Your Child Needs a Sports Physical. When Was Your Last Financial Physical?
Your Child Needs a Sports Physical. When Was Your Last Financial Physical?
It’s that time of year again.
School supplies are being picked up, practice schedules are filling the calendar, and parents are making sure their kids have everything they need for another school year.
And if your child plays sports, there may be one more thing on the back-to-school checklist: the sports physical.
Before they get out on the field, you want to make sure they’re healthy, prepared, and ready to play.
Which got us thinking…
When was the last time your finances had a physical?
We’re used to getting checkups for our health. Not necessarily because something is wrong, but because it’s good to know where we stand.
Our finances could use that same kind of attention from time to time.
At Patterson & Associates, we spend a lot of time helping families understand where they are financially, where they’d like to go, and what may need attention along the way. Our Financial House framework looks at the different pieces of a family’s financial life as parts of one coordinated plan.
So if your finances went in for a physical today, what would we check?
Just like a sports physical, we’d start with the vitals, check the protective gear, and then make sure there’s a game plan for what comes next.
1. Check Your Financial Vitals
Budget, Cash Flow and Debt
A sports physical usually starts with the basics.
Nothing dramatic. Just a chance to see how things are going.
Your finances deserve that same kind of check-in.
For a lot of families, the question isn’t simply whether they make enough money. It’s whether the money they have feels like it’s working the way they want it to.
Maybe things are pretty comfortable from month to month.
Maybe they feel a little tighter than you think they should.
Or maybe some debt has slowly become a bigger part of the picture than you originally intended.
Life happens.
A financial physical gives us a chance to look at the overall picture without judgment and ask one simple question:
Does the way we’re handling money today support where we want our family to go tomorrow?
Sometimes the answer is yes.
Sometimes we notice a few things that could use some attention.
Either way, the goal isn’t perfection. It’s clarity.
Maybe there’s an opportunity to create a little more room in the monthly budget. Maybe there’s a debt that could use a plan. Maybe things are actually going better than you thought.
That’s what a checkup is for.
And just like an athlete can improve their conditioning over time, families can make adjustments that gradually strengthen their financial position.
2. Check Your Protective Gear
Insurance and Financial Protection
Being ready to play isn’t only about being in shape.
Depending on the sport, there may also be a helmet, pads, shin guards, a mouthguard, or other equipment designed to protect your child when something unexpected happens.
You hope they never really need it.
But you still want it there.
Financial protection works in much the same way.
Many families already have some type of insurance. Maybe it comes through work. Maybe you bought coverage when you got married, had children, or purchased your home.
But families change.
Kids grow. Careers change. Incomes change. Homes change. Responsibilities change.
So instead of simply asking, “Do we have insurance?”, a financial checkup gives us an opportunity to consider a better question:
“Does the protection we have still fit the life we’re living today?”
That matters because if something happens to someone your household depends on financially, the income may stop—but the mortgage, groceries, utilities, childcare, and other family responsibilities usually don’t.
That’s why income protection is the foundation of the Patterson & Associates Financial House.
Insurance may not be the most exciting part of anyone’s financial plan.
Neither is a helmet.
But if the day comes when you need that protection, you’ll be glad you took the time to make sure it was there.
3. Check Your Game Plan
Your Financial Future
Now comes the bigger question:
Where are you trying to go?
Every team needs a game plan, and every family has things they’re working toward.
Maybe you want to retire comfortably.
Maybe you want to help your children with college.
Maybe you want to get out of debt, buy a home, build savings, create something to leave behind for your family, or simply reach a point where you have more choices about how you spend your time.
There isn’t one answer that fits every family.
The important part is having some idea of what your answer is.
A lot of us already have pieces of a financial plan scattered around. There might be a retirement account at work, an old account from a previous employer, some savings, insurance policies, and other things we’ve accumulated over the years.
But having pieces isn’t necessarily the same thing as having a game plan.
That’s why we like to start with the bigger picture.
What does financial independence look like for your family—and are the things you’re doing today helping you move toward it?
Patterson & Associates defines financial independence around reaching a point where the household has built sufficient income-producing resources to support its financial needs without depending entirely on active work. Our client process begins by understanding the destination and then developing a plan toward it.
You don’t have to know exactly what every year ahead is going to look like.
No team knows exactly how every game of the season will go either.
But it helps to know what you’re playing for.
Are You Financially Cleared to Play?
At the end of a sports physical, there’s a pretty straightforward question:
Are you ready to get in the game?
Your financial physical can help answer a similar question.
Maybe you take a look and discover that you’re in pretty good shape.
Your monthly finances feel manageable. Your protection fits your current situation. You know what you’re working toward, and you’re making progress.
All clear.
Keep playing.
Keep checking in.
And keep making adjustments as life changes.
But maybe the checkup shows us something that deserves a little attention.
Maybe money has been feeling tighter than you’d like. Maybe it has been years since anyone looked at your protection. Maybe you’ve been putting money away for the future but aren’t really sure whether all the pieces are working together.
That doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
That’s the reason we do the physical.
We don’t get physicals because we expect the doctor to criticize us. We get them because knowing where we stand helps us make better decisions about what comes next.
We believe your finances deserve the same care.
Schedule Your Financial Physical
The Patterson & Associates 1-on-1 Pathfinder Workshop
Our 1-on-1 Pathfinder Workshop is an opportunity for us to sit down together and take a look at your financial picture.
We’ll look at your financial vitals—including your budget, cash flow, and debt.
We’ll look at your protective gear—including the insurance you already have and whether it still makes sense for your family's current situation.
And we’ll look at your game plan—where you want your family to go and how the pieces of your financial life fit together.
Maybe you’re already in great financial shape and would simply like a second set of eyes.
Maybe there are a few things you’ve been meaning to address.
Or maybe you’re just not quite sure where to start.
That’s what the Pathfinder Workshop is for.
Your financial future shouldn’t be left up to chance.
The kids are getting ready for another school year and another season.
Maybe it’s time to give your finances a physical, too.
