During the last week of December, I sit down to compare my life now to my life a year ago. I look at my investments and examine the good, the bad, and the ugly. I look ahead and ask myself, “What will happen in the financial future?” and, “What might change the track that I’m on?”
But I don’t just look at my finances — I also take the time to examine the time I spent with my family. I look for the good moments and ask, “What made them great?” Then, I can try to create more valuable family moments next year.
When my daughter got married in September 2015, her wedding day was more stressful for her than she would have liked. She didn’t get to fully sit down and take it all in on her wedding day with all of the excitement and stress that she was experiencing. The part that we all enjoyed most didn’t happen until the next day when we started talking about our family and reflecting on her wedding day. Talking about the good times afterward was what made it that much more special.
Since then, I’ve been doing the same for my company, my employees, and my personal life. We ask, “What went well? What made that moment special?” — to try and replicate those good moments. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, we don’t ignore the bad either. Instead, we analyze our past so that we don’t repeat it.
At Mattson Financial Services, we operate from the standpoint that curing the bad leaves the good to solve itself. That being said, we aren’t afraid to have the tough conversations. For example, don’t lend money if you can’t give it as a gift is frequent advice given around here.
At the office this year, we introduced two new tools for our clients — WealthGuard and Blue Leaf. These tools help clients monitor their accounts and let them see everything we are doing. We also look at finance in relation to home remodeling and family members in addition to financial advising.
One of the biggest highlights of 2016 for me was bringing a family that had been disconnected for 18 years together again. Being able to enrich their lives by helping them through their finances felt absolutely incredible! I definitely would love to have more positive and enriching outcomes like that in 2017.
For this next year, I want to continue doing what we’ve been doing — and more. My wife and I both look forward to being a part of our grandchildren’s’ lives. We want to continue to share life’s educational moments with them and highlight their strengths each and every day.
Just as I recreate good moments for my family by examining the past or look to the future to see what might change my family’s finances down the road, I want to do the same for my clients this year and every year. Family is so important and that thinking doesn’t stop when you enter Mattson Financial Services. When you step through our front doors, you are family.
– Gary Mattson