The Questions You Should Be Asking About Your Financial Future
When we talk to prospective clients, we’re often struck by how many people come through our doors with the same underlying concern. They’ve worked hard for decades, they’ve saved diligently, but they’re not entirely sure if they’re truly prepared for retirement. They’re asking important questions—but often, they’re not getting clear, measurable answers.
Recently, an ATICA survey revealed the most common questions adults ask their financial advisors. These questions aren’t just conversation starters. They represent real anxieties and legitimate concerns about the future. However, what we’ve discovered in our practice is that most people don’t have the framework to understand what the answers to these questions actually mean for their unique situations.
Let’s explore these critical questions together and show you how we approach retirement planning differently.
Are You Protected from a Market Downturn?
This is perhaps the most common question we hear, and it’s a loaded one. When someone asks us, “Am I protected from a downturn?” our first response is always: What does your plan tell you?
Most folks don’t have an answer because they don’t actually have a comprehensive plan. Many people assume that a financial plan simply means having a budget—knowing what they spend now while working and what they’ll spend in retirement. But that’s maybe 5% of what actually makes up a real financial plan.
True protection from a downturn means being able to answer this specific question: If the market experiences a significant loss this year, what specific effect will that have on my retirement income five, ten, or fifteen years from now? If you can’t answer that question with actual numbers, then you don’t have a plan—and you’re not protected.
Here’s what we do differently. For our clients, we can pull up their plan and show them exactly what would happen if a 2008-style market pullback occurred again. We can demonstrate, based on the risk level of their portfolio, how much their account would likely decline. More importantly, we can show them precisely how that decline would affect their income.
Then we ask the critical question: “How does that make you feel?” If a client learns that during a major downturn similar to 2008, they might need to reduce their spending by $600 per month while the S&P is down 38%, and they respond with, “Actually, that’s not that bad,” then they’re in good shape. They’re protected. However, if their response is panic, then we need to make adjustments before that downturn happens.
The Secret Safety Net
We’ve discovered something interesting in our first meetings with potential clients. When we take inventory of their assets, we often ask, “Is there anything else?” That’s when we see some shifting in chairs and sideways glances. Eventually, many people admit they have a secret stash—perhaps a $400,000 CD that even their current advisor doesn’t know about.
Why the secrecy? Because when they asked their previous advisor if they were protected from a downturn, they got a simple “yes” answer. They didn’t understand what that actually meant, so they created their own Plan B just in case.
While we understand the desire for a safety net, this approach often backfires. That secret CD earning minimal interest might actually be the worst thing you can do with your money. There are likely options that achieve the same security goal but far more efficiently. We can measure all these factors and show you exactly what makes sense for your situation.
What Do You Need to Do to Outpace Inflation?
Inflation is a hot topic, especially after we saw rates climb to around 9% a couple of summers ago. Although the official numbers now show inflation under 3%, many people don’t feel like that’s accurate. As we always say, people make decisions based on how they feel, and most folks feel like their costs are rising by more than 3% annually.
However, here’s a question that might surprise you: What if you don’t actually need to outpace inflation?
Consider this scenario: You have $3 million saved, no debt, no major financial obligations, and you’re living comfortably on Social Security plus an extra $2,000 per month. Do you need to aggressively invest to outpace inflation? Not necessarily. You might not need to take on additional risk at all. In fact, you have the option to be boring with your investments if you want.
This might sound like a rare situation, but we see this more often than you’d think. The point is that the answer to “How do I outpace inflation?” isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. You’re not going to get a quick 20-second answer from us because we have to measure these decisions against your specific circumstances.
The Gold Rush Temptation
Turn on late-night television, and you’ll see countless commercials urging you to buy gold as a hedge against inflation. While gold can play a role in certain portfolios, there’s much more to consider than the simple question of whether gold is a good investment.
If you’re buying physical gold as an inflation hedge, you need to account for significant broker fees when you purchase it. You’ll pay shipping costs to receive heavy gold bars or coins. You’ll need to invest in a secure safe. When you eventually sell, you’ll face more broker fees. By the time you account for all these costs, gold might need to double its typical returns just for you to break even.
Does this mean gold is never a good idea? Not necessarily. But it means you need a comprehensive analysis of whether it actually makes sense for your specific situation. Additionally, you need to understand that buying a gold ETF is not the same as owning physical gold for inflation protection purposes.
For our clients, when questions about inflation arise, we don’t offer generic solutions. Instead, we pull up their plan and review the inflation assumptions we’ve built in. We show them exactly how much they can spend each month adjusted for inflation and what rate of return we need to achieve to make everything work. Then we discuss what level of risk is required to achieve that return and what volatility they’d be exposed to.
Finally, we ask that crucial question again: “How does that make you feel?”
Will You Actually Meet Your Retirement Goals?
This question might be the broadest one we encounter, yet it’s also the most important. Interestingly, we’ve found that most people come into our office without clearly defined goals. They might have broad hopes—retire at a certain age, travel a couple of times per year, not worry about money—but these aren’t specific enough to build an effective plan around.
When someone tells us they want to travel in retirement, we dig deeper. Why do you want to travel? Where specifically do you want to go? Who do you want to bring with you? How often? What type of experiences are you hoping to have?
We keep asking these questions until you’re almost frustrated with us. Once we’ve reached that point, we probably have a clear enough picture of your actual goals to work backward and create a plan.
The “Same Lifestyle” Trap
Many people tell us, “I just want to live the same lifestyle in retirement that I’m living now.” That’s an okay starting point, but it’s nowhere near detailed enough to qualify as a goal. We need to back into specifics. What are the non-negotiables in your lifestyle? What trips are you unwilling to sacrifice? What purchases or experiences are essential to your happiness?
The only way we can answer whether you’ll meet your goals is by showing you exactly what it will take to achieve them. You’ll know precisely how much more you need to save each year, how much longer you might need to work, or what rate of return you need from your investments.
For the most part, if you haven’t reached the threshold where all your goals are achievable, you have three options: spend less, save more, or work longer. Some might suggest taking more risk as a fourth option, but when you’re on the doorstep of retirement, that’s typically a bad lever to pull.
Once we’ve identified what needs to happen and you tell us you’re willing to do what it takes, we know you’re going to reach your goals. It’s that simple. We can define the goal, measure it, and create a path to get there.
The Right Goals Versus Your Goals
There’s another dimension to this question that often gets overlooked: Do you have the right goals? If you accomplished everything on your list, would you actually feel fulfilled, or would you have regrets? Are there dreams you’ve left off the list because you don’t want to commit to them or because you’re not sure you can afford them?
We tell clients all the time: if you’re only planning to spend what you’ve budgeted and our projections show you’ll have $6 million remaining at your projected life expectancy, maybe we need to rethink your goals. Do you want to fly first class now, or do you want your kids to fly first class with your money after you’re gone?
Many people undershoot their goals because they’re being overly conservative or because they haven’t given themselves permission to truly enjoy the wealth they’ve accumulated. Our job is to show you what’s actually possible and help you make intentional decisions about how you want to live.
The Foundation of Real Planning: How You Feel Matters
Throughout this discussion, you’ve probably noticed a recurring theme. We consistently ask, “How does that make you feel?” This isn’t just a therapeutic exercise—it’s fundamental to effective retirement planning.
Yes, there’s data, math, and science involved in financial planning. However, people make decisions based on how they feel more often than not. If you don’t feel protected from a downturn, even if the numbers suggest you are, you’re going to make emotional decisions that could undermine your plan. You might hide money in low-performing CDs, sell investments at the wrong time, or avoid necessary risks.
Our industry has done a poor job of providing advice that people can actually digest and apply to their unique situations. There are countless talking heads offering generic guidance that might sound good but ultimately goes in one ear and out the other because you don’t know how to apply it to your specific circumstances.
That’s why we built our process around showing you—not just telling you—what these decisions mean for your retirement. We believe the burden of proof is on us to demonstrate the value we’ll bring to your life before you become a client.
What You Can Expect from Our Process
When you come in for that initial consultation with us, don’t worry about bringing a mountain of paperwork or feeling intimidated by the process. We want to know who you are and why you’re talking to us. What have you heard or experienced that brought you to this point?
Our responsibility is to guide the conversation through the topics that matter most to your retirement. We’ll make it lighthearted while still addressing the serious questions that keep you up at night. Come ready to talk and share your story. We’ll take it from there.
The conversation typically evolves beyond spreadsheets and account balances into what actually matters: What are you doing all this for? What have the past thirty years of your career meant? You’ve worked toward this goal, and if you’re willing to do what it takes to get there, we can show you exactly what that looks like.
Our Commitment to Excellence
Best Financial Planner in Woodstock, GA for 2023, 2024, and 2025
We’ve built our reputation on providing comprehensive, personalized retirement planning that goes far beyond basic investment advice. Our team has earned recognition for our commitment to putting clients first and delivering results that help people retire with confidence.
We’re proud that our lead advisors are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, which means we’ve met rigorous education, examination, experience, and ethics requirements. This designation reflects our commitment to the highest standards in financial planning. Our entire team at our Woodstock, Georgia office is dedicated to providing you with the clarity and confidence you need to make informed decisions about your financial future.
Our recognition in the industry stems from our unique approach: we show you the value we can bring to your life before you become a client, not after. We stress-test your plan, quantify the impact of market volatility on your specific situation, and help you understand exactly what your retirement can look like based on real numbers, not generic assumptions.
Take the Next Step Toward Retirement Confidence
If you’ve found yourself asking these questions—whether you’re protected from a downturn, how to outpace inflation, or if you’ll meet your goals—and you’re not getting clear, measurable answers, it’s time for a conversation with our team.
We’ve created a complimentary three-meeting retirement planning process designed to give you complete clarity about your financial future. There’s no cost and no obligation for this initial consultation. We simply want to understand your situation and show you what’s possible.
You can reach us at 770-485-1876 or visit our website at www.vincentplanning.com. If you’re not quite ready for a full consultation but want to have a preliminary conversation about whether we might be the right fit for you, we invite you to Book a “Can We Help” Call with one of our advisors. This shorter conversation will help both of us determine if our approach aligns with what you’re looking for.
For personalized financial guidance, reach out to Vincent Financial Group today to schedule a consultation.