Milestones Manager Overview

The purpose of this video is to share an overview of the Milestones Manager worksheet and how we use the tool during the Discovery Meeting.

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Hi! I’m Stu, here at TwoTen Planning.

The purpose of this video is to provide an overview of the Milestones Manager, which is an exercise that I will often do with new clients during the Discovery meeting. 

The benefit is that you will gain a understanding of the broader scope of our financial planning work together, and you will have a deeper appreciation of the ways that money and life are interconnected. 

This tool is called the Milestones Manager. Let’s first define the term milestone. A milestone is an important event in the development or history of a person’s life. If I were to ask you to list the top milestone events in your own life, you might say: Getting your first job, buying your first home, getting married, the births of your children, moving to a new city, or maybe the death of a family member. There are hundreds of possible milestone events for each person’s life.

So, what does this have to do with financial planning, and why is this important?

Well, when life goes in motion, money tends to go in motion. And when money goes in motion, life also goes in motion. Big life events do happen, sometimes unexpectedly, and these events have financial planning implications – tax, investment, estate, or legal. 

Let me give you two quick examples. First, if you worked at a company for 5 years and got recruited to work at a new company, you might not immediately think of the financial implications (other than hopefully a pay raise). But the job change may now create financial planning opportunities for your old 401(k), deferred comp, and/or vested equity compensation. There are investment and tax implications related to decisions you make. 

A second example of a milestone is if you were to consider purchasing a new home! Maybe you found or want to build your dream home! Clearly, there are financial implications. What is the purchase price? How much will you put down? How will the new monthly payment impact your cash flow? Will it cause you to sacrifice other goals? Perhaps you had the goal of early retirement, but this home purchase would require you to work longer than you hoped. It creates a tradeoff that requires careful planning. 

Now you can get a sense for how various milestone events have financial planning implications.

The purpose of this Milestones Manager worksheet is to facilitate a discussion around your current and expected milestone events.

While this is not an exhaustive list, I’ve broken the milestones into four categories: Work, Financial, Family, and Legacy. If there are milestones you would like to add to your worksheet, that is also encouraged. 

For each category, put a check mark in the box if you are currently experiencing the event or if it is expected in the future - short term or long term. Short-term would be in the next 6 months to 3 years, and long term is 3+ years. Here is what a sample completed Milestones Manager might look like. 

When you are completed with your Milestones Manager worksheet, it will provide a 30,000 ft view observation of what is happening in your life and what you expect to happen. This allows us to plan and prepare for each milestone. Afterall, it’s better to “prepare” than to “repair.” 

Now, some milestones are going to happen that are unexpected and totally unforeseen. Some good, and some not so good. It’s not possible to plan for everything, but we can be smart about how we approach your future. Obviously, it’s more fun to plan for what can go right than what can go wrong. But we do want to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to protect your family.

Bottom line here, if you take the time to identify the reasonably expected milestones in your life, you can proactively plan and make wise decisions to make the most of each event. This tool helps you bring awareness to those events.

As a financial planner, it’s important that we address your life before we establish the financial architecture. We need to get a grasp of what is going on with your life and what you expect to happen. It is important to know what the money is for and what milestones could impact your money.

Lastly, this is not a once-and-done exercise. Life happens! Changes happen all the time! I encourage clients to complete this exercise annually or at least every two years to ensure that we all are staying on top of proper planning.

As a quick recap, the purpose of this video is to walk you through the Milestones Manager, which is an exercise we typically go through with new clients during the Discovery Meeting.

I hope you have gained a broader understanding of the scope of our financial planning work together and the far-reaching implications of milestone events. And hopefully you now have a deeper appreciation of some of the ways that money and life are interconnected.

If you would like to learn more about working with us, visit TwoTenPlanning.com and hit the Free Assessment button to set up your Intro Visit today!

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The foregoing content reflects the opinions of TwoTen Planning and is subject to change at any time without notice. Content provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be used or construed as financial, legal, tax, or investment advice or a recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of any security. There is no guarantee that the statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. All investing involves risk, including the potential for loss of principal. There is no guarantee or assurance that diversification, strategies based on Nobel prize-winning research, or any investment plan or strategy will be successful. Consult an estate attorney or qualified tax professional for specific advice relating to those respective areas.

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