With so much information on insurance, investments, retirement, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and financial planning, coming at us from all directions at once, it can get very confusing and seem like a lot of noise after a while. We can lose sight of the big picture and what's important. This is a good time to "huddle" with an experienced insurance and investment adviser you can TRUST. We hope through dialogue and hearing us ask the right questions we can earn your trust to be that adviser. 

As in emergency medicine, where "Triage" is used to set priorities of which issues should be addressed first - we believe the same should go for planning for your future financial security and getting your house in order. Sound financial planning should not be random or chasing the latest hot stocks or jumping on the "joiner" bandwagon of some supposed TV financial celebrity guru. 

1. Make absolutely SURE your main financial engine is fully and totally protected. This is critical. What is it? It's your EARNED INCOME. Without it, you have NOTHING. Lose your engine while in a Cessna flying over the ocean and its all over. Everything else at that point, the kind of tires or landing gear you have are immaterial. This means protecting your earned income with DISABILITY INSURANCE. 
2. If you have loved ones who rely and depend on you then you need LIFE INSURANCE and LOTS of it. Inflation has a way of giving a huge reality check to widows and widowers and now single moms and dads who find they oh so wished they had bought MORE. 
3. Work on your emergency liquid savings. You have at all times, a minimum of SIX months, preferably one full year's income that you could live on if you lost your income for any reason. 
4. Get rid of all your debt. Work on paying down your highest interest loans first until you are 100% debt free. 
5. Save, invest and plan for retirement. Look for the best tax advantaged strategies possible. Decide what is the maximum amount you are willing, IF AT ALL to irretrievably LOSE in the market, whether it be stocks, bonds, or real estate. EVERYTHING ELSE, (or all of it - if you are not into losing money), should go into something that provides GUARANTEES - NOT SPECULATION against loss, while a the same time providing the best possible opportunities for gain. 
6. Decide what you'd like your retirement to look like. How you define this can change over time. Retirement planning and how you actually live in retirement is unique to each person and means different things to different people. It used to mean to flat out quit working. for some, it still does. Not anymore. For some people it is - others it's more about slowing down - "Financial Freedom Day" which means you COULD stop working if you wanted to, or at least slow down, but still work if you WANT to. The bottom line is that you want to strive to create an income that is reliable and consistent, which is tax advantaged as possible that keeps up with inflation and lasts as long as you and your spouse. Studies clearly show that those HAPPIEST in retirement are those who are 100% debt free, with a reliable consistent income with ZERO worry of it ever running out or being effected by a downside loss in the stock market. 

Reach out to us today so we can get acquainted and learn as much as possible about you and your unique goals and situation. Let us listen and take it all in and then help YOU to put things in perspective, set goals, prioritize them and most importantly, put things into motion. Life rewards ACTION - NOT GOOD INTENTIONS.