Comprehensive Financial Planning is a holistic method that encompasses all areas of your financial situation: portfolio analysis, cash flow analysis, goal setting, retirement planning, employee benefits and insurance planning, investment planning, tax planning and preparation and estate planning.

Comprehensive Financial Planning focuses on all these areas to enable us to develop a course of action that will help you achieve your personal goals. We do this in a series of meetings/sessions to create a financial plan for your unique situation.

PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS
Portfolio Analysis allows us to more fully understand your current financial position. It is important we understand where you are today, so we can help you reach your future goals. We will review your current budget and net worth, identifying strengths to reinforce and weaknesses to correct. Using the Cambridge Pyramid, we will analyze your current asset allocation and determine your stage of the Financial Lifecycle.

CASH FLOW and SPENDING PLAN / RECORD KEEPING
Many people waste a lot of time and money by not having a good record keeping system. We will review the record keeping tools we provide and help you implement a system that saves time, reduces headaches, and maximizes tax savings.

GOAL SETTING
Goal Setting is a major turning point for many of our clients. Fantasies are turned into reality as a result of putting numbers and time lines to dreams. You can use the acronym, SMART, to help assure your goals are:

• S - specific
• M - measurable
• A - attainable
• R - realistic
• T - have a clear time frame

An additional purpose of Goal Setting is to be sure we, as your advisors, understand your priorities. This helps us focus on what is truly important to you.

RETIREMENT PLANNING
For many of our clients, retirement is a major goal. Retirement can mean many different things to different people. Each of us has our own timeline and expectations for a certain lifestyle in retirement.

In fact, we encourage our clients to throw out the traditional definition of "retirement" and replace it with the concept of "financial independence." This is the stage in the Financial Lifecycle where clients have the freedom to do what they have always wanted to do. They have adequate income and resources to provide the lifestyle they want, working becomes optional, and retirement is affordable. Of course, many "retirees" choose to continue working to provide a sense of pride and self-satisfaction. Others choose to do volunteer work, travel, start a business, explore avenues for self-development and self-expression, or find new forms of recreation.

Retirement Planning is a time for us to explore your unique vision of retirement and put numbers and a time line to your dreams. We then project your post retirement cash flow to determine if your goals are realistic and what you need to change today to meet your "ideal" tomorrows.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND INSURANCE PLANNING
Most people only get advice about insurance from someone trying to sell it to them. For most of our clients, Protection Planning is the first time they have received a comprehensive, objective review of their risk exposures and insurance coverage.

INVESTMENT PLANNING APPOINTMENT
We will complete the work we began in Portfolio Analysis. At this point in the planning process, we have acquired a detailed understanding of your current financial position, explored your future goals, and determined what you need to do to reach your goal of Financial Independence. Now it is time to map out the optimum allocation of your investment assets to achieve these goals. We will provide specific recommendations to help you get from where you are to where you want to be.

TAX PLANNING
At Lighthouse Financial Advisors, Inc. we recognize that a tax bill is one of the largest recurring expenses that Americans are faced with. One of our central concerns throughout the entire financial planning process is the reduction of our clients' tax burden. We have a goal to make our clients' tax liability as low as legally possible. Tax preparation, of course, is taking information from the previous year and preparing the proper forms to file with the government. Tax planning is a proactive process, during which we project your future tax liability and develop strategies to help you reduce your tax bill.

ESTATE PLANNING
While we are not attorneys and do not practice law, an integral part of any financial plan is reviewing your estate plan. We feel it is important to analyze your estate for liquidity and estate tax liability in the event of your death. We want to help you be sure your assets will be passed to your heirs and beneficiaries with as little cost and complexity as possible.

BUSINESS PLANNING
One of your most important assets is your ability to generate income. For many people, this means starting and running your own business. Our basic business planning is designed to analyze how your business affects your personal finances. We will look at ways to increase your income while reducing your taxes through insightful, applicable business deductions. We will help you maximize opportunities for retirement savings through the use of appropriate self-employed retirement plans.