Financial guidance across generations

By Adam Baley

One of the great joys of my job is to serve multiple generations of families.

To know that my advice and guidance can make a difference in the comfort and ease of a client’s life – and that it can extend beyond a lifetime to other generations – is rewarding to me. Everybody has different financial needs at different phases of life. I am privileged to be able to help at each of those stages.

When I began my career at Landaas in 2000, I was helping launch the retirements of clients then in their 50s and 60s. (We all had less gray hair back then.)  Now, those same clients are in their 70s and 80s, and I’m helping their kids turn the page to retirement. I’m also helping my first clients’ grandchildren (and even great-grandchildren) set up a Roth IRA or invest in their first 401(k) at work.

Over the years, I have seen how advice and guidance can help clients. Letting me take care of the financial stuff allows them to focus on what’s most important to them and their families.

Serving generations of clients has helped me appreciate the value of long-term thinking. Although individual circumstances vary, every stage of life requires specific financial advice and guidance.

Early years

In our 20s and 30s, the emphasis is on forming good habits: Setting a budget, minimizing debt, opening a Roth, saving regularly, signing up for a 401(k) and getting the full value of the company match.

Building good habits early allows investors to hit their financial stride down the road.

Middle years

Those good habits lay the groundwork for lifetime wealth accumulation. Most people earn more in their 40s and 50s, but expenses are higher then too, especially as families add children. At this stage, investors need to revise their budgets so they can balance three things:

1. The ability to enjoy life within one’s means
2. Saving meaningfully for retirement, getting as close as possible to the maximum contributions
3. For parents, setting money aside for kids’ college education

As family size and incomes grow, adjusting life insurance coverage follows.

Later years

In the 60s and beyond is the best time to enjoy the fruits of good habits.

Investors who retire mortgages and other debt gain budget flexibility to spend more on fun. They can afford to be purposeful about budgeting for what they still want to accomplish, like travel or hobbies.

Those who retire before age 65 also must have a plan on how to cover the cost of health insurance until Medicare kicks in. 

Retirement itself has stages. People who write about retirement refer to the “go-go years,” the “slow-go years” and the “no-go-years.” 

The early phase can be great, as you’re younger, healthier and full of energy. Go see the world. Live it up. At some point, though, energy fades, travel slows, and the biggest trip you take is to the mailbox.

Philanthropic goals become more important over time. Leaving a legacy takes shape. It’s not just about passing wealth to the next generation; it’s also about instilling good character (including all those financial habits you learned) in those who succeed you. One of the roles I play as an advisor is to work in partnership with families to help the wealth – and those habits – get passed along.

I am personally familiar with long-term family relationships through Landaas & Company. My grandparents were among the first clients of Bob Landaas. And my mother, Jean, was one of Bob’s first employees, starting as receptionist, then working her way up to chief compliance officer before she retired after 30 years.

Through my own family’s experience as well as my work with generations of clients’ families, I have learned the value of guidance throughout the financial phases of life. And I am honored to be part of that heritage.

Adam Baley is a vice president and investment advisor at Landaas & Company, LLC.