Tim Dixon’s Advice for Long-Term Financial Planning in Hamilton
im Dixon is the owner of Dixon Financial, a Hamilton firm that helps families in our area plan for a successful retirement. Even if retirement seems far off in the future, Dixon has seen just how impactful not having a plan can be.
“My first appointment was 27 years ago, and the lady I was meeting with said, ‘I have just recently lost my husband and I need help,’” explains Dixon. “She proceeded to tell me that her husband did everything, keeping all the financial records, and she didn’t even know how much money she had.”
Dixon developed a passion for helping people avoid the level of worry and fear that this woman was feeling by helping people to prepare ahead of time and share their retirement and long-term care plans with those they love.
While his financial planning firm can help Hamilton clients in a variety of ways, he discovered that his approach was a bit different.
“Not enough attention was given to the most important phase, the distribution phase, where people turn their retirement savings into an income stream,” says Dixon. “Most advisors were telling their customers about the best investments during the saving and investing part of the planning process.”
Dixon wants people to start with their goals in mind, especially since the realities are sometimes downplayed: while there’s only a 3% of ever having a fire and needing to use your home insurance, 72% of people will need Long Term Care at some point in life, and many people don’t budget for this kind of insurance.
“It’s so important that the issue of Long-Term Care planning is addressed when making a plan for retirement,” says Dixon. “There are many different options for funding it, so everyone can have something in place.”
Dixon Financial focuses on four majors steps to a successful retirement. They include planning for long term care, but the other steps involve the following:
Cover the Basics With Guaranteed Lifetime Income
Dixon Financial focuses on both retirement plans and pensions that can be secure enough to guarantee that your basic needs are met for the rest of your life. With less than ⅕ of people receiving a pension now, much of this income stream needs to be calculated based on the stable returns from retirement plans.
Optimize Savings to Avoid the Negatives of Inflation
Once you’ve saved enough to guarantee your basic expenses are met, further savings should be invested in ways that will help your money grow, especially if you are younger now. Just putting your money in low-yield vehicles means that you lose value to inflation over time; work with your financial advisor to invest in real estate, mutual funds, securities, ETF’s, and more.
Life Insurance as a Way to Transfer Wealth to Children, Grandchildren and Charities
If some of your wealth is likely to pass to your children or grandchildren, a financial advisor can help you use life insurance to create a low-hassle transfer of that wealth to them.
Dixon Financial focuses on the community building and community education aspects of the business; he is involved with the local BNI chapter as well as the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
“You must be invested in Hamilton and involved in the community if you want to start a business in a town like Hamilton,” explains Dixon. “One of the best ways to get involved, as a business, is to become a member of a networking organization.”
Tim Dixon’s Must-Read Business Books
Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell – A great read on customer service.
The E Myth Financial Advisor by Michael Gerber and Michael Steranka – An outline for how to set up a successful set of business systems.
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes – Advice for anyone who owns their own business.