--- title: The Human Side of Financial Planning | Ellerbrock-Norris Wealth Strategies description: Discover the human side of financial planning by aligning your wealth with your deepest values and aspirations for a fulfilling life. image: https://en-ws.com/hubfs/The%20Human%20Side%20of%20Financial%20Planning.png --- [Skip to content](https://en-ws.com/insights/the-human-side-of-financial-planning#main-content) [![Ellerbrock-Norris Wealth Strategies logo](https://en-ws.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Ellerbrock-Norris-WealthStrategies%20Logo.png?width=1940&height=320&name=Ellerbrock-Norris-WealthStrategies%20Logo.png)](https://www.ellerbrock-norris-ws.com) - [Services](https://en-ws.com/#services) Show submenu for Services - [Business Exit Planning](https://en-ws.com/business-exit-planning) - [Wealth Management](https://en-ws.com/wealth-management) - [Tax Planning](https://en-ws.com/tax-planning) - [Charitable Giving](https://en-ws.com/charitable-giving) - [Retirement Planning](https://en-ws.com/retirement-planning) - [Estate Planning](https://en-ws.com/estate-planning) - About Show submenu for About - [Meet ENWS](https://en-ws.com/about) - [Careers](https://en-ws.com/careers) - [Client Access](https://en-ws.com/client-access) - [Insights](https://en-ws.com/insights) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Services](https://en-ws.com/#services) Show submenu for Services - [Business Exit Planning](https://en-ws.com/business-exit-planning) - [Wealth Management](https://en-ws.com/wealth-management) - [Tax Planning](https://en-ws.com/tax-planning) - [Charitable Giving](https://en-ws.com/charitable-giving) - [Retirement Planning](https://en-ws.com/retirement-planning) - [Estate Planning](https://en-ws.com/estate-planning) - About Show submenu for About - [Meet ENWS](https://en-ws.com/about) - [Careers](https://en-ws.com/careers) - [Client Access](https://en-ws.com/client-access) - [Insights](https://en-ws.com/insights) - [Contact us](https://en-ws.com/contact) [Contact us](https://en-ws.com/contact) Oct 30, 2024, 1:57:24 PM # The Human Side of Financial Planning [Ken Rosenbaum](https://en-ws.com/insights/author/ken-rosenbaum) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://en-ws.com/insights/the-human-side-of-financial-planning) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://en-ws.com/insights/the-human-side-of-financial-planning) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://en-ws.com/insights/the-human-side-of-financial-planning) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://en-ws.com/insights/the-human-side-of-financial-planning) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://en-ws.com/insights/the-human-side-of-financial-planning) **![The Human Side of Financial Planning](https://en-ws.com/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Human%20Side%20of%20Financial%20Planning.png?width=1400&height=788&name=The%20Human%20Side%20of%20Financial%20Planning.png)** **What would you do if money was no object?** This is one of the first questions we ask our clients. As you may guess, responses include retiring early, spending quality time with their toes in the sand, sending their child or grandchild to their dream college and volunteering for a favorite cause. While these are all great answers, I encourage my clients to dig a little deeper … and think about what they *really* want out of life. We are passionate about aligning your wealth to what is most valuable to you. As we all know, money is important; but it’s just a vehicle to help you live a full, enriched and rewarding life. For us to create a personalized financial plan for you, we need to understand your values, motivations, aspirations, dreams and hopes. **What does this process look like?** During our first meeting, the goal is to discover what motivates you to get out of bed every morning. Instead of droning on about the market, inflation and interest rates, we believe the first step is to ask you what is most important to you and your family. This can be anything from building your dream house, spoiling those precious grandbabies, providing for a loved one with incapacity issues or buying that beautiful car you’ve been eyeing. There are no right or wrong answers – this is a safe place of unbiased, open communication. Our goal is to listen, sometimes helping to push you to dig deeper as you share what really is your vision of future happiness. To create a financial plan that supports the important “puzzle pieces” of your life that were mentioned earlier, we begin by asking these questions: 1. If you had unlimited wealth, what would you do differently with your life and what would you continue to do? 2. Imagine you just learned that you have five to ten years to live. What would you do – or no longer do – with your remaining time? Would you change anything about your life? How would you do it? 3. Now imagine you just learned that you only have 24 hours to live. Notice the feelings that arise as you confront your very real mortality. Reflecting on your life, accomplishments and lost opportunities, ask yourself: What did I miss? What did I not get to do? Who did I not get to be? These queries may make clients uncomfortable, lead to an awkward silence and even tears. Our emotions are real and often become the energy that motivates us to live our better lives. Many times, this uneasiness leads to deep inner reflection – and draws out an important piece of the puzzle. To prepare for the discussion, we suggest you think about three considerations: 1. Remember, this is a non-judgmental discussion for your advisor to discover your deepest wishes, ambitions and objectives – all with the goal for you to live your best life. Forget about keeping up with the Joneses and think about what is in your heart’s core. You may even learn a few things about your spouse and even yourself too! 2. Come to the meeting with a clean slate and leave your notions at the door. 3. Be open. By being vulnerable and honest with yourself and your advisor, he or she can build a wealth strategy to help you achieve your goals. You deserve to live your most rewarding, authentic and full life. We would love to [have a conversation today](https://en-ws.com/contact).‍ [Wealth Management](https://en-ws.com/insights/tag/wealth-management), [Key Personnel Planning](https://en-ws.com/insights/tag/key-personnel-planning) ## Related posts [![A person reviewing documents for financial planning for small business owners. ](https://en-ws.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Image%20(6).png?height=200&name=Blog%20Image%20(6).png)](https://en-ws.com/insights/financial-planning-for-small-business-owners-how-to-maximize-business-valuation-and-manage-wealth) [Wealth Management](https://en-ws.com/insights/tag/wealth-management) ## [Financial Planning for Small Business Owners: How to Maximize Business Valuation and Manage Wealth](https://en-ws.com/insights/financial-planning-for-small-business-owners-how-to-maximize-business-valuation-and-manage-wealth) [Ben Woods, Senior Stewardship Advisor](https://en-ws.com/insights/author/ben-woods) May 30, 2025, 3:13:17 PM Financial planning for small business owners isn’t about staying afloat – it’s about steering the... 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[Read more](https://en-ws.com/insights/the-crazy-stuff-we-do-with-money-explained) ![ENWS\_REV](https://en-ws.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ENWS_REV.png?width=350&height=58&name=ENWS_REV.png "ENWS_REV") About Us [Meet ENWS](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/about) [Careers](https://en-ws.com/careers) Client Resources [Insights](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/insights) [Client Logins](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/client-access) [Disclosures](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/disclosures) Our Services [Business Exit Planning](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/business-exit-planning) [Wealth Management](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/wealth-management) [Tax Planning](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/tax-planning)[Charitable Giving](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/charitable-giving) [Retirement Planning](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/retirement-planning) [Estate Planning](https://45966733.hs-sites.com/estate-planning) [Contact Us](https://en-ws.com/contact) [facebook-f icon](https://www.facebook.com/ENWealthStrategies/) [linkedin-in icon](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellerbrock-norris-wealth-strategies) [youtube icon](https://www.youtube.com/@ellerbrock-norriswealthstr2126?app=desktop) Copyright © 2025, Ellerbrock-Norris Wealth Strategies Ellerbrock-Norris Wealth Strategies, 4331 N 156th St., Omaha, NE 68116 Ellerbrock-Norris Wealth Strategies LLC is an investment adviser principally registered in Nebraska, and registered or exempt from registration in other states as applicable. Nothing presented on or through this page is intended to be personalized investment, tax, legal, accounting, or any other professional advice. To the extent this page includes content related to investment, tax, legal, or accounting matters, such content is expressly for general information purposes and should not be relied upon for any decision-making. Investment, tax, legal, accounting and other professional advice is specific to each individual and entity, and you should consult with a professional advisor to receive such personalized advice. Nothing contained on this page should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or other financial product or investment strategy. 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Additional information about Ellerbrock-Norris Wealth Strategies LLC and our advisors is also available online at [www.adviserinfo.sec.gov](https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/295099).  ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Ken Rosenbaum", "url" : "https://en-ws.com/insights/author/ken-rosenbaum" }, "dateModified" : "2025-03-31T19:28:44.541Z", "datePublished" : "2024-10-30T18:57:24.000Z", "headline" : "The Human Side of Financial Planning | Ellerbrock-Norris Wealth Strategies", "image" : [ "https://en-ws.com/hubfs/The%20Human%20Side%20of%20Financial%20Planning.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://en-ws.com/insights/the-human-side-of-financial-planning", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://en-ws.com/hubfs/Ellerbrock-Norris-WealthStrategies%20Logo.png" }, "name" : "Ellerbrock-Norris Wealth Strategies" } } ```