Our Process

At Guidant Planning, we compare the financial planning process to the task of mapping out your route on a long voyage. Over the course of your life, you’ve made a wide range of financial decisions, many of which will impact the financial planning process. So as you begin that process, it’s a good time to step back and examine any pre-conceived notions you’re bringing to the table.

We’ll help you figure out what those beliefs are and show you why holistic planning is the most comprehensive approach to mapping out your financial future. This process may lead you to question some of the ideas and thoughts you’ve held about money and finances. That’s all to the good – it’s impossible to move to the next level in your personal and financial life without questioning and challenging such pre-conceived notions.

As we work with you to design your financial plan, we’ll follow the path of a carefully constructed process that involves:

• Discussing the current state of your finances with you
  
• Discovering your values and goals
  
• Analyzing your current investments and overall financial status
  
• Devising a comprehensive, holistic financial plan
  

Following this deliberate, meticulous process strongly increases your chance of realizing a financially secure and personally fulfilling retirement.

Our process is divided into two parts: the view above the horizon and the view below the horizon. Put another way, the view above the horizon involves the fundamental issues that shape your life and your worldview, including your individual mission, vision, values and goals. Before we can help you put together a financial plan, we have to understand you, an aspect that all too many financial advisors ignore.

Once we have a thorough understanding of your worldview and goals, we can move into the specifics, which is the view below the horizon. This involves the strategies, tactics and tools we’ll employ to shape your financial plan.

^{*No strategy assures success or protects against loss in periods of declining values}