The Best Laid Plans

Sometimes it pays to be lucky, and sometimes luck finds you when you least expect it. My family had planned for three years to take a vacation for Spring break in March 2020, and we were going to set sail on a Disney cruise, but life had a different idea. One day before we were to embark, the entire cruise industry shut down, forcing us to cancel our trip. So I decided to break the news to my children the only way I knew how through the clever art of misdirection. I sat them down and said, “Bad news guys, the cruise is canceled”, and as I saw the tears welling up in their eyes, I made the misdirection complete and finished with, “But Daddy is building a treehouse!” Instantly, the tears of sadness turned into screams and jumping for joy as we had long talked about how awesome it would be to have a treehouse. Thankfully, I got lucky and decided to do this when lumber prices were low, rather than doing this now and paying 300% more for the materials.

So we spent some time coming up with our ideal vision. I asked the kids to draw what their perfect treehouse should have and include what was most important. The drawings that I got back included a corner dedicated to art and reading, while the other corner was dedicated to technology. The kids were disappointed when I told them that it wouldn’t have electricity. I had to explain that we had constraints like a budget, time, and expertise that would limit us in our ability to have everything that we wanted and that the plan was likely going to change a little bit along the way. I said stuff would end up happening, forcing us to make changes, so expect the final version to be a little different from what we had planned to build. They seemed at peace with this, so now we were ready to implement our plan.

A summary of the build includes great friends helping me lift the wall panels, forgetting to include the width of the beams in my calculations, visiting the local emergency room after fire ants declared war on me, and putting the makers of Flex-Seal to the test on the durability of their products. I got to relive some of my own childhood as my Dad lovingly yelled at me for using a busted tape measure and not having my drills charged. At 40 years old, I thought I was beyond that stage of life, but apparently, I still have much to learn. Below is a montage that captures the essence of the six-week building phase.

Now that the main structure is complete, the final phase will be subtle improvements and maintenance along the way. I noticed pretty quickly that the treehouse was very dark, and since kids are afraid of the dark, I had to remedy that, so I decided to build some additional windows to let in more light. Another issue that I am facing is the constant battle of keeping water out, which I’m still trying to resolve. The kids have asked for some additional features, and those will get tackled over time. I’m just glad that I got to complete one of my “Dad” goals. The next looming challenge will be surviving the teenage years without losing all my hair, so wish me luck.

The entire project reminded me of how we manage financial plans for our clients. The first step is determining their “Why”. Is it legacy, safety, security, or specific aspirations? Once we know all the objectives, we then choose the right mix of investments that meets the goals while taking an appropriate amount of risk. Once that is set, then we can focus on the maintenance period. Reviewing the portfolio for opportunities to rebalance or making the changes should the goals or circumstances of your life change.

While everyone’s ideal treehouse or financial plan will look different, we take pride in our ability to get to the heart of our clients’ “Why” and the financial goals they are trying to accomplish. We take care in constructing long-term portfolio allocations not based on our feelings about what will happen in the next 24 months but backed by academic research and financial science. Our maintenance and reviews along the way provide us with opportunities to make incremental adjustments that will maintain the portfolio structure that best achieves long-term success. If you know anyone who needs help building a financial plan (or a treehouse), please let us know. We are here to help.

To learn more, contact us at Rather & Kittrell.