Congratulations, you have taken an important step; asking for help! You have likely heard the guidance and advice from Dave Ramsey from his radio program, books or countless live courses but wondered how it applied to you. Dave does a great job of providing steps to regain control of your personal finances but, unfortunately, it just isn’t possible for him to consult with each person listening to his words. That is where your local SmartVestor Pro comes in. Your Pro will evaluate your current financial situation, learn about your progress with the Baby Steps and help provide clarity with a personalized financial strategy. As an extension to Dave’s guidance, your Pro is the boots on the ground to help you see your financial goals come to fruition.
The baby steps are in the order they are by design. Not planning in order can cause a strategy to be abandoned or sidetracked if the person or family isn’t prepared for life’s curveballs.
For example, with no emergency fund in place, it can be difficult to overcome an unexpected expense. That may cause someone to turn back to credit cards or liquidate from their investments to avoid payment burdens.
These steps are well thought out and intentional, I do my best to encourage people to stick to the plan.
People like Dave Ramsey and Chris Hogan are great at spreading the word on important personal and financial coaching. Unfortunately, because of the size of their audience, it is very difficult for them to provide individualized advice.
That is where the SmartVestor Pro comes in. While there is a very strong foundation in the message, it is my role to help that person apply the message to their personal scenario.
Your Pro is the boots on the ground to turn general information into an individualized strategy. You shouldn’t have to settle for “cookie-cutter” when personalization is available.
Being debt-free takes the pressure off all sorts of life’s mysteries as well as your assets. If you eliminate debt and have an emergency fund in place, the risk of job loss may be less stressful.
Decreasing your fixed overhead expenses can have a dramatic effect on retiring on time, or at all. If the household with more money spends at an unsustainable rate, they still fail, even though they started with more money. It often has more to do with how you spend in retirement, versus how much you saved for retirement.
One of life’s challenges is paying for lifestyle without servicing debt first. By focusing and being diligent, you can reduce your monthly expenses, learn to live within your means, pay off debt and build wealth because of it.
At Heritage Wealth Solutions, we provide professional assistance in a wide variety of areas. However, our sevice areas of specialty can be easily divided into three main categories: Investments, Financial Planning, and Insurance.
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Planning for retirement has challenges but planning with unmanageable debt creates additional areas of concern on which to focus.
Chris Hilyer, as a SmartVestor Pro, focuses on and reinforces the guidance from Dave Ramsey to eliminate personal debt.
Additionally, Chris emphasizes financial education for his clients. It is important to continue to learn more about your personal finances on your journey to be a better informed, financially confident, individual or family.
You don’t have to be worried about money once you achieve financial confidence; let’s start planning towards that goal and start living well today.
Whether you are preparing for a milestone life event, such as retirement or the sale of a business, or simply looking for financial independence for the future, Heritage Wealth Solutions promises to offer you a distinguished level of attention, insight, and guidance.
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SmartVestor is an advertising and referral service for investing professionals (“SmartVestor Pros”) operated by The Lampo Group, LLC d/b/a Ramsey Solutions (“Ramsey Solutions”). Pursuant to an arrangement between Ramsey Solutions, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. (“RJFSA”) and your advisor, your advisor pays Ramsey Solutions a flat monthly fee to: (a) be a SmartVestor Pro, (b) advertise services through the SmartVestor website, and (c) receive client referrals in the form of an initial introduction to interested consumers who are located in your advisor’s Pros geographic region. RJFSA and its affiliates (collectively, “Raymond James”) do not endorse and are not affiliated with Ramsey Solutions, except with respect to the arrangement described above, and neither Ramsey Solutions nor its agents are officers or employees of Raymond James. Further, neither Ramsey Solutions nor its agents are authorized to provide investment advice or act in any way on behalf of Raymond James, except in connection with providing your contact information to your advisor.
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The SmartVestor Pro Code of Conduct (“Code”) sets forth the general expected conduct and general personal finance philosophy of SmartVestor Pro (“Pro”) as affirmed to Ramsey Solutions during Pro’s application to advertise through the SmartVestor™ program.
Execution and assent to this Code is a requirement and an ongoing condition for advertising in the SmartVestor™ program. This Code is in no way intended to compromise the Pro’s professional judgment or modify any legal, regulatory or professional obligations the Pro owes to any individual client. Moreover, neither this Code nor any other aspect of SmartVestor™ advertising shall dictate, mandate or prohibit any particular product or service offered or provided by Pro to any particular client whatsoever. Therefore, by signing below, the Pro assents the following:
Pro will not engage in unlawful, illegal, or unethical conduct, especially such conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, which reflects adversely on Pro’s trustworthiness, professional competence, and fitness as a SmartVestor Pro.
Pro consents to initial and ongoing screening by Ramsey Solutions of the following:
Pro affirms that neither Pro nor Pro’s firm nor closely held business is currently seeking federal or state bankruptcy protection. If Pro has sought bankruptcy protection in the past, Pro affirms that its most recent bankruptcy filing has been discharged or dismissed at least two years prior to the
SmartVestor Pro relationship.
Pro is not currently subject to any tax liens and is not unlawfully evading or delinquent with respect to any federal, state or local taxes.
Pro affirms that eliminating debt and investing for the long-term is the ideal way to build wealth and prepare for retirement.
In the usual case, Pro recommends that clients have a reasonable emergency fund or savings before they start investing in non-liquid investments.
Pro commits to prompt and responsive client service. Pro aspires to and exercises best efforts to contact new and current clients quickly, within 24 hours or as soon as practicable under the circumstances.
Pro is not subject to any mandatory policies preventing Pro from working with all types of clients, regardless of account size, preferences, or background.
Pro is familiar and generally agrees with Ramsey Solutions’ mission and personal finance principles of its products and services.
Pro has operational capacity to serve and promptly respond to all existing clients and the increased volume that could potentially result from advertising with SmartVestor™.
Pro does not exclusively offer proprietary products. With respect to its clients, Pro does not promote proprietary products over other offerings (1) solely because of a firm policy or fee or commission arrangement in such proprietary products, or (2) when in Pro’s reasonable professional judgment, the proprietary products would not achieve the client’s goals.
Pro believes that long term financial success is significantly dependent upon a client’s understanding of the market, risks, taxes, investment options, goals, strategies and other factors effecting the outcome of a client’s wealth building plan. Therefore, in his or her interactions with clients, Pro actively endeavors to help clients become knowledgeable and educated concerning the client’s personal finances, investments, and overall financial plan.