December 2022

On one of the last nice days in early November, I was taking a walk in my neighborhood and saw several neighbors who already had put up their outdoor Christmas decorations. Now, I understand taking advantage of the nice weather to put the decorations in place, but not only were they up but they were on and shining bright! To each his own, I say.

I’m not the person who decorates for Christmas right after Halloween, but I am one of those who does it right after Thanksgiving. It is an all-day process to put up my Christmas decorations and I want to be able to enjoy them until we ring in the New Year. Now, I am also the person who takes my decorations down on New Year’s Day. What else am I going to do that day? I guess you could say I like to plan. When do you put up your holiday decorations?

More importantly, I want to ask, “When do you do your financial planning?” I hope that your answer is when you meet with us, but when it comes to some of the bigger life decisions, we see people plan in various ways. Sometimes it’s when you first come to us in your 30’s or 40s that you want to start planning and seeing what that roadmap to retirement looks like. Sometimes it’s a year or five years away from retirement that you want to make sure things are set for the next stage of life. On occasion, we get that person who has already made the retirement decision and then wants to make sure they are all set. Whatever category you fall into, we are here to help, because life doesn’t just begin at retirement. You have big decisions to make all along the way and beyond. Whether you are just getting started and you are thinking about buying the new house, college savings for the kids, or changing jobs, we can help navigate your options. Maybe you are already in retirement and you are considering downsizing your home, moving to a senior community, moving to another state to be closer to children. We’ve helped people work through all of these decisions.

We want you to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Whether you are just starting in that labor or it is years behind you, we’ve walked beside so many people during these life choices and we want to help you too.

Now, when it comes to your holiday decorations, whatever you are celebrating, I encourage you to do you! If you are the after Halloween decorator, you get two months to relish in your handiwork. Maybe you don’t decorate until Christmas Eve, which is a fun tradition some families have. Whatever the occasion and whatever you do: Enjoy!