Certainly, there isn’t any shortage of opinions from clients about which financial strategies are “best” for their mortgages. Each and every day our clients are bombarded by media outlets with news stories, marketing messages, and advertisements about financial decision-making. They are also heavily influenced by the decisions and actions of friends, co-workers, and relatives.
Many people are determined to pay off their mortgage as fast as they can; but even Dave Ramsey says, “you should first invest 15% of your income for retirement before you work toward paying off your mortgage.” (https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/pay-off-mortgage-or-save-retirement)
As advisors, it is our job to help our clients understand the impact of their previous financial decisions, evaluate their current financial health, and counsel them on ways in which they can minimize losses and increase their “Circle of Wealth” moving forward. This is not a responsibility to be taken lightly for sure.
In order to properly serve our clients, we need to be extremely knowledgeable on the subject of mortgages. There are many client views on this subject, and there is much opposition to even having a conversation about alternatives to their current plan. After all, nobody wants to hear that the decisions they have made might not have been the best ones.
The Circle of Wealth® has several tools and presentations to help you navigate this emotional subject with your clients and to educate them on making the most efficient use of their money with regard to their mortgage:
