Carolyn McClanahan: There's More to Money Than Just the Numbers

<p>Our guest for this week's installment of <em>The Long View</em> podcast sits at the busy intersection of healthcare and financial planning. Carolyn McClanahan was a practicing physician for a number of years, but after a frustrating search for a financial planner for her and her husband, she decided to study financial planning and earned the CFP designation. In 2004, she founded financial planning firm Life Planning Partners, and serves as the firm's director of financial planning. She also co-founded Whealthcare, a software program that identifies and troubleshoots age-related financial risks.</p> <p>Carolyn strongly believes that individuals and financial advisors should think proactively about the implications of aging for healthcare and financial planning. She is also sought-after as a public speaker and a media expert on matters of aging, healthcare, and personal finances. </p> <p><strong>Show Notes</strong><br /> The quest for real advice: How a "math nerd" found her way to medicine and eventually sought financial advice (1:12-3:32) </p> <p>Frustrated: How disappointing experiences with financial advisors spurred Carolyn to pursue a career in financial planning (3:33-4:56) </p> <p>"It worked beautifully": Why Carolyn decided to charge flat fees for her planning services instead of taking a percentage of client's assets (4:57-6:50) </p> <p>"It's a lot harder": Carolyn explains why the flat-fee model isn't more commonplace, how they determine the right fee for each client, and why it makes economic sense (6:51-8:44) </p> <p>An "ensemble model": How Carolyn built her practice and how she hones her focus (8:45-13:01) </p> <p>A piece, not the whole pie: The role investments play in a client's financial plan (and how to avoid expectation gaps) (13:02-14:43) </p> <p>The healthcare spending conundrum: "We spend so much money on end-stage healthcare that really doesn't help anybody." (14:44-17:39) </p> <p>Heal thyself: "We're going to start seeing lawsuits from employees…about employers not being good purchasers