The Financial Plan Has a Mistake Section, and That's a Good Thing
Every financial plan I build has a place, unofficial but essential, for the client's mistakes — the business that failed, the market timing error, the years of overspending that nobody wants to put in writing. I used to think my job was to help people avoid these. Twenty-five years in, I've learned my real job is to help people build a plan sturdy enough to survive them, because they're coming regardless.
A good financial plan isn't a fortress against error. It's a container. It has enough slack in it — an emergency fund, a diversified allocation, a written plan for what happens if the unexpected happens — that when the mistake comes, and it will, it doesn't take the whole house down with it. Fee-only, commission-free planning gives me the freedom to say this honestly: the plan isn't there to make you perfect. It's there to make your mistakes survivable.
I ask clients often, "If your grandchild made this exact decision with this exact information, would you call them foolish or brave?" The softening that happens in that moment is often the real turning point in the planning relationship; not a spreadsheet change, but a permission slip, finally granted to themselves.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please email me here.
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