Homeowners use their garage as a place to store all sorts of things – tools, holiday decor, personal items, sporting equipment, gardening supplies and more. Over the years, lots of “stuff” just piles up, with no rhyme or reason as to how it’s organized. That can leave homeowners irritated, stressed, anxious and unproductive. 

Then at some point, likely out of frustration, homeowners will spend a weekend pulling everything into the driveway to assess, and address, the situation. They will sort items into three piles: save, donate and discard. That is a common approach to cleaning often initiated as a last resort, once homeowners reach a breaking point. 

In many ways, an investment plan is like a garage. Over the years, individuals can accumulate financial “stuff” – 401Ks, IRAs, Roths, bank accounts, trusts, stocks, bonds, inheritances, 529 college savings plans and other accounts. At some point, you need to sit down and look at everything, and determine what you want to keep moving forward. 

When you reach this point, it’s best to tap a wealth management professional to help with the heavy lifting. Wealth managers take a full inventory of their client’s financial portfolio, and after a few weeks of review and analysis, they come together to install the shelves, hooks and other features to organize a financial garage, so to speak. Conversations during those strategy meetings help organize an investment plan, oftentimes providing the first 360-degree look at a plan in its entirety. Clients walk away from those meetings with more confidence and clarity about their financial future. 

It doesn’t end there, though. Individuals must continue to keep their financial garage in order. Otherwise, “stuff” can begin piling up once again. 

Over time, a homeowner’s garage will evolve. Tricycles become bicycles, bicycles become cars, cars drive off to college and, perhaps in a few years, those cars come back with a spouse in the passenger seat and infant car seats in the back. 

An investment plan also evolves over time. Investment priorities and financial goals change as we age, grow our families, and hopefully grow our incomes. Market trends and the emergence of new technologies also dictate adjustments. 

Investors must continuously reorganize, reevaluate, and reassess what’s in their financial garage. Financial advisors recognize that a tidy financial garage helps client’s clearly see the bigger picture, and this clarity provides confidence that a family’s financial future is in good hands. 

---

Keith Jacoby, CFP^®, CIMA^®, is CEO at Clarity Wealth, a financial services practice that has built a heritage of managing the assets of affluent families for as many as four generations of wealth. The practice has offices in Naples and Fort Myers, Florida, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.                                                                                                                                

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network does not provide legal or tax advice. Be sure to consult your own tax advisor and investment professional before taking any action that may involve tax consequences. Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. Clarity Wealth is a separate entity from WFAFN.