Page 20 • January 2022 • Golden Gazette
Our story of caring for more than your finances I believe the people who have paved the way for the rest of us should be highly valued and well cared for in having the retirement strategy they deserve. And we often work with these couples and individuals who are nearing or already in retirement and who have unfortunately not been cared for by their previous financial advisor, and they are uncertain if
their money will be able to last in retirement. Because of that, we find that they are spending too much time worrying about their money instead of enjoying what is most important to them. In addition, we work with many people who have lost a loved one and feel overwhelmed by the burden of navigating their financial journey alone.
When I was first starting my career in the financial advising industry, there was a gentleman named Harold that another advisor was working with. Harold was a retired dentist and wanted to make sure his finances were working best for him and his wife, Joan. Unfortunately, Harold passed away and left Joan to navigate the financial journey alone. To make matters worse, their financial advisor was not helping Joan organize her new financial future. I knew this was not ok. God puts people in your life that leave a legacy of how you care for others. The connection and commitment I have with people in their “golden years,” I attribute to my strong relationship I had with my grandparents, especially my grandfather. Growing up in Austin, Texas, I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with my grandparents. My grandfather, who worked in the financial industry as well, had a big impact on my life. Grandad fought in WWII and was actually shot down from his plane over the ocean near Germany. Thankfully, he survived and went on to make a difference for so many people, including me. Hearing stories of his sacrifice and dedication to our country and family was inspiring. People like him truly paved the way for the rest of us. As I read books like “The Greatest Generation” by Tom Brokaw, I knew these kinds of people were valuable to the fabric of our country. After graduating from Texas Tech University, I had a “career crisis.” I finished school, but was working in
a job that was about serving the company and not as much about serving others. I was struggling trying to figure out how I could best use the gifts God had given me to benefit others. Many months went by where I would go to work and not enjoy what I was doing. I knew I wanted to work with people in their retirement years because I had the most respect for them. Thankfully, I got to spend time talking with financial advisors and knew right away that this industry was going to be the best use of my gifts to serve those nearing or already in retirement. In May of 2018, after over 10 successful years with a large brokerage company, I decided to take my focus even deeper by serving those nearing or already in retirement, and established an independent financial advising business called Holtzman Wealth Strategies. From my experience of working with this group of people, I am now fulfilling what God has truly called me to do. As a result of working with folks nearing or already in retirement, I have established a three-step planning process.
Step 1 is called the “Seen & Heard” stage.
You have a story behind the money you have worked so hard to accumulate. We want to see and hear how you have gotten to where you are today. Your story matters, and this step is critical to learning about you, your comfort level with risk, and find out (See Our story, Page 22)
