When Life Doesn't Go As Planned
Executive Summary
We all have a plan for our lives. Sometimes these are plans for tomorrow. Other times they are plans for the rest of our lives. But life rarely goes as we planned. So does that mean it’s not worth planning? Nope! Plans work in theory and never in real life. Life is uncertain and the plan we had 5 years ago has probably changed so much it’s laughable. The point of a plan isn’t to guess the future correctly. It’s purpose is to lay out ways to pursue a current goal and change when life changes. So when life doesn’t go as planned, it is time to start a new plan.
A plan only works in theory. In reality, life never goes according to plan. We build a plan and implement it, knowing that it will have to be updated many more times.
As a financial planner, I work with amazing people to create a financial plan knowing that it will need to be revised and updated. Sometimes it can be years before it needs to be updated. Other times it needs to be changed before we even get started.
Five years ago, I lived in Dallas and worked for a public accounting firm. I wanted something new, so I planned to get a fun and exciting new job in Mergers & Acquisitions with a bank or consulting firm.
Boy, was that plan wrong.
Less than a year later, I moved all of my things to Sacramento to start a new chapter with my now fiance. She had just accepted an offer to attend law school, and I found a job at an aerospace and defense company. I was a financial analyst who thought I’d find a new career building forecasting models to address all of the future projects we were developing.
I built some forecasting metrics and found success at my new job. I was attending investor calls and performing due diligence on analyst reports.
My new plan was to build a career in this industry and become a CFO someday.
Boy, was that plan wrong.
In my spare time, I began to read more about personal finance. As a CPA, I had friends and family asking me questions about their finances. I found a real passion for using my knowledge and skills to convey this information in an easy-to-understand way.
I was good at it and spent more and more time learning everything I could about personal finance. I saw how important it was for young people to make better financial decisions from the start.
Learning about personal finance led me to eventually leave the aerospace industry to pursue a job at a well-known financial advising company. I took the job to learn from one of the titans of the industry. I thought the role would have me working with a lot of people to wade through the uncertainty that the markets and life threw at my clients.
Together, we would end up in a better financial position, and I would play a part in that.
Boy, was that plan wrong.
One month into working at the firm, COVID hit. I was immediately transferred to the parent company’s lending department, where, for a year, I was working in loan origination as a part of the Payroll Protection Program loans.
The role took much longer than planned, and it took me away from the job I signed up to do.
One day they announced that the loan origination role was ending. I was going to transfer back to the job I planned to do. Finally, I was heading back to the job I planned to do.
After completing my licensing exams, I was ready to start working with clients and learn the tools and techniques employed by many successful advisors at my business. Life was finally going as planned.
Boy, was that plan wrong.
Soon after, I received an email that the program was going away. The firm was changing the way that young advisors would develop. Instead of working in a high-rise in downtown Sacramento, I would start my career in a bank branch office, away from the experienced financial advisors I had planned to work with and into a position where I would have to figure it out.
The new position wasn’t how the plan was supposed to go.
Over the previous 1.5 years, I kept learning more about financial planning and the benefits it offered people. One of the best parts of financial planning is that it rewards the advisors willing to take a risk and start their own firm.
It offered me an opportunity to create my firm to help the people I wanted to help.
I used the savings I had earned at my previous jobs to start Developing Financial. A financial planning firm focused on helping young lawyers start their lives with a solid financial foundation.
Since my fiancé was a lawyer, it was a natural fit. I was going to work directly with the people I thought would benefit most from my services.
I earned the Certified Student Loan Professional designation to help lawyers plan to pay off their student loans. I created a process to identify their financial goals. I joined a network of other successful start-up financial planners to learn all I could about serving clients in the best way possible.
My fiancé found a job in San Francisco, and we moved out here to start both of our careers as we dreamed.
Months later, my firm is off the ground. I’m helping clients make better decisions, and everything is finally going according to plan.
But as I’ve learned, life never goes according to plan. Life has a way of messing up the best-laid plans, and that is okay!
Five years ago, I never imagined I’d be engaged, starting a business, and working as a financial planner.
Yet here I am.
When working with clients, we make comprehensive plans to achieve everything that they want in life right now.
But I know it’s only the plan for right now.
When my clients come to me with a new idea, we don’t discount it or push it off until we implement the plan. We pivot and make a new plan. Life is uncertain, and we can’t know where we will be in 1, 5, 10, or 50 years from now. Instead of sticking to a plan, we change the plan.
Changing a plan doesn’t mean that the plan failed. Instead, it means it worked as it should. It allows us to layout the action steps we need to take to get to where we currently want to go.
But every plan is built with the flexibility to pursue something else if needed. That is what makes a good plan.
My clients and I are always working together to do the best thing today and prepare for the next best thing tomorrow.
Looking back on my plan from five years ago, it couldn’t have been more wrong. Yet I never look back with regret for how my life has unfolded. I’m ready to put my current life plan into action, but I’m so excited to make changes to it.
When life doesn’t go as planned is when life becomes worth living.
If you have a plan now, it’s probably not the plan you had envisioned years ago. But here you are. If you want to get the most out of life, a financial plan can be a great way to put yourself in a position to succeed. At Developing Financial, I work with you to create and implement a financial plan to achieve everything you want today. When those plans change, I’m here to help you make the corrections to pursue your next big goal. Let’s work together and build a plan today we can change when the moment comes. Together we will achieve more than if we try to figure it out by ourselves. Schedule a free Meet & Confer meeting today to see how Developing Financial can help you create a financial plan today so you are prepared when life changes those plans.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this blog should be considered financial advice or recommendations. Your questions are unique to you and your own personal financial circumstances. You should consult with a financial professional before making a financial decision. See full blog disclaimer.