In over 30 years of working with clients on their financial and retirement plans, I have noticed a very definite trend. Clients, no matter how much money they have, tend to spend those resources in approximately five major areas. Unreimbursed medical and dental expenses, house projects and repairs, car repair and replacement, travel, hobby and lifestyle activities, and gifts to children, grandchildren and charities.
It is amazing how much time is spent during financial planning and investment review meetings discussing these issues with our clients, as money is truly a means of accomplishing what is most important in life, and not an end unto itself.
I have had clients ask me from time to time why we question them about their health, their medical insurance, their out-of-pocket costs on prescription drugs and their upcoming dental expenses. The reason is simple...these combined expenditures can have a tremendous impact on the cash flow needs of a client as they plan for a successful retirement.
I recently heard a quote that resonates deeply with me, and as I have shared it with a number of clients, has also hit home with them: "When you have your health, you have many problems. When you don't have your health, you have but ONE problem."
We are also paying enormous attention to the future trends going on with medical technology, human genomics, stem cell treatments and the potential impact on life expectancy. I will continue to touch on these topics in future market commentaries, as these could have tremendous impact on future life expectancy. As I have talked with clients over many years, I have never met one that felt comfortable with the idea of running out of money before they ran out of life. If life expectancies continue to expand, so too, must the pool of resources we need to fund these years. Stay tuned, more will be coming as we keep "Moving Life Forward" together.
Why do we question your health?
