Last week was a busy week, and on Tuesday, I drove to PE early in the morning as I had my first online meeting at eight. The next meeting was with a new prospective client who happily decided they’d like to work with us. A great start to the day, but it was the next three meetings that made the day special
All three were reviews, with clients who started working with me around 25 years ago, back when Client Care was still finding its feet. It was only on the drive home that I understood why I felt so happy and strangely at peace. In my mind, I went back through the years with each of these couples. Each had encountered challenges along their way to retirement, many changes, highs and lows. But through all of it, they had trusted me to help them plan, structure, and stay the course.
The first gentleman worked at the same listed-company I was at 25 years ago, and from where Client Care started. When retirement arrived, the company wasn’t ready to lose his knowledge as he ran a large national corporate short-term insurance account, and truthfully, neither was he. He stayed on another two and a half years, easing into retirement. Since then, he has and still does spend much of his time driving around the country to his grandchildren’s sports days and school concerts, and loving every minute of it.
The second couple chose a very different path. They retired early and spent several years volunteering with churches in Vietnam and travelling to neighbouring countries. Since coming home, they’ve thrown themselves back into family life and into travelling with friends and loved ones.
The third client spent many years in the employee benefits department at the same company where I worked at the time. She lives independently but stays close to a large extended family, children both here and in the UK, and no shortage of grandchildren’s stories to share.
Three very different lives. Yet they share something important. All three have retired well, in their own way. Happy, content, and financially secure.
In each meeting, we probably spent less than ten minutes talking about markets or money. The rest of the time went to their lives, their families, their travels, and the memories built over the 25 years we have worked together. Their future plans were also discussed.
And that’s when it struck me again. Their success never came from a magical fund manager, a clever tax loophole, or a lucky market call. It came from having a clear plan that reflected how they wanted to live, structuring it properly, and simply sticking to it.
Nothing fancy. One foot in front of the other, day after day, year after year.
This, to me, is the real value of financial planning. A sound plan, a sensible investment philosophy, and the discipline to stay the course.
It’s worked for the past 25 years. I have little doubt it’ll work for the next 25 too.
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Dirk Groeneveld, Certified Financial Planner
t. 083 261 9287
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Disclaimer:
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice in any way or form. It is important to consult a financial planner to receive financial advice before acting on any information contained herein. Client Care and PWM and its directors, officers, and employees shall not be responsible and disclaim all liability for any loss, damage (whether direct, indirect, special or consequential) and/or expense of any nature whatsoever, which may be suffered as a result of, or which may be attributable, directly or indirectly, to the use of, or reliance upon any information contained in this article.
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