The summer months are a slower pace for many. If you’re like me, that has not been true so far in 2022. This summer is proving to be a busy season for the Waters family – and for stock market activity with a plethora of ups and downs. As a husband, father, and financial advisor, my mind is running with plans and potential scenarios.
In the past year, Natalie and I bought, renovated, and moved into a new house. We’ve been exploring school choices for our girls – weighing the options of public versus private school and investigating special needs programs for our youngest, Collyns. We’re thinking ahead about how to best prepare them for school while dealing with lingering medical bills and a growing number of doctor appointments for Collyns. (She’s doing well; there are simply more therapies and constant monitoring required as she gets older!)
And when we recently learned that our girls’ in-home daycare would be closing July 1, it forced us to re-evaluate just about everything.
- Does it make sense for both of us to continue working?
- How do we budget for the shift from a dual to single source of income?
- Are we investing in the things that matter most to our family?
- How do we better prioritize time as a family and living in community with others?
The truth is: changes in our personal and professional situations made us take a hard look at whether we’re spending our time and money in a way that supports the life we truly want. The answer was: no.
So, we’ve made the difficult decision for Natalie to stay home with our girls after this month. She will be leaving an incredibly rewarding career where she found much joy in helping others, but we believe this is the best way to set our family up for success and be good stewards of our resources – financial and otherwise. It’s a big change for our family but one that we look forward to navigating together and finding new ways to support our collective and individual goals.
I share this with you because change can be scary. We’re all facing factors outside of our control at the moment. Inflation and stock market volatility are, understandably, concerning. However, even unpleasant or unexpected situations (like daycare closing…) can be an important opportunity for growth. So many times in life, I look back on moments like now and realize that we came out stronger because of it. I believe that for myself, my family, and for you as clients.
Like Natalie and I, it might be time to re-evaluate other aspects of your financial plan:
- How are you planning for education and healthcare expenses?
- Do you have proper insurance coverage to account for possible risks?
- Is your estate plan up to date should anything happen to you or your spouse?
I’m honored to help your family wade through these decisions and make choices that are right for you. If how you’re spending your time and money doesn’t align with the life you want to build, let’s use this time to change that.
Blog by Aaron Waters, Wealth Advisor
Category: Uncategorized
