Financial Planning is Pre-Production
“First I plan to soil myself. Then I’m going to regroup and come up with a new plan.” - AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY
Written by Mike Myers, Directed by Jay Roach
(2.5-minute read)
I was going to use the analogy “Financial Planning is Rewriting” for writers or “Financial Planning is Prepping” for directors but I didn’t want to alienate either side. So I did the bad thing and tried to relate to both. I live with my decisions. Financial Planning is similar to the Pre-production phase.
Pre-production for a writer is rewriting. Pre-production for a director is a lot more. Pre-production for a showrunner is pure chaos and I applaud you.
Would you ever write a script or direct an episode/feature without any preparation? Of course not, so why do we think we can do the same with our own futures? Our future selves need the prep stage in order to succeed.
When you’re about to direct a scene and the showrunner takes you aside to say, “We just lost the spaceship set. We have to shoot inside this bathroom instead” you make adjustments on the fly. Since you know the script, concept, characters, and tone so well you can feel confident in making new decisions.
When you rewrite a script you’ve received notes. You may have to rearrange the entire structure. You’re also inputting notes (or ignoring them), adding characters, adding scenes, etc. In other words, you’re planning for the future of this production in order to help its success.
Your preparation pays off. You plan ahead. When developing a Financial Plan it’s usually for the future. There are certain aspects within the plan that are more immediate such as spending and saving but it all points to a future that hasn’t been fully created yet. Sound familiar? The finished script will come later. Picture lock will come later. Our financial futures will come later but that doesn’t mean we put off the planning.
As Financial Planners, we plan in so many different ways; here are a few: 1) Personal Budgeting 2) Investments 3) Taxes 4) Risk Management/Insurance 5) Retirement/Financial Independence 7) Legacy 8) Life Events 9) Education.
Within these categories are a slew of sub-categories. If you’re prepping an episode then you’re meeting with different department heads to figure out your plan. If you’re rewriting a script you’re doing research, getting feedback, and you probably have a routine. If we’re creating a Financial Plan then we’re meeting with others (attorneys, brokers, CPAs), doing research (investments, quotes, assumptions), getting feedback (from you, others, software), and there’s a routine.
None of us skip these steps because that could blow up the future production. Since we, as Financial Planners, know your story so well that when the bathroom replaces the spaceship of your life, we can all feel confident in making new decisions. So if you understand the importance of prepping and rewriting then I hope you understand the importance of Financial Planning.
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