who had lived rent-free with her parents before they died spent freely from her employment income. Now that she needed to afford her own apartment, she enlisted our help to identify where to cut costs.
We reviewed her income and savings, as well as her credit card spending. We discovered she had a habit of playing video games, spending increasing amounts each month. While each game had a nominal charge, the sheer quantity of her play led to a $12,000 credit card bill.
Prior to her new apartment expense, this might have been manageable, but it was no longer the case. We showed her the cost of her addiction while identifying options for managing the bill and encouraging her to find alternative, less expensive activities. She now has the funds she needs to pay her rent.
Providing Financial Support to a Relative in Need
A man with a terminal illness was asked to help fund a niece who was unable to work. He was already a client whom we’d been helping organize financial information to share with his trustee in preparation for his eventual incapacity. He asked if we could help determine whether he could afford to contribute to his niece’s care.
We studied our client’s spending patterns and had a discussion with his financial planner about the life span of his investments under various scenarios of longevity and long-term care expenses. The analysis confirmed our client’s hunch that he was not in a financial position to support his niece.
Information
The common theme in these stories is information. With information, our clients have identified financial capacity, trade-offs, and strategies. They felt better equipped to make financial decisions and take control of their financial futures.
Organizing Information for Informed Decision-making
There are a variety of financial tools and software available to help you stay on top of your income, spending, and wealth.
Some commonly used approaches for financial organization are:
- Quicken or QuickBooks
- Excel or Google spreadsheets
- Budgeting tools – You Need a Budget, Mint, Tiller Money, and envelopes (if you’re more comfortable with an analog method)
- Financial planning tools – Personal Capital and Simplifi
- Paper and pencil
- Year-end reports from your credit card companies
- A program provided by your financial institution to collect assets, liabilities, income, and expenses in one place
As the new year inspires you to make resolutions for self-improvement, consider how improved financial organization can contribute to better financial health.