Play more. That’s the philosophy behind Certified Financial Planner Nancy Beck’s business, and it’s one she’s embraced in her own life, too.
Beck is an artist, author and ukulele player, in addition to her work helping people achieve their financial goals. Her business, Beck Financial Strategies, is based in Lawrence, and she has clients all across the nation. Her book, “The Art of the Plan,” uses her own illustrations to help people think about their money differently.
Beck said she’s been in the financial planning business for 40 years, and she started out selling life insurance. She said clients would ask her about long-term financial planning, too, which she didn’t know anything about at the time. So, she looked into it, got her license and then became a certified financial planner.
Her “play more” philosophy basically means she plans with her clients for what they want to do, now and in the future, rather than focusing solely on accumulating and holding onto wealth. Because, she said, people need to enjoy the money that they’ve worked hard to earn.
“It’s just ‘lighten up a little,” she said, summarizing her message. “What do you want to do with that money other than watch it and worry over it?”
Beck said she went through a self-discovery process with her artwork a few years ago, ending up with hundreds of cartoons. That’s also around the time that she learned how to play the ukulele.
“It opened up a whole new world for me,” she said, “It reminded me that I needed to play more.”
That self-discovery process led to her book, which she wrote and illustrated.
Beck said she enjoys teaching people about financial planning and has provided financial education through speaking engagements and workshops for the past three decades. She educates her clients, too, because she wants to make sure they understand and are happy with the personalized plan they’ve worked on together.
“Financial planning is scary, especially when turning on the news today,” she said. “But they need to focus on the dream. That makes our work worthwhile.”
Beck’s clients are strongly encouraged to play. Literally.
“Every client who retires or has a life event, we give them a blue ukulele,” she said. “Some of our top more-serious executive clients have had so much fun with that.”
For more information, go to beckfs.com.
Securities offered through J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. (JWC) Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through J.W. Cole Advisors, Inc. (JWCA). Beck Financial Strategies and JWC/JWCA are unaffiliated entities.
