It’s 2008, and my new clients, Mike and Rebecca, are scared to death. They sold their family business a few years earlier and assumed they would have a million dollars to retire.
They don’t. Their trusted advisor at a large Wall Street firm has decimated their nest egg.
They’re lost, but I know the way. I start making a plan for them. I’m grateful for the hard lessons I’ve learned about money management, beginning in 1994….
After six years in the United States Marine Corps, I get a job bartending. Every day at 3:05 p.m., a group of stockbrokers comes in for happy hour. I find them fascinating. I love the 1987 film Wall Street, and as a kid, one of my favorite shows was Luis Rukeyser’s Wall Street Week.
By 1999 I’m working for a large Wall Street firm. I have quotas and pressure to push the same stocks to every type of client. Most people happily give me all their money, and I help them invest it all in stocks and mutual funds.
Then 9/11 happens. The Wall Street firm’s stock strategy backfires, and my clients lose so much money. I am ashamed of the part I unwittingly played in the carnage. I thought I was doing the right thing in helping them pick stocks, but I did not anticipate the market corrections.
Most people think financial planning is about picking stocks and the best returns. But they ignore risks…. My grandfather retired twice because he screwed up his finances in retirement and didn’t have a solid plan.
After my grandmother passed away, he had to work as a security guard to make ends meet. No one ever wants to retire twice.
In 2005 I start my firm working with families nearing retirement. I am clear on what I need to do. My purpose is to ensure people don’t get hurt when things don’t go as planned. More people start hiring me for peace of mind. I am able to give them certainty with a plan for lifetime “mailbox income” in the most tax-efficient way.
One day I’m helping a couple get their house in order. The wife is chronically sick with emphysema. She’ll die before her healthy husband. Nonetheless, I arrange some life insurance for him just in case. A short while later, he unexpectedly passes away.
Then comes 2020… The pandemic hits, and many people worldwide are scared about their money… their security—they’re calling their financial planners in fear. In our office, the phones are quiet.
A panicked client occasionally calls, but in a few seconds, I remind them they have a contingency plan—they’re protected to ride out the storm.
And Mike and Rebecca, the couple who lost nearly everything in 2008, still enjoy a comfortable retirement because of the plan I gave them.
I wake up every day grateful for the lessons I’ve learned about money management. It’s helped make me the financial planner I am today and Secured Retirement the firm it is.
We’re a financial firm dedicated to helping people in or near retirement to retire without sacrificing their lifestyle.
We know you’ve spent the last 35+ years of your life working hard.
Now it’s time for you to get ready and start enjoying retirement.
But to do that, you need to have a rock-solid plan that will have you covered no matter what comes up while also taking into account your unique situation and goals.
That’s why we created our TaxSmart™ Retirement Program.
Many retirement firms believe you need to grow your wealth as much as possible. But like our logo, the tree, demonstrates, we believe you need to start with a strong foundation to minimize your risks. Otherwise, all your growth can easily get swept away. That’s why we combine expert income planning and forward-looking tax planning with investment solutions so you can grow your wealth securely on a foundation that will hold it together even if there’s an emergency. That’s how we’ve helped thousands of clients plan their dream retirement.
We know that when you work with us to plan your retirement, you’re trusting us with your future. That’s why we will never do anything that could put that in jeopardy. We strive to be transparent and to do the right thing in everything we do.
At Secured Retirement, you’re more than just another client. You’re family. We aim to treat you with the same care we would want our family to receive and go above and beyond to serve you.
Danielle is dedicated to serving clients to achieve their retirement goals. As a Paraplanner, Danielle helps the advisors with the administrative side of preparing and documenting meetings. She is a graduate of the College of St. Benedict, with a degree in Business Administration and began working with Secured Retirement in May of 2023.
Danielle is a lifelong Minnesotan and currently resides in Farmington with her boyfriend and their senior rescue pittie/American Bulldog mix, Tukka. In her free time, Danielle enjoys attending concerts and traveling. She is also an avid fan of the Minnesota Wild and loves to be at as many games as possible during the season!
