What is your role at CAISSA?

As the director of financial planning, I work with our clients to help them envision their financial lives from where they are now out to what we call their "end of plan." There will be many goals and milestones met along the way - like having children, helping those children (or grandchildren) through school, creating your "paycheck" for retirement and providing for our loved ones in case we hit potholes rather than milestones. We identify potential risks and offer solutions. But not only do we offer potential solutions, we also help you execute. You can put together a fabulous financial plan or estate plan, but if you don't put it into action, it will fail. We help our clients take action.

 

What gets you excited about your work?

Have you heard the saying "look before you leap?" Good advice, right? Ten thousand baby boomers turn 65 each day, and a large percentage of them are afraid to "look" and instead just take the leap. In my opinion, knowledge is power, and if I know the facts I can figure out a set of options. I get excited about finding those solutions. Will someone's portfolio provide income through retirement? What can I do to make it work? So, give me a set of investment statements, a tax return, social security statements and some pay stubs and I can put together a pretty good projection of what someone's retirement plan might look like. Of course there are lots of variables, many levers we can pull to either make it work or show you the "torpedoes" that might derail your plan. But planning is what is important - don't just take the leap.

 

How do you pass the time when you're not in the office?

From spring through fall, it is all about going to my cabin in Crosslake, Minnesota, with my family and friends. We boat, fish, kayak, ride bikes and just enjoy the outdoors. There's nothing like a beautiful day out on the lake with the sun making the water sparkle, listening to the loons and experiencing all that nature has to offer. I also enjoy gardening, quilting, crocheting (still determined to learn how to knit) and reading a good book.