SIDNEY – Money isn’t any good unless you get to use it, said Cynthia Helman, a financial adviser who said it’s her job to help her clients identify a purpose for their money.
“What is money worth if you don’t get to use it?” Helman said. “What money can be used for is creating experiences. We all think of paying our bills, but ultimately we want to be able to create experiences with that money. So we help people identify what those experiences are, whether it’s taking a different route in their career or whether it’s taking all their grandkids and kids to Disney, paying for their kids’ college educations; this list goes on and on because everybody is unique.”
Helman, herself, recently made a change in her career.
The Sidney woman, who has worked in financial planning and investment management since 1995, previously worked out of an office in downtown Sidney. In May she opened a new business, WiseBridge Wealth Management.
Her old business was wonderful, Helman said, but she wanted to embrace more of her style instead of the corporate atmosphere she had been in previously. The new office, located at 411 W. Russell Road in Sidney, is more relaxed and fun.
“It’s just so much more open and comfortable,” Helman said.
Aaron Watkins, a financial adviser, and Catherine Bulcher, an office manager, joined Helman at WiseBridge Wealth Management after previously working with her at the former business.
While it’s a new company, Helman and her staff still offer the same services and still are with Money Concepts, a broker she’s worked with for 26 years.
The WiseBridge staff tailor their services to each client to help them reach their goals while accounting for their personal financial situation.
“I think I love what I do because every individual has a unique need and a unique risk tolerance, and I’m able to customize plans – I should say we are able to customize plans – for all those individual needs and get the outcomes that they’re looking for,” Helman said.
“I’m really good about pulling what’s important to you about money, all your goals, all your dreams.”
With WiseBridge’s clients, who range from 2 to 96 years old, Helman sees a wide range of goals and dreams.
Some clients are just starting to save and invest while others have saved enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Some want to pass on their savings to loved ones while others want to spend their money.
“Some people want to leave money to their kids,” Helman said. “Other people, they just want to spend it. I know a gal, she said she wants her last check to bounce because she knows her kids are already in a good place.”
Whatever the goal, Helman said, her staff’s experience can help individuals make plans, even when it seems like a daunting task.
“On that side of the table, you guys retire maybe once or twice, or buy a house, whatever that goal is, you do that once or twice in your life. We do it every day,” she said.
One of the most important parts of her job, Helman said, is educating clients.
“We can’t control the market, but we can control our reactions to the market,” she said. “We teach our clients how not to overreact when the market’s high or when the market’s falling. We stay as even-keel, we work the plan, and we stay with the plan.”
Along with individual financial planning, WiseBridge Wealth Management also works with small and medium businesses on employee benefit packages including 401(k) plans, group health insurance, group life insurance and group dental insurance.
For more information about WiseBridge Wealth Management, visit moneyconcepts.com/helman, email [email protected], email [email protected] or call 937-518-1776.
