Speaker: Andy and Christina Connel, Pharmacist, OSU MC
How was the planning experience with a Principles-Based Financial Planner different than what you had expected or experienced before?
Andy and Christina Connel: It was way more thorough than anything that we expected or had experienced in the past. David had us bring everything from home insurance um to car insurance, to medical insurance, as well as what debt we were in, what was in our bank account and took all of those factors into account looking at our plan. We also really appreciated that he took our concerns into account. The previous financial planner we had met with, we were in our mid to late twenties and they had just blown us off when we expressed concerns about wanting to go ahead and start saving for retirement. And we just were really taken aback by that. and so we were really appreciative that David really listened to all of our concerns, and met us where we were at.
How do you believe your knowledge of the Five Principles of Personal Finance will help you in your finances going forward?
Andy and Christina Connel: So thanks to David and Unique Advantage we have been very fortunate to be in a really good financial situation despite personal health crises is so I really think that the five principles of personal finance um we really believe in them. We really buy into them, especially after some of our experiences. Just the simple concepts of say 15% or more. We we do that religiously and it has helped us so many times be able to just weather financial storms in life. That having six months of savings in the bank again has just helped us multiple times. So I think just having those principles that there are so key. They've already put us in such a good position. I can only see them helping us go forward.
What did you feel was most helpful or valuable about the planning process?
Andy and Christina Connel: I think what has proven for us at least over the last 4-5 years to be the most valuable part of the process is that saving that principle of saving 15% or more and then velocity of money and so getting it set up into life insurance plans that we can borrow when we need that money and then pay it back. It's just been really helpful way for us to um save money but also have that money available to us when we need it. We've used it several times now and it's just been really helpful when we have big financial expenditures that maybe we otherwise would have taken out a loan for. But instead of taking out a loan, we've actually just taken the money that we've already put into our account, use it and then pay it back. And so that's been really helpful for us in our financial planning.
Why do you believe others will benefit from going through the Principles-Based Planning Process?
Andy and Christina Connel: I think that other people will benefit most from just having extra information. It's always helpful to have to be armed with extra information. You can never have too much. So given that Unique Advantage goes through all the planning process, you know, free of charge, it's really kind of a no risk situation for anyone to be in and it can't do anything but, you know, help you get more information for you to be able to plan your future and make wise decisions.
If you read the book, Principles-Based Planning, what value did you get from reading it and why do you feel others should read it?
Andy and Christina Connel: So I read the book and if you read the book and you go through the process with unique advantage, you realize that the book really just is their process. and so since I had already gone through the process before I read the book, a lot of it was just rehash kind of what I already knew and yet it was so valuable to have that just a reminder. You know, I still have that book on my bookshelf so that if I have questions, I can go back and re look at it. You know, and if you're on the fence about what Unique Advantage is about it's a great resource, They do things differently, but I think they do things really wisely and really helpfully.
