The importance of planning ahead

February 15, 2017 by Dan Pappas

About the author

Dan Pappas

Business development representative

As a recent graduate of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, Dan likes to bring his technical background into understanding the FinTech industry. Paired with a desire to help others, he is working to make sure everyone has a chance to succeed in what they are doing.

Many people will tell you that it is important to always be planning ahead in life. This applies to many aspects of life, but it really just boils down to being prepared for whatever may come next. My mother was typically five or more steps ahead of the game. For example, when the market crashed back in 2008, she had taken the time to look at our family’s finances and figured out a way that would allow us to live if my father lost his business and could not find work for five years. While she was very present in her relationships and treasured the “here and now,” she was also very focused on what was to come.

Making a future bad day easier to handle by planning ahead

Another example of her ability to plan ahead came when my grandfather passed away in 1996. My mother and grandmother went to look for a plot in the local cemetery. They looked around for a while and found a beautiful space under a large oak tree that overlooked a large pond. Mom went ahead purchased that land, but what my mom did not tell her brothers was that she had purchased the full cost of a burial for both their father and mother right there on the spot. It is a reality that is not always easy with which to come to terms, but she knew the time would eventually come where her mother would need to be taken care of as well.

Twenty years later, my grandmother passed. As my family was going through the process of making the arrangements, they called the cemetery, and—much to their surprise—they found that not only had the plot been paid for but the cost for the actual burial was already paid as well. It saved a headache and a blow to the wallet for the family at the end of a very difficult day.

This is just one example of how just a little bit of planning can make a huge difference down the road. Share this example with your clients; teach them that a decision they make may not directly affect them today but could make a difficult moment for their families easier to handle. Teach them that with a financial plan in place, they can impact themselves and their families in many ways.

Click here to learn more about leveraging Advicent financial planning software in your relationships with clients to help them better prepare for their future.