We believe that most everyone would be better off if they applied the power of process to their financial lives. Having a well-defined process provides consistency, thoroughness, and efficiency. This line of thinking is at the crux of the Integrated Core Process that we implement with Clients.
We recognize not everyone is a good candidate for our services. But we also believe anyone can develop and implement a useful financial process on their own. Here is how:
Make a list of all the things you need to do/review regarding your personal finances over a 12-month period. This list might include: progress on debt elimination, reviewing 401k savings, reviewing your property/casualty/umbrella coverage, reviewing your investments and allocations, your wills and advance directives, and the like. This list will ultimately become your financial review checklist that you will re-visit throughout the year. If you get done with your list, and you only have 5-10 items, you likely aren’t thinking hard enough.* The Core Integrated Process we use for our clients has around 100 items for review throughout the year.
Group the items on your list by similarities. For instance, our three broad groups are financial planning/tax, investments, and insurance/estate. Two of our specific client segments are philanthropy and special needs, and those clients have additional groupings. How you choose your own groupings is up to you and must work for your situation.
Create a master list of these groups and items to refer to through the year. I recommend keeping this master list in a note-keeping program like Evernote or OneNote, or uploading it to Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. Paper tends to disappear.
Create an actual appointment with yourself on your calendar to review your list of items for review. The purpose of this appointment with yourself is to review the items on your list, where you are, what needs to be done, and your next steps If you have a lot of items on your list, then break the list into multiple parts to be covered over multiple appointments throughout the year. That way you won’t get burned out in one session and come to hate—and avoid—the review process. Which leads to…
Keep these appointments with yourself. Don’t blow them off. The process only works if you do. Each review session might generate a list of follow-up tasks; i.e.: call your insurance agent, increase your 401k savings; change your payroll withholdings, etc. Use a task manager to schedule and execute on the follow up items and keep notes in your task manager regarding status and progress.
Schedule another appointment with yourself to cover the same items at the same time next year. Lather, rinse, repeat, and bask in the glow that you are handling your business effectively.
* We realize that not everyone may be able to come up with a list of items to cover each year. If you would like some suggestions, email jacosta@intfingroup.com and type LIST in the subject line. Another terrific resource is Getting Things Done by David Allen.
Securities and Advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC.