Remodel Tampa Bay Spring/Summer 2015

Remodeling Your
A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH FOR
THE PHRASE “REMODELING YOUR
FINANCES” SPITS OUT NUMEROUS
RESULTS, FROM DO-IT-YOURSELF
REMODELING TIPS TO HELP YOUR
BUDGET, TO HOW TO FINANCE
A HOME REMODEL. CLEARLY,
THE MAIN CONNECTION THAT
THE MAJORITY MAKES BETWEEN
“FINANCES” AND “REMODELING”
IS HOW YOU CAN USE DIFFERENT
FINANCIAL STRATEGIES TO
REMODEL YOUR PHYSICAL LIVING
SPACE. WHY IS IT THAT NO ONE
SEEMS TO MAKE THE CONNECTION
THAT THEIR FINANCIAL LIFE IS ALSO
A PHYSICAL STRUCTURE THAT MAY
BE IN NEED OF A REMODEL?
Aside from your home, the most important structure in your life
is that of your finances. However, many people don’t see their
finances as a physical, living thing that needs to be nurtured,
evaluated, and have a sound framework in place to support a healthy
structure that can withstand the elements. Instead, many of us bounce
around between different monetary decisions and actions, without any
idea of how everything is working together. Sound familiar?
The Financial Junk Drawer
A side effect of life keeping us busy, we rarely have time to sit down
and clarify our thoughts regarding our financial process. So, the junk
drawer is created, and is the place where all things financial tend to end
up: wills, insurance policies, investment statements, trusts, and so on.
Many people think that their financial junk drawer creates a rhyme
or reason behind their decisions and actions because it’s their
“system.” But opening our junk drawer and sifting through the pieces
tends to become a daunting task, so traditional techniques teach us
to distribute our information among multiple advisors and institutions
for them to manage. While not uncommon, this separates the pieces
of your financial puzzle onto numerous, uncorrelated paths, each one
operating according to a different agenda, making it almost impossible
to see the collective end result. I like to compare this method to trying
to play chess without a chess board: How can you see if you’re making
the right moves? How can you see your standing in the game? How can
you see and respond to the moves your opponent is making?
Remodeling Your Financial House
A framework to give your financial life structure is just as essential as
a game board is for playing a game of chess. And while many people
think that their finances are too intimidating to make sense of on their
own, the junk drawer almost enhances this intimidation because of its
inherent disorganization.
A worthy framework for your finances should begin at the first step
on the path to financial success: financial organization. As the main
function of The Living Balance Sheet®, the digital platform that we
provide to our clients, this tool allows you to pull in all of your financial
information, and then break down its complexity into four domains; just
as there’s a right way to build a house, there’s a right way to build your
financial structure, and The Living Balance Sheet® allows you to start
from the ground up.
Cash Flow serves as the foundation from which your wealth is built
and sustained. This domain offers insight into your spending habits, the
allocation break down of your income, and if your wealth is growing or
dwindling and how fast either one is happening.
12 Remodel Tampa Bay Spring | Summer 2015