Career Professional

Emma Alexander

A busy professional, parent, and spouse, seeking financial confidence.

Emma’s a 43-year-old successful Medical Device Sales Representative with Johnson & Johnson. She’s balancing a demanding career along with her family responsibilities. Her primary financial goal is to enjoy life today (creating memories and experiences) while also securing her and her family’s financial future, which includes retiring comfortably at 60. She hopes to become debt free and celebrate with a “Debt Free Scream” on the Dave Ramsey Show, travel with her family, and buy a lake house where they can create memories and spend their summers. Finances were not Emma's strong suit, and she was seeking a trusted financial planner to guide her and her family.

Challenges

Emma’s busy. Her career requires her to be available; answering questions for her clients, at various hospital’s and present for procedures, in-the-know and up to date on the latest research and development, coupled with her family life and obligations as a parent and spouse, she had little time to even think about future financial planning. What was she missing? 

  • Future Financial Security: Emma stated she wanted to retire at 60, was she on track for such a goal? 
  • Employee Benefits: Johnson & Johnson offer terrific benefits, was she maximizing these? 
  • Family Protection: As the primary earner for the family, what if something happened to her, would the family be financially stable going forward?  
  • Education Costs: Emma’s a mom to three young children and didn’t have anything in place for their future college expenses. 

Solution

After a thorough consultation, we built Emma and her family a financial plan to address their unique needs and goals: 

  • 1 Page Wealth Plan: This comprehensive summary highlighted her financial strengths and weaknesses and provided an actionable plan. 
  • Next 90 Days: A prioritized to-do list ensured Emma knew what needed immediate attention. 
  • College Cost Analysis and 529 Plans: We analyzed college costs for her three children and opened 529 accounts that will be funded for their future education. 
  • Estate Planning: We collaborated with an estate planning attorney and they tailored documents to ensure her family’s protection. 
  • Retirement Roadmap: A detailed roadmap showed Emma she was on track with her savings and employer benefits, providing her with confidence. 

Implementation

The implementation process was designed to fit Emma’s busy schedule: 

  1. Initial Consultation: Understanding Emma’s financial goals, challenges, and dreams. 
  2. Plan Development: Creating a tailored financial plan with specific action items. 
  3. Regular Check-ins: Ensuring Emma stayed on track with her financial goals and made necessary adjustments as needed. 

Note: These are hypothetical situations based on real life examples and are not actual clients. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investments or strategies may be appropriate for you, consult your advisor prior to investing.