Talking about money isn’t easy in most cases. It’s often about hearing the honest truth and facing the reality of your financial situation. Having an advisor that not only shoots you straight but also helps you build a plan that tackles these topics that aren’t always easy to hear is vital to your retirement success.

Today we’re talking about the tough conversations that we need to have with clients during the planning process. These might be uncomfortable for you or your spouse, but it’s necessary for making sure everything and everyone is taken care of. By going through these on the podcast, it will help you know what to expect from your advisor and give you some things to be thinking about ahead of time.

The reason these can be tough for people is because of the emotion that’s involved. We can always make adjustments to a financial plan but it’s hard to change the way you feel about certain things like the plans you have in the event of your spouse passing or how you’ll pay for nursing home care.

Eric Hogarth, CFP® will talk about those topics plus a few others and explain why it’s important that these conversations take place with your advisor, whether that’s with us or someone else. You don’t need an advisor that’s a best friend. You need someone that will help you with the good and the bad.

Another tough conversation you might end up having with your family is about funding a college education. With the cost of college continuing to soar to new highs, it’s not always financially possible to attend the school you have at the top of your list. It might not even make sense to attend a traditional four-year college or university at all.

More and more people are having to decide if the debt you create for that education will actually be worth the returns. The clients we work with are usually having these discussions with the children or grandchildren because it doesn’t financially make since.

We might not hit each of these topics during the Money Map review process we offer anyone the opportunity to take us up on, but it’s the best place to begin the conversation about your financial future so reach out and take the next step towards your retirement.

Here’s everything we discuss in this episode:

1:23 – Eric’s thoughts on student loan debt forgiveness

3:58 – Discussing the death of a spouse

5:56 – What happens if nursing home care is needed

7:46 – Telling someone they need to work longer than they planned

10:52 – Getting your children involved in the estate plan

12:52 – Separating from an advisor that doesn’t fit your needs anymore

15:41 – Mailbag question on charitable giving and taxes  

17:19 – Mailbag question on how to utilize extra income

19:22 – Top Money Map review questions we get