I’m a Terrible Gamer…
I'm a child of the 80's, having grown up playing video games on Atari using a native joystick or paddle controller, each with a single button. Given a chance to maneuver through today's video worlds with a controller that hosts two joysticks and 12 separate buttons is a bit overwhelming to me. Sophisticated, yes. Simple, not so much.
Sheltering in place the past month, my kids have found more time to enjoy playing video games. There is something mesmerizing about watching my kids play video games, pulling in vast amounts of visual information from the screen, processing it and converting that knowledge to a strategy for their virtual character to implement. Their fingers fly across the controller buttons with the dexterity and deft of a virtuoso classical pianist playing a Chopin Concerto.
My kids have grown up over the past decade learning how to use this technological marvel for self-virtual-preservation. Without having to think about it, their fingers know exactly which button is used for jumping, which is for shooting, which is for running. Changing direction or turning their character's head using one of the joysticks is second nature to them.
If you haven't been working on your financial plan for the past decade, it can feel clumsy as you get started. There are new products, new strategies and new laws to work through. You may have some understanding about what's going on and what the objective of the game is. Not being able to get "your guy" do do what you want can be frustrating when you try it yourself.
Clients I work with have found a well traveled guide to direct them where they want to go. Though I haven't been playing games for over a decade, I have been advising individuals and families for over 12 years, presenting concepts in a manner that the average American can grasp.
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, I often coordinate with clients' other advisors to identify what gaps in their planning may exist, and what can be done to mitigate risks that these gaps pose. I work on a cross disciplinary process, not just in legal, tax or investment planning, but across the board. In many ways I take the newbie confusion of playing with the multi-input controller and convert the moves it down so that clients are focused on the elegant simplicity and joy of a joystick.
Our shared planing "joystick" is the "One Page Financial Plan". I still do all the back end work to analyze your situation, help identify your financial goals, and provide recommendations on what should be done to approach the financial life you envision, but instead of reading through 40-50 pages of jargon, I provide clients with an executive summary--a "One Page Financial Plan" that is easy to digest and simple to implement.
If you're ready to level up using a controller that you feel comfortable using, give me a call.