It’s All Part of the Plan

Financial planning isn’t just about numbers; it’s about making intentional decisions over time to try to make the most of your limited resources. It’s about setting yourself and your family up for success—now and in the future. It involves balancing your time, energy, attention, and money in both the present and the long run. It’s about having the confidence to take the next step, knowing you’re on solid ground even if the destination isn’t entirely clear.

Time, energy, attention, and money are all limited resources; our financial, physical, mental, and emotional health hinge on their careful balance across time. There’s a push and pull of opportunity cost when it comes to how we choose to utilize these resources. The way we spend one impacts the way we can spend the others. Beneath the surface of financial planning, you could find a framework for decision making that could aid in optimizing the balance of all those resources by helping you understand how money permeates all aspects of our lives.

Sticking to a plan is often harder than expected, partly because people misunderstand its purpose. A good plan isn’t about predicting every possibility—it requires humility about uncertainty and a built-in margin for error. Assuming you’ve accounted for everything is a risky mindset.

So, if no plan can predict the future, why plan at all? Because of uncertainty. Planning doesn’t eliminate uncertainty—nothing can—but it could give you a framework to navigate it with confidence and resilience. Uncertainty is uncomfortable, but it’s also unavoidable. Without a plan, you’re like an ostrich with its head in the sand—mistaking blindness to risk for safety.

Staying on track most of the time is difficult, but it isn’t always enough. No matter your individual strengths, you’re still human. Our instincts, shaped for survival, don’t always align with long-term financial planning. A neutral third party could help you course-correct and avoid pitfalls you might not even realize are there.

Being “good” with money means different things to different people. Money is woven into nearly every aspect of life, and while recognizing your financial strengths and weaknesses could help keep you on track, we all have blind spots—by definition, things we don’t see. The upside of an advisor is they could be someone who fills in knowledge gaps, sees blind spots, acts as an accountability partner, educator or someone to delegate to.

You might be great at earning money but struggle with knowing how to manage it. You might be good at spending but not at saving, or vice versa. Self-awareness about your financial skillset could be invaluable, but it’s easier said than done. Everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are different, and they evolve over time. Life stages and changing circumstances could shift your financial habits and needs.

No matter where you are in life or what your financial strengths and weaknesses may be, a good advisor could help you gain clarity, make informed decisions, and stay on track—so you’re better prepared for whatever comes your way.

_{Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash}