Your pursuit of happiness does not happen on its own. It requires careful planning to lay the foundation for a secure future and deal effectively with ongoing financial challenges.

Explore Your Pursuit of Happiness

Prepare Today. Enjoy Tomorrow. graphic

Financial Literacy: Take control of your Benefits, Borrowing, Budgeting, and Behavior

Conduct a Financial Fire-drill
- What if I became disabled?
- What if I have long-term health issues?
- What if I die too soon?
Build your own Financial 1st Aid Kit
What is your Full Replacement Value?

Economic Lifestyle: Convert your Human Capital into the best life possible with the money you have

Create a Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise approach
Create a plan to achieve your goals
Perform a Tax-Efficiency Checkup

Liquidity: Earn, grow, and protect your way to Financial Independence

Understand the value of your current financial situation
Are your income and assets protected in the most optimal way?
What is the value of life insurance to your family?

Longevity: Be assured that you won't run out of money before you run out of ideas about how best to use yours

Are you on pace to fund your work-optional lifestyle?
When people retire, it's not only the investment returns they earn, but the order of those returns
Check out this Helpful Retirement Checklist to address any loose items

Legacy: If and when you need help, get what you need; and, when you are gone, your wishes will be honored

Are your heirs prepared to manage your affairs if you need their help, and after you pass away?
Are your Beneficiaries up-to-date?
Will your assets be distributed to who you want, when you want them to receive them, and in the manner of your choosing?

What does the Pursuit of Happiness mean to you?

Risk Management

Preparing for potentially catastrophic situations is critical for you and your loved ones. The risk of some situations, such as unanticipated disability/death or the financial impact of extended care needs, may need to be transferred to an insurance company. Other financial objectives may be better addressed by proper asset and income allocation. Developing a risk management philosophy that integrates insurance and investments will help you with funding decisions.

Which Financial Risks Concern You the Most?

1) Shortfall or Liquidity Risk - The possibility you will not have enough to meet your short, medium, and long-term goals.

2) Human Capital Risk - The possibility that your future earning capacity will not adequately fund your lifestyle.

3) Special Situation Risk - The possibility you will not be able to fund a special need for your children, their education, wedding; or any other large purchase.

4) Market or Principal Risk - The possibility that market fluctuations may reduce the value of investments, including the possible loss of principal.

5) Inflation or Purchasing Power Risk - The possibility that inflation may reduce the future purchasing power of your savings and investments.

6) Interest Rate Risk - The possibility that changes in interest rates may affect the value or performance of certain investments.

7) Timing Risk - The possibility that you might buy an investment high and/or sell an investment low.

8) Taxes and Regulations - Changes in tax laws and regulations may affect your financial situation. Tax-efficient strategies may help address these risks and support your financial goals and legacy objectives.

9) Longevity Risk - The possibility that you might outlive your income and your assets; which could increase the impact of other financial risks over time.

What concerns you in your Pursuit of Happiness?

Text: Life-Centered Planning Experience. Collaborative, Personalized, Fulfilling

At Eagle Strategies we offer an objective, fee-based approach to financial planning,
aligning what you want out of life with your money and resources,
always focused on the enhancement of your well-being, progress, and freedom.

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We can help you with Your Pursuit of Happiness

What you value may be more important than what you own.

To follow through on your commitments -- to yourself, your family, and your ideals -- you will want to consider the questions we explore in our exclusive Six Key Areas of capital accumulation and protection planning process:

Six Key Areas graphic

Resources:

"How should Affluent Individuals protect their financial Achievements”

eMoney Wealth Management Solution

How are you planning your Pursuit of Happiness?

Eagle Strategies Investing Essentials

Experience and Advanced Planning Support

I offer financial planning and Investment advisory services through Eagle Strategies, LLC, A Registered Investment Adviser, and a variety of life insurance, long term care insurance and annuities through our affiliation with New York Life and other insurance companies; as well as investment products through NYLIFE Securities LLC that can help you meet your financial goals.

The Value of Human Capital

Like most savvy investors, you probably turn to a balance sheet of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate holdings, and retirement savings accounts to calculate your financial net worth. This traditional definition of wealth, however, is incomplete as it overlooks what may be your largest asset – how you convert your "human capital" into your Return on Life.

Human capital is the value of all your expected future income, including your Social Security benefits and pension income. By considering your current income, your savings rate, and your work or retirement situation we help you to determine how large an asset your human capital is for you and its effect on your overall asset allocation.

Your human capital should drive investment selection and asset allocation decisions in pre-retirement and retirement. In pre-retirement, you incorporate insurance into your asset allocation to help mitigate risk and enhance the economic value of your portfolio. In retirement, you might consider incorporating guaranteed lifetime income* to hedge against the risk of outliving your retirement savings.

How do you invest in your Pursuit of Happiness?

Protection Planning

Proper insurance planning is an essential part of your financial plan, and often times life insurance can be an important tool in your financial toolbox. Unlike other financial instruments, life insurance buys you time. You pay installment premiums for a fraction of the ultimate insurance benefit (often pennies on the dollar), and whenever you pass away the death benefit is created for your beneficiary.
When structured properly, life insurance death benefits are income tax free and the cash values can be accessed tax free, thus making it an appropriate solution for a variety of challenges that you or your family may face.
Most people insure what they can see — a home, a car, maybe even a phone. Income is different. It’s invisible until it’s gone, yet it pays for almost everything else. That’s why many financial professionals treat disability insurance not as an optional add-on, but as a foundational piece of a sound financial strategy — especially during the years when your earning power is growing or at its peak.^*
Aging is a fact of life and it comes with certain realities. While most of us probably don’t want to picture ourselves eventually needing help with daily activities, more than half of Americans turning 65 today will need some type of long-term care insurance during their remaining years. As this type of care is not generally covered by private health insurance or Medicare, it’s important to create a plan to help protect yourself and your family from the financial and emotional impact of a possible long-term care event.^**

Harris is a CLU®, having attained the insurance professional's premier standard of excellence in providing his clients the security of life insurance and risk management strategies through advanced coursework in:

Determining the types and amounts of insurance that make sense to you
Planning for and managing the risks faced in life and in retirement
Evaluating estate planning considerations involving wills and trusts in coordination with a client's legal professionals.
- Exploring strategies for estate and gift planning that may improve tax efficiency, in coordination with your tax professional.
Integrating insurance and financial strategies with clients' legal and tax professionals to help address personal, business, and estate planning goals.

*The Cornerstone of Financial Security, SMRU 8777684

**https://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/long-term-services-and-supports-older-americans-risks-and-financing-research-brief

How should you protect your Pursuit of Happiness?