10 Steps to Dispel Overwhelm: Integrating Life Planning into Financial Planning
Member Question:
There’s no doubt that AoLP is leading the way in financial planning, and I’m genuinely excited to be part of it all. But here’s where I struggle: the sheer amount of information and resources can be really overwhelming for me.
Maybe it’s my age, my personality, or a mix of both, but I often feel paralysed by it all and end up not doing as much as I could or should.
Here are some thoughts I had on how to tackle this:
I’d love some practical advice on integrating aspects of the GAME Plan into my process, especially MONEYFITT. I don’t use HapNav because I find it lacking, unless it’s been improved or you have an alternative.
I know I’m a good coach and getting better every day. This should be the core of my practice.
I naturally guide people towards planning using a lifetime cashflow model.
However, I’m a lot less confident when it comes to life planning. It’s not about knowing what to do, but more about how to seamlessly weave it into the process.
Clients usually come with specific problems, and addressing these tends to dominate our sessions. It’s tough to move them beyond their immediate issues.
I feel like I could really use some help incorporating the GAME Plan into my usual workflow. It’s more detailed than what we’ve done before, and I need guidance on the “how” and “when.”
My Answer:
Are you overwhelmed by all the information? Do you feel uncomfortable asking clients with specific money problems about their whole life, as this member describes? You’re not alone. Many financial planners face this challenge. Here’s how to simplify and integrate life planning into your financial planning process using our GAME Plan approach.
10 Steps to Dispel Overwhelm
1. Address the Immediate Concern
“Client comes to you asking about a particular number – a specific problem and this dominates the interaction.” When a client comes to you with a specific problem, it often dominates the interaction. Start by acknowledging this issue but prepare to look beyond it. See my suggested questions in Appendix 1.
2. Understand the Impact on Overall Finances
“Before you answer that, you need to know the impact on the client’s “other numbers” – hence the cashflow forecast.” Before solving the specific problem, assess its impact on the client’s other financial aspects. This requires a comprehensive cash flow forecast to ensure a holistic understanding of their finances. Your opinion on HapNav suggests to me that you are coming at the task with an adviser mindset, and not as a coach. The adviser gives you the answers; the coach helps you find your own. See appendix 2 to remedy this.
3. Encourage Holistic Thinking
“Hopefully now you and your client are thinking holistically.” Help your client see the bigger picture by thinking holistically. This means considering all aspects of their financial life, not just the immediate problem.
4. Identify Liabilities First
“Before you look at asset strategies, you need to know the liabilities. For this you need a life plan and price tags.” Before diving into asset strategies, identify all liabilities. This necessitates a detailed life plan with price tags for each liability, ensuring no aspect is overlooked.
5. Create a Lifetime Liability Forecast
“Then you can create a lifetime liability forecast and base plan with the assets they’ve got.” With a clear understanding of liabilities and existing assets, create a lifetime liability forecast. This base plan will highlight any financial shortfalls.
6. Explore What-If Scenarios
“Shortfall? Then what if scenario.” Identify any shortfalls in the liability forecast and consider various what-if scenarios. This helps in planning for potential financial contingencies.
7. Look at All Assets Holistically
“Because we are thinking hollistic we look at all assets, not just financial assets.” Consider all types of assets, not just financial ones. This includes human capital, which is the present value of future earnings, as defined by the CFA Institute.
8. Leverage Human Capital
“Financial advisers traditionally just play around with financial assets showing clients how to save money they have already made.” Traditional financial advisers often focus on managing existing financial assets. Instead, leverage human capital by exploring entrepreneurial opportunities to create, grow, elongate, and de-risk income streams.
9. Create New Assets
“We create new assets, by leveraging human capital through entrepreneurial opportunity to create, grow, elongate, de-risk income streams to drop into the cashflow forecast and elimionate shortfalls.” By leveraging human capital, you can create new assets. This proactive approach helps generate, grow, and secure income streams, filling gaps in the cash flow forecast and eliminating shortfalls.
10. Implement the GAME Plan
Integrate the GAME Plan into your practice:
- G: Goals – Define the client’s life and financial goals.
- A: Actions – Create an action plan to overcome obstacles and achieve these goals.
- M: Means – Assess the financial means available to support the goals.
- E: Execution – Execute the plan with clear steps and regular reviews.
Conclusion
By viewing life planning as a structured process of matching liabilities with assets and expenses with incomes, and using the GAME Plan framework, you can seamlessly integrate life planning into your financial practice. This approach will help you address your clients’ immediate concerns while also planning for their holistic financial well-being.
Appendix 1: Questions to Help Move Clients Beyond Immediate Issues
When clients come to you with specific problems, it can be challenging to address their immediate concerns while also guiding them to see the bigger picture. Here are some thoughtful, emotionally engaging questions you can ask to help shift the focus from short-term issues to long-term goals:
“I understand that this [specific problem] is causing a lot of stress. Can you tell me more about how it’s impacting other areas of your life and finances?”
This question acknowledges their immediate concern while gently encouraging them to think about the broader effects.
“If we could solve this immediate issue, what would be the next most important goal for you?”
This helps the client visualize life beyond their current problem and sets the stage for longer-term planning.
“What are some of the dreams or goals you’ve had for your future, even if they seem unrelated to this issue?”
By inviting them to share their dreams, you can start connecting their immediate concerns with their broader aspirations.
“How do you see this problem fitting into your overall financial journey?”
This question encourages clients to place their current issue within the context of their entire financial plan.
“Can you describe a time when you felt more in control of your financial situation? What was different then?”
Reflecting on past successes can help clients remember their strengths and see that overcoming their current issue is possible.
“What would a successful resolution of this issue look like for you, both now and in the future?”
This question helps them think about immediate solutions and long-term outcomes.
“How can we ensure that solving this problem also supports your long-term goals and financial well-being?”
This reinforces the idea that addressing immediate issues should align with their overall financial strategy.
“If you didn’t have to worry about this problem anymore, what would you focus on next?”
Encourages clients to think beyond their current stressors and start planning for future priorities.
“What resources or support do you think you need to move past this issue and start working on your bigger goals?”
Helps identify practical steps and resources that can facilitate broader financial planning.
“How do you envision your financial future once this problem is resolved?”
This question helps them visualise a positive outcome and motivates them to take steps toward that vision.
By asking these questions, you can gently guide your clients to see beyond their immediate concerns and start thinking about their long-term financial health and goals. This approach not only addresses their current issues but also sets the foundation for a more comprehensive and fulfilling financial planning journey.
Appendix 2: The adviser gives you the answers; the coach helps you find your own.
It is very difficult for experienced financial advisers to shift their mindset to that of a financial life coach. Here’s why, and how you can fix it.
Advisers are hunters. Looking for delegators. Clients who hand over everything to the adviser, including their assets to tap into for fees. They just want the right answers. There is a problem with the “right answer” strategy for both client and adviser. For the client, it is disempowering. When you live by the plans of others, what’s in it for you? Not much! For the adviser it is a really attractive recurring income stream (lazy income) but there is a sting in the tail, a liability attached, and when down the road come the redress payments and fines, you soon realise, like the insurance companies did in the noughties, and banks did in the tens, it’s a zero sum game!
Financial Life Coaches on the otherhand are like farmers. The client is the land, the seed, the livestock, and the farmer provides the ongoing support for the client to nuture themselves, grow and develop. The income is fee for service without large legal liability for selling the “right answers”. The client is financially activated, empowered, controlling placement of their own assets, with a sense of agency and ownership. This results in a better client outcome. Here, the best place to find helping hands you can trust is at the end of your own arms.
Compare wealth management to health management. Would you delegate all your medical solutions to a health practitioner and take whatever prescription or remedy they sold you. Or instead would you learn more and be an active partner in the prevention or treatment process?
Lifetime cashflow planning tools, can either be planner-user tools such as Voyant, Prestwood Truth, Cashcalc, Timeline, Planner Pal, My Finance Future, etc.. Here the planner takes your data, and then presents a report with their strategies and recommendations.
Or, end-user lifetime cashflow planning tools, just HapNav. The world’s first end-user financial planning tool linked to open-banking (so anyone can play). Fully portable from adviser to adviser, provider to provider. As YOU own the tool! Here, the planner works with you. The plan can be done for you, done with you or done by you.
It’s like comparing a shotgun with a plough! As a coach are you done with the shotguns?
Picture this: You’re embarking on a journey to climb a mountain. An adviser is like a seasoned climber who hands you a detailed map, points out the best routes, and gives you a list of essential equipment. They provide you with all the answers and directions you need to reach the summit. You follow their guidance step-by-step, relying on their expertise to navigate the path.
Now, imagine instead you have a coach by your side. This coach doesn’t just hand you a map; they walk alongside you, encouraging you to explore different paths, make decisions, and learn from each step you take. They might ask, “What do you think would be the best way to tackle this steep slope?” or “How did you feel about that last climb, and what might you do differently next time?” A coach helps you uncover your own answers, fostering a deeper understanding and confidence in your abilities.
The adviser gives you the answers; the coach helps you find your own.
An adviser is essential when you need specific, expert advice. They can be incredibly helpful for immediate, clear-cut solutions. But a coach? A coach empowers you to discover your strengths, develop your skills, and learn in a way that’s profoundly personal and experiential. They guide you through the learning process, allowing you to internalise the knowledge and apply it in a way that’s uniquely yours.
In the realm of financial planning, an adviser might tell you exactly how to invest your money or what steps to take to secure your financial future. Meanwhile, a coach will work with you to understand your financial goals, explore different strategies, and develop a plan that resonates with your personal values and circumstances. This approach not only builds your financial acumen but also instills a lasting sense of confidence and self-reliance.
It’s the difference between being handed a fish and learning to fish for yourself. Both roles are valuable, but the experience of learning through a coach can be transformative, creating a sustainable and empowering journey toward your goals.
Take a look for yourself … visit HapNav.com.
Academy of Life Planning 