Last week, I had a very interesting conversation over tasty tacos and great guacamole with an old schoolmate – Mike. The last time we met up in person was before the pandemic so we had a lot to talk about. He’s doing well in life – impressive family, nice career, and always a wonderful conversationalist. Near the end of dinner he asked me, “Should I hire a financial planner?”
Then, we discussed how financial planning relationships work. I could tell by the smile on his face that he was excited for me and my business. At that point, he started sharing details of his financial life. He said that “I’m basic. I have a 401(k) and company stock. The rest of my money is tied up in a house and raising a family.”
He continued, “I don’t know this finance stuff, but I would never pay a fee for financial planning.”
Do I Really Need Help from a Financial Planner?
This is the million dollar question. Or the multimillion dollar question. You may need help. Perhaps you don’t.
In Mike’s situation he has the potential to earn $1,275,000 in employer stock over the next 3 years. That’s nothing to sneeze at! Maybe you are in a similar situation?
Would you like to make the best decisions possible with this amount of money?
If you feel 100% confident that you can do it on your own, then you should go for it.
The Benefits of Working with a Professional
If you decide to go it alone, how satisfied do you feel about your strategy?
Will you know how and when to do the following:
- Exercise your options, buy the stock, and determine when to sell
- Put a solid RSU plan in place
- Tax planning strategy for over many years
- The countless other financial details that are important to your life that you may be unaware of
Making the best decisions with your employer stock and other important financial decisions are not easy.
Outside of the numbers and taxes, there’s a lot of worry and stress about money.
Instead of spending a lot of time figuring out your finances, hiring a financial planner to take care of your finances frees up time so you can live your life, have an objective third party monitor your portfolio every day, reduce your stress, have a sounding board, and many other positive outcomes.
Just like going to the gym, professional financial planning isn’t for everyone. But for those who engage in either activity, your friends, family, and peers will notice a big difference!