Terry Balding & Associates - Individual

Financial Planning

What Can a Financial Planner Do For You?

Fees For Services

Consumer Bill of Rights for Financial Planning


Financial Planning Services:
Comprehensive Financial Planning 
Retirement Planning
Estate Planning
Income Tax Planning
Long Term Care Planning

If you thought that estate planning was only for the very rich, get ready for a surprise. It may be even more important for those with modest income to plan carefully, to conserve the maximum value of their assets for distribution to their chosen heirs. 



What Can A Financial Planner Do For You?

A financial planner can simplify your life
Setting goals and answering questions
The financial plan
First steps forward
As time goes on…
Fees for Financial Planning

A financial planner can simplify your life
Chances are, your income is going up but it’s becoming harder to save. The tax laws seem unnecessarily complicated, investments look riskier than ever and you’re tired of sales pitches over the phone and bankers who only recommend their own CDs. And whenever you read about the costs of a college education or a comfortable retirement, the numbers look bigger than the national debt.

You’re not alone. 

In a world crowded with new investments, changing tax laws, rapidly evolving insurance products and volatile economic cycles, more and more people are looking for clear direction in their financial lives. Unfortunately, the busier and more successful we are, the less time we have to sort out our financial affairs.

Is there a solution?

Yes. Out of this increasingly complicated financial environment has come a new breed of professional: the financial planner. A planner’s primary goal is to help you – and others like you – enjoy a comfortable lifestyle today and still look forward to a financially secure future.

Financial planners offer something you may not be able to get from the traditional stockbroker, banker, accountant or insurance agent – a way to consolidate all aspects of your financial life into one coordinated plan, so that every investment and activity can be viewed in the context of specific financial goals. In the process, you gain a new sense of control over your financial life.

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Setting goals and answering questions
You start the process by making basic decisions about your current needs and financial objectives.

Helping you discover your goals, clarify your objectives and set priorities is the first job of a financial planner – and it is the most important, since everything else will rest upon this foundation. Often, people are surprised to discover that what they believed was an end in itself – reducing taxes, for example – is really a means to a larger and more specific goal – building a substantial estate or accumulating sufficient retirement income. 

In the fact-gathering process will cover your investment portfolio, if any, review your insurance contracts, examine the benefit plan provided by your company, and analyze the amount and sources of income and monthly household expenditures. Your planner will discuss your financial goals, funding a child’s education, your concern with risk and liquidity, and your desire to maintain a certain standard of living for your family in the event of death or disability.

One of the most common questions asked early in the planning process is: ‘Will I be able to afford to retire?’ This can be broken down into several smaller issues. How much, in today’s dollars, will you need to spend during your retirement years? When do you plan to retire? What do you expect the inflation rate to be, on average, between now and the time you retire?

Other issues may be more or less complicated. Do you plan to move into a larger home in the future? Do you plan to pay for the college education of one or more children? If so, what kind of school will they attend? What investment alternatives are you most comfortable with, and which would you prefer to avoid? Do you want to leave a substantial estate to your heirs, or to consume your assets during the retirement years?

What your advisor will need to develop your financial plan:
1. Financial Planning Questionnaire
2. Statement of Objectives and Risks
3. Client Attitude/Experience Survey
4. Statements for all Bank & Investment Accounts
5. Insurance Policies
6. Tax Returns for the past three years

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The financial plan
Depending on your individual needs and wishes, your financial planner may render advice orally, in advisory letters on specific topics over a period of months or years, or in a comprehensive written financial plan that may be a few or several pages long. However it is packaged and delivered, during your relationship with your planner the planning process will include the following services as needed: 
A) a summary of your goals and objectives 
B) current and projected net worth statements and/or 
balance sheets 
C) a current and projected income tax analysis 
D) current and projected cash flow requirements 
E) investment analysis and recommendations within generic 
categories 
F) projected year-by-year progress toward retirement or
other goals 
G) a discussion of insurance-related issues 
H) an estate planning analysis 
I) personalized recommendations 

In addition, your planner will discuss and illustrate the benefits of tax-deferred compounding and of diversifying assets across many investment areas: stocks, bonds or mutual funds, real estate and others.

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First steps forward
After you have a financial plan you’re comfortable with, your planner can help you implement it.

In its broadest sense, that means transforming advice into investment activities, asset repositioning, adequate coverage of risks and all the other active aspects of financial planning. In any case, you should expect your planner to be able to offer guidance and expertise.

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As time goes on… 
Once your financial plan is implemented, there will be as many personal meetings as you feel are necessary. We will discuss investment opportunities, update your risk management profile and review your progress toward each of your goals.

With periodic reviews, and your financial planner to call on whenever questions arise, you’ll know where you stand financially and be able to chart your progress towards your goals.

Start your financial plan today! Contact Terry Balding at (608) 837-9099 or tabalding@hirep.net.

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Fees for Services 
Terry Balding & Associates hourly rate for Financial Planning is $125.00.


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