Supporting People When Life Changes

As a financial planner, Jerele helps clients prepare for whatever life throws at them.

Life is about to change again for Josh Jerele, a Senior Financial Advisor and Vice President of the Summit Wealth Group in Denver.

This July, Jerele (WC ’06) and his wife Jillian are expecting their fourth child in six years, following Maggie (6), Claire (4), and James (almost 2). After giving advice to clients who are going through similar life changes, Jerele now needs to heed his own advice.

“It definitely makes me think more about financial planning,” Jerele said. “I mean, any time you add an additional family member, there must be more planning because you need to provide for them.

“I was laughing because right before you called me, a good friend of mine texted me. He’s expecting his first kid, and he was asking how much life insurance he needs. Having a kid changes some things for sure.”

One of the biggest mistakes a person can make is not having a plan for the future, according to Jerele.

“A lot of people live decision to decision,” he said. “The big thing is to make sure you step back and think about what your future self will need.

“When I talk with clients, I ask them, ‘Are you the same person you were when you were 18?’ Most say, ‘No way, not at all.’ So, think about yourself now. Are you going to have the same desires, wants, and needs at 70?’ And the answer is probably no. By being disciplined and thinking about your future self, you can make some wise decisions along the way.”

Helping someone map out their lives is one of the most rewarding tasks for a financial planner, according to Jerele.

“You’re helping people solve some of the most stressful parts of their lives,” Jerele said. “We always talk about this: during someone’s whole educational life, we rarely learn about money. But literally, every single person is going to have to manage and deal with their money at some point.

“It’s great to be able to help people make much better decisions with their money. There’s nothing more rewarding than bringing some peace of mind and clarity to their financial world.”

As part of the Summit Wealth Group, Jerele works with everyone from CEOs and CFOs of successful corporations to couples planning out their future.

Yet one of his most rewarding experiences as a financial planner was helping a client who was about as far away from being a Fortune 500 CEO as possible.

“Jan” (not her real name) was the sister of one of Jerele’s clients. Her brother, through careful planning, was doing well financially.

Jan, however, was struggling. She had been recently divorced, was raising four children, and stretched her paycheck thin to make ends meet.

“She was literally going through the worst part of her financial life,” he said. “I’ll never forget this: She came in with everything she had, and it was like $1,000 in assets. She said, ‘I’ve got a $2,000 credit card bill, and I don’t know how I am going to pay it.’”

Although she didn’t meet the Group’s financial minimum, Jerele took her in as a pro bono client and gave her several suggestions on things she could do.

“That was two years ago,” Jerele said. “I met up with her a little bit ago. She’s already saved up $150,000 for retirement. Her kids are doing well. She went back to school and got a degree. She completely turned everything around.

“That’s the true reward: seeing such a dismal setup and then having someone take your advice, execute it, and have a success story.”

Jerele almost missed his calling as a financial planner. When he was at Worthington Christian, he was convinced he wanted to become an optometrist.

As he was working his way through his pre-optometry track coursework at Taylor University, Jerele found himself perusing the textbooks of his roommate, who was majoring in marketing and business.

“I was learning about ‘chemiosmotic phosphorylation’ and all these ridiculous medical terms, and after reading his books, I thought maybe I should look into switching over to finance,” he said with a laugh. “I took a finance course the next semester, and I fell in love with it.

“I started shadowing people and seeing what they did for a living. I enjoyed working with families and helping them manage the stresses of their financial world.

“It’s funny. I wanted to be a doctor, and I ended up helping doctors with their finances.”