Jen was one of those people who was always thinking about the what-ifs and worst case scenarios. While being watchful and well-prepared are admirable qualities for her role as CFO of her family real estate business, sometimes Jen’s preparedness detracted from enjoying the significant wealth she and Paul created. During a meeting with Prio Wealth, we introduced Jen and Paul to the financial life management process. We hoped it would help us uncover what was behind her financial anxiety, and give them the tools to make financial choices to enable a more enjoyable lifestyle.
When we gave each of them a set of prioritization cards to rank, Jen’s fears were evident: Will we have enough money to support our increasingly expensive lifestyle? Will I need to work forever? Am I going to be OK? How do we help our kids and grandchildren financially? Paul had greater balance between wanting to be smart about finances and also enjoying life and giving back. Both busy executives, they realized that the thought of retirement was intimidating for different reasons. Jen was nervous about maintaining the family business and having “enough” money, while Paul was afraid that the tension in their marriage over finances would make it hard to agree on a retirement lifestyle.
Taking the time to talk about their feelings was a big stride forward. Over the next few months, Prio worked with them to lay out a clear financial plan, appropriate asset allocation and investment strategy, and a rolling checklist of all the steps we would be taking to stay on track. Just being more organized helped Jen feel less anxious. One day we got a call from Jen, who shared that she would look at their plan on the Prio Portal when she was stressed or concerned. Paul also appreciated the way the process made them communicate more about their priorities and helped give them both the clarity, confidence and control to make smart decisions. Thing are looking up, and Jen was able to address her biggest fear: Am I going to be OK!