The VFA financial planning process starts with several conversations focused on obtaining the clear identification of your goals in life, for the short, medium and long term. (Once we have obtained a clear financial picture, it’s all about getting you organized, helping you achieve a clear understanding of your current financial picture and being in control of your finances, rather than letting your finances control you.) Once your goals have been identified, then you along with your VFA advisor, will need to think and discuss the financial resources required to obtain these goals, the hurdles you may encounter, the timing of when you will need certain funds, and their priority. Then and only then can you and your advisor start working out all the necessary financial steps to achieve your goals.

Comprehensive Financial Planning is the ongoing process to proactively address financial issues both large and small that fall within one of the seven major categories of personal finances; Retirement Planning, Investment Planning, Tax Planning, Estate Planning, Insurance Planning, Major Purchases & Event Planning, and Cash Flow Monitoring.

At Vermillion Financial Advisors, evaluating any single financial discipline has six steps:

1. Discovery Questionnaire – a comprehensive questionnaire is completed for the specific financial discipline selected; this includes a deeper dive into and the review of your pertinent documents, current situation, goals and concerns.

2. Education – a personal discussion between you and your advisor on the topics of importance for this discipline; the purpose of which is to increase your knowledge so you may better participate in the decision and solution-making that follows.

3. Analysis of your current financial discipline – determining how close or far you are to achieving your goals assuming no changes, the identification of financial exposures, and pitfalls that will need to be addressed.

4. Presentation of analysis reports – illustration and discussion of projections and potential solutions for achieving your individual goals.

5. Implementation of recommendations and solutions – making the changes necessary to start moving your finances in a positive direction toward helping you achieve your financial goals.

6. On-Going Monitoring and the regular review of your progress – continuously updating your current financial status and projections. This allows you and your advisor to make necessary adjustments whenever required. (mid-course adjustments)

Rarely do firms offer services in all seven disciplines of personal finances, but that is exactly the practice provided here at Vermillion Financial Advisors, Inc.

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By planning your finances to meet your goals you will:

1. Have a much greater confidence about where you are going financially in life.
2. Reduce your stress levels, thus helping you enjoy life more.
3. Increase your time with loved ones and friends.
4. Gain control and peace of mind knowing that you’re on track for the future you want for yourself and your family.

Common Financial Planning questions and answers:

Q. Do all financial planning firms use the same financial planning process?

A. Unfortunately, the answer is “no”. While it is true that many firms describe themselves as financial planning services, many firms only provide assistance in one or possibly two disciplines of financial planning. Therefore, you would be mistaken in assuming that all financial planning firms, financial plans and advice provided are created equal.

Common mistakes made to Financial Planning:

1. No Organization
2. Not creating an inventory / starting point
3. No clarity of goals
4. No priority of goals