Resource Advisory Services | Fee-Only Financial Advisor | Knoxville

There Is No Perfect or Permanent Financial Plan – NYTimes.com

January 23rd, 2012

Our Comment by J. David Lewis – When I read this tonight, I was struck by how timely it is.  Late in 2011, we prepared a relatively complex Recommendations Report for a couple interested in retiring a few years from now.  Less than six months later, we learn the retirement date may be very soon, due to changes by the employer.  No one could have predicted this change of expectation when we were working on the project.  I am convinced the decisions were sound when they were made.  Now, we are deciding what needs to be reconsidered.  In our world, this sort of thing is not exceptionally unusual. 

By Carl Richards

“Whether we like it or not, life is not static. We don’t live in bubbles. And even though one day may look very much like another, life is rarely the exact same every week let alone from year to year. Perhaps the basics stay the same — work, school, relationships — but little things change, and we learn to adapt to those changes.  

We need to think the same way about money. Even after we make smart decisions life will continue to happen.

The decision to save money each month may need to change if someone loses a job. The decision to have another child may mean that you need to buy a new car sooner than planned. The decision to retire early may be put on hold after a health emergency. In each example, no one did anything wrong; life happened.”

Read Carl Richard’s article via There Is No Perfect or Permanent Financial Plan – NYTimes.com.

Contact J. David Lewis directly with david.lewis@resourceadv.com or share your thoughts on this topic below. He founded Resource Advisory Services in 1985.  National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) was formed only a few years before. Lewis became a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor in 1986.  He is a passionate advocate for fiduciary, fee-only financial planning and has been associated with financial services since childhood in a banking family.  57375

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Entry Filed under: Financial Planning,Published Articles,Retirement Plans