Planning for your future with a CFP® Professional

This post is sponsored by CFP Board, but as always, the opinions below are 100% my own.

When you start off in the workforce, there are many options as far as different ways to start saving for your retirement–and these are often overlooked. There is so much to think about when you start planning for retirement. The earlier you start, the better.

Then life comes along, and you start thinking about buying a house or starting a family–and the costs that comes along with those milestones. Then, your original goals–like retirement–might get put on the backburner.

For a middle class family to raise a child born in 2015 through the age of 17, the average cost is currently $233,610, according to the Department of Agriculture. How could someone so small, cost so much? Food, housing, and childcare are only a few of the top costs.

Before I had children I didn’t realize the cost of daycare. When I had two kids in daycare full time it cost a whopping $1400 a month. $1400 a month to spend 40 hours a week away from my kids… It seems backwards, right?

Creating a budget and simply increasing mindfulness regarding how you’re managing your finances is the first step towards building a financial plan. We have started the process by sitting down with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional to get us on track.

What is a CFP® professional? A CFP® pro has gone through extensive training so that he/she is fully prepared to manage all of your financial needs. CFP® professionals are held to the highest ethical standards and understand the complexities of the ever-changing financial situations that may apply to each unique person. They’re able to make recommendations that are best for YOU.

Beware of people purporting to be “financial planners” as there are many that have not been certified. To be a CFP® professional you need to go through extensive training and adhere to rigorous requirements.

 

To become a CFP® professional someone must –

–       Complete 4,000 or more hours of financial planning experience.

–       Pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam, which will test their ability to apply financial planning knowledge to all different types of real-life situations. A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional has proven that they understand real-life scenarios and how they affect your investments, retirement funds, college savings and/or estate planning.

–       They are required to put their clients’ interests above their own when providing financial planning services.

–       Be trained in 72 separate financial topic areas ranging from investment planning to estate planning.

 

For couples that are working full-time and starting to consider family planning, childcare costs are one of the top financial responsibilities to think about. Consulting with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional should be your first step to setting your family up for financial success.

Having two young kiddos, you never know what healthcare expenses will come your way–especially during cold & flu season. A CFP® professional will help you come up with a plan that allows you to thoughtfully budget for medical expenses–planned or unexpected. This is one of the biggest pros for us, because health insurance is something you can’t go without, and medical expenses can often come as a shock.

I am glad that we have chosen to hire a CFP® pro to help us not only manage our money today, but to help us build a plan for tomorrow.

 

Find out how a CFP® pro can help you at letsmakeaplan.org

 

Xo,

Ashley