Why Plenteous Financial Forum?
One Size Fits One
When it comes to money, many people fear running out of it, being strapped with a debilitating health event, missing investment opportunities and more. They want to minimize taxes, keep inflation from eroding their nest egg and effectively navigate market ups-and-downs. Then, of course, current and future life changes can add another level of complexity – a new job, marriage, retirement, divorce, loss of spouse and business sale, to name a few.
How do you make all of this work together? In a word, plan. In financial life planning you bring everything financial in your life together in one place to:
- Define and prioritize life goals.
- Determine what’s working, what’s not and how to get back on track.
- Confirm you are on a path to build or maintain financial independence.
- Look at other scenarios you might consider.
Your story is yours alone – your challenges, opportunities, goals, resources, feelings and more. So, its no surprise that your version of a plenteous life is one size fits one.
A National Savings Crisis
Unfortunately, only 10% of people have written financial life plans. People often procrastinate when it comes to this type of planning. We see the effects play out in our communities, with our coworkers, with our friends and at home with our national savings crisis.
- Four in 10 adults would either borrow, sell something, or not be able pay if faced with a $400 emergency expense.
- The average middle-class family has only three weeks of reserves.
- One in five adults cannot cover their current month’s bills, and one in four skipped a medical treatment in the past year due to an inability to pay.
Often difficulty getting through today can make it hard to think ahead to saving for retirement. In fact, people have been struggling with retirement savings since the early 80s, when responsibility shifted from the employer to the employee without the education and transition efforts to make the individual successful. Consider this:
- About 30% of seniors 55 and older don’t have a retirement account or a pension.
- Even seniors age 55 to 64 with retirement savings, only have average savings of $104,000.
- Seniors age 62 to 69 only have average assets of around $39,000.
We need to attend to the savings gaps, while realizing that average life expectancy has increased a decade since the 1960s and laws and regulations continue to increase in complexity. The recent period of historic job losses, bloated national debt and general financial insecurity was a wake-up call for Americans to get a better grasp on their personal financial situations – especially women who, on average, earn less, invest less and save less, while living longer than men.
All Things are Possible
If you’re a person who wants to change the narrative of your financial story, or want to help others change theirs, join us!
Plenteous Financial Forum is a platform to bring people together for greater financial wellness. Having seen amazing feats accomplished through the power of planning and supportive habits, we believe all things are possible (Matthew 19:26; Phillippians 4:13; Luke 1:37; Mark 9:23; Mark 10:27; Matthew 17:20; Romans 8:31).
We subscribe to the Pareto principle which states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of results come from 20% of the contributions. So, member/contributors collectively focus on sharing our favorite results-oriented, high impact thoughts, concepts and tips throughout this site to help in your personal planning efforts.
Whether your plan for your version of plenteous life could fit on a Post-It Note or fill up a 40 page binder, celebrate any measure of progress, knowing you are doing more than you did the day before. So, check out our website, reach out to me and get in touch with other Plenteous Financial Forum member/contributors. In any case, we wish you all the best in proactively achieving your version of a plenteous life.
I strive to be a superhero every day. In all superhero sagas, there’s an evil villain that must be fought on a regular basis. In this scenario, that dastardly menace is the shape of most people’s finances today. In battling financial illiteracy, my weapon of choice is clarity – making the complex simple. The happy ending is a custom roadmap for a unique plenteous life – one person at a time. – Paula McMillan, CFP®, CPA, PFS, CGMA, Plenteous Financial Forum, Chairman and Founder