I feel so very grateful for my clients this past year entrusting me with their finances. I was driving to Cleveland to learn tax updates for next year and my mind drifted to how all my clients have done this year and I realized we had some big wins this year. I thought I would share a few of the wins I get to see at Savings Coach as a financial planner to celebrate and learn from.

-A couple I met with monthly were able to identify a mental barrier of $50,000 that seems to have been affecting their spending patterns and hindering them for years. We broke through that ceiling and have now saved up $100,000 into their emergency fund, which was their intentional goal by year end. Managing spending as a married couple can be a tricky thing, and I seem to be a good objective third party to drive constructive conversations.

-Some parents recommended their newlywed daughter to work with me. The young couple hired me right after getting married and we have seen their net worth grow over $33,000 in their first year. Great job keeping your hard-earned money when combined salaries are less than $100,000. I believe they are getting their marriage off to a great start by tackling the money conversations together as a team.

-A client entrusted me with $570,000 to invest end of last year, and through behavioral automated savings and investment gains the accounts have grown to $895,000 this year. The Habit of regularly saving money intentionally and investing it can lead to wonderful balances.

-A monthly client was able to push up their timeline for buying a house by a couple years. We were able to scrub their credit and strategically payoff debt to boost their credit scores and save them over $7,000 on the transaction. Then found them a low-cost mortgage broker that made it a very smooth process for them and saved them another $3,000. This helped to get them out of their starter home and into a home they really love.

-A retired monthly client is on track to save $14,854/year from cancelling unneeded recurring bills, paying off high interest debt, and lowering their insurance premiums. Know anyone who seems to be squandering money? Please send them over for a financial housecleaning.

-An HR company hired me to come speak to employees at multiple locations around Michigan. I love when I can teach fundamental topics in group settings. Contact me if you would like to add “financial wellness as a benefit" at your company.

-A monthly client, who is also an investment advisor, wanted to walk the talk. They accomplished their 2019 goals we set last December of paying off their $12,000 of consumer debt while also building their emergency savings account to $20,000 ($29,255 actual today), and paid cash for a $6,000 home improvement. Next year’s goal $75,000 emergency savings and paying cash for a pool.  

-A client found themselves in a pickle of a cash crunch. Thankfully a number of years ago he had saved up a little money in his IRA account that we are able to tap into and alleviate the stress. Also, his $79,000 of federal student loans appear to be on their way to being discharged, now just need to tackle the last $31,000 of private student loans.

-Helped tax clients rediscover an old investment account worth $92,000 that they opened with only $8,750 about 23 years ago when they got married. That’s an amazing example of compounding interest when you can start saving young!

There are fundamentals of finance, however, each of our journeys are personal. Ask for help to be the best you can be!

Call me in the new year to get your year off strong by setting intentional Goals!
Coach Funk