Your Financial Road Map® begins with a conversation about more than money.
Before we begin financial planning together, we’ll typically have a complimentary discovery call to get acquainted and determine whether Catalano Financial is the right fit.
If we decide to move forward, our first formal financial planning meeting is part of The Financial Road Map®, a $500 introductory planning engagement.
And here’s what I want you to know before we sit down together:
Expect to answer a lot of questions.
Not because I’m trying to sell you something, but because I want to understand you.
I’ll ask about your financial circumstances, retirement goals, family, business interests, existing investments, insurance, and concerns. But I’ll also ask what you’re hoping to accomplish, what keeps you awake at night, and what financial security actually means to you.
I’ve worked in financial services since 1992, and I’ve learned that the numbers alone rarely tell the whole story.
It’s not about the money. It’s the emotion behind the money.
That’s why our first financial planning meeting begins with listening, understanding, and asking thoughtful questions—not presenting investment products.
Watch: What to Expect at Your First Financial Planning Meeting
In this Hey Pete video, I explain why our first formal financial planning meeting focuses on understanding you before discussing financial solutions.
After an introductory discovery call, clients who proceed with the Financial Road Map® participate in a detailed meeting where we explore their personal values, financial goals, and current financial circumstances.
I explain why I ask so many questions, why preparation matters, and how the conversation helps establish a foundation for meaningful financial planning.
The goal is to understand what matters most to you—not to begin by recommending investments.
What Happens During Our First Meeting?
Our first Financial Road Map® meeting is an opportunity to look closely at where you are financially and where you want to go.
Together, we’ll begin documenting your values, goals, and current financial standing in your personalized Financial Road Map®.
We’ll discuss the decisions you’re facing, the resources you have available, and the priorities that will help shape your financial future.
By the end of our meeting, you’ll have a completed Road Map that reflects what matters most to you and provides a starting point for your financial journey.
What Kinds of Questions Will I Ask?
We begin with something that may surprise you: your values, not your investments.
First, We Explore Your Values
Using an exercise I call the Values Staircase, we’ll explore what matters most to you.
What gives your life meaning? What do you want more of? What are you working so hard to protect or accomplish?
This conversation helps us identify the personal values that should guide your financial decisions.
Next, We Identify Your Goals
Once we’ve explored your values, we’ll talk about what you want your financial resources to make possible.
Our conversation may include:
- Your retirement: When would you like to retire, and what do you envision doing afterward?
- Your family: Who depends on you, and what responsibilities or legacy goals matter most?
- Your lifestyle: What experiences, opportunities, or changes would make your life more fulfilling?
- Your business: Are you building, growing, selling, or preparing to transition a business?
- Your financial security: What concerns keep you awake at night, and what would greater financial confidence look like?
Finally, We Look at Where You Are Today
We’ll review your current financial standing, including your income, assets, liabilities, investments, retirement accounts, and insurance.
This gives us a starting point for understanding the relationship between your present circumstances and the future you envision.
Values first. Goals second. Financial standing third.
Together, these form the foundation of your completed Financial Road Map®.
You don’t need to have all the answers before we meet. Part of the value of this process is discovering those answers together.
Peter’s Perspective: Why Values Come Before Investments
Before I can help someone decide what to do with their money, I need to understand what they want their money to do for their life.
— Peter Catalano, ChFC®, CLU®
That’s why my Financial Road Map® begins with the Values Staircase. We explore what matters most to you, identify the goals those values inspire, and then examine your current financial standing.
I’ve learned that a financial strategy means much more when it’s connected to something personally meaningful. The numbers matter, but they should serve your goals—not define them.
How Should You Prepare for Your First Financial Planning Meeting?
I take our first Financial Road Map® meeting seriously, and I ask my clients to do the same.
If you’re married, I expect both spouses to attend. Financial decisions affect both of you, and I want to hear each person’s goals, concerns, and priorities firsthand.
I also ask that you bring your financial documents, including:
- Recent statements for investment, retirement, and bank accounts.
- Information about income, expenses, mortgages, and other debts.
- Existing life, disability, and long-term care insurance policies.
- Estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, and beneficiary information.
- Information about pensions, Social Security, or business interests, when applicable.
These documents help us understand your actual financial position rather than relying on estimates or assumptions.
Both spouses’ participation, when applicable, and the requested financial documents are requirements for our meeting. If either is missing, we’ll need to cancel or reschedule until you’re prepared.
Why am I particular about this?
Because meaningful financial planning requires a complete picture. I don’t want to make assumptions about your finances or develop a strategy without understanding the priorities of the people it will affect.
My goal is to make our time together productive, thoughtful, and worthwhile for everyone involved.
What Will You Walk Away With?
Our Financial Road Map® meeting is more than a conversation. Together, we’ll complete a personalized document that brings three important elements of your financial life into focus:
- Your values: What matters most to you and what you want your money to make possible.
- Your goals: The financial and personal objectives you’re working toward.
- Your current financial standing: A high-level understanding of where you are today.
Think of your completed Financial Road Map® as a financial vision board—a document that helps you see where you are, where you want to go, and why those goals matter.
You leave with your completed Financial Road Map®—a personalized document reflecting your values, financial goals, and current financial standing.
For many people, it becomes a financial vision board they can revisit as they consider important life decisions.
The $500 Financial Road Map® engagement does not include detailed asset mapping, investment allocation recommendations, or comprehensive financial planning. Those services are available through a separate advisory engagement.
What Happens Next?
During our meeting, I’m also evaluating whether Catalano Financial is the right firm to help you pursue your goals.
If I believe we would work well together, I’ll explain the services I recommend, discuss the applicable fees, and invite you to become a client.
We can review the engagement documents together, or I can send them electronically for your consideration.
If you decide to hire Catalano Financial, we’ll move into the more detailed analysis, planning, and recommendations appropriate to the services you’ve selected.
My goal is for you to leave our first meeting with greater clarity about what matters to you financially—and a clear understanding of how we could work together moving forward.
Financial Planning Is About More Than Investments
I don’t believe an advisor’s role begins and ends with managing a portfolio.
Your investments are important, but so are your cash reserves, retirement income, insurance, business interests, estate considerations, and the people who depend on you.
Those pieces need to be considered together.
That’s why I begin by asking questions and listening.
And for clients who choose an ongoing advisory relationship, I believe in staying in touch, understanding what’s changing in their lives, and encouraging conversations before important financial decisions are made.
Let’s Get Acquainted
If you’re approaching retirement, managing significant financial responsibilities, or simply looking for an experienced advisor to help bring your financial life together, I’d welcome a conversation.
Start with a complimentary discovery call. We’ll get acquainted, discuss what you’re looking for, and determine whether the Financial Road Map® is an appropriate next step.
Or call 832-696-0990.