Troy Noor, a United Methodist and a Certified Financial Planner, shares his thoughts on planning for the future. Read more to learn how he would advise you to engage those who can best help you!

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. - Proverbs 15:22

In today’s increasingly complex world, no one can know everything. As you lead your churches, you draw on the talents of many in your community—your Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) for those with leadership and human resource skills, the Finance Committee for those with finance skills, and the Trustees to steward the property.

If you assemble a team to run your churches, why wouldn’t you assemble a team to help with your personal finances? Three key advisors that everyone should have in their corner are a financial planner, an accountant, and an attorney.

A financial planner can assess your current financial situation looking at your net worth—what you own and what you owe. They can assess your cash flow—what is coming in and what is going out. These are the chief cornerstones in building a sturdy financial structure.

Once these are assessed, a financial planner can develop strategies to effectively manage your cash flow to build your net worth. These strategies will include looking at the benefits you have available through Wespath and how to leverage these to effectively manage taxes. They will include looking at how your investments are managed to grow your net worth effectively without taking too much risk. They will include assessing what risks you are exposed to such as becoming sick and injured and being unable to work and premature death. They will help you protect yourself and family from these risks to stay financially secure and develop an effective estate plan to protect your family in the event of premature death.

With these strategies in place, an accountant can help with tax preparation making sure you are properly reporting your income and deductions and minimizing your taxes.

Lastly, an attorney can help with drafting your will, health care directive, and power of attorney to make sure your estate is distributed as you desire, your dependents are properly cared for, medical decisions are pre-made to relieve your family of stress, and your day-to-day financials affairs are attended to if you are incapacitated.

These three advisors are key to yours and your family’s well-being. A good financial planner can help with the selection of a good accountant and attorney since they are by nature strategists.

To find a good financial planner, it is recommended that you interview three to find one whose values align with yours and is competent and gives objective advice. A good place to start is at the CFP Website or the Financial Planning Association.

Yes, plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed. I'm praying you and your family find the sound counsel you need to live a worry-free financial life and free you up to focus on that to which you were called. May God continue to bless you and your endeavors.
 
Troy Noor, CFP®, CFA is a member of Discovery United Methodist Church in Chanhassen, MN. He is the Executive Director of Boulevard Wealth Management and has over 22 years’ experience in financial planning. He is married with eight children and serves on the board Love INC of Eastern Carver County as Treasurer.