FINANCES

CAMRON VARNEY, FINANCIAL CONSULTANT ASK THE HEALTH

Most of us dream about retirement. No more last-minute deadlines, early-morning meetings, or cranky bosses to deal with.

Plus, we envision ourselves taking luxurious cruises or making weekend getaways to fancy beach-side hotels. And on the weekdays, we’ll gather with buddies to enjoy a few rounds of golf.

Of course, none of these dreams will become reality if we failed to properly plan for retirement. Instead, we’ll have to continue working and carefully budget every penny.

Camron Varney, a financial consultant with Central Florida Wealth Management, provides some tips to help your investments last through the retirement years.

1) “In my opinion, the best defense is a good offense. You need to invest and save throughout your working years. Many employees do not take full advantage of their employer’s matching contribution. If your employer matches a portion of your retirement plan contributions, at a minimum you should contribute enough to get the full match. Otherwise, you may be passing up money.”

2) “During your working years, using a more aggressive financial strategy may be tolerable because it will help build the values of your investment accounts faster and you will have more time to recover potential losses. However, in later years approaching retirement, you should begin preserving your investment and retirement money.

There are multiple avenues to accomplish this, according to your needs and goals. These options will allow you to turn your savings and investments into a steady stream of income to last you through your retirement years or leave behind as a legacy.

3) Proper account management and strategies are extremely important when it comes to retirement planning. If you’ve never sat down with a qualified financial consultant to see what your financial future looks like, then I highly recommend doing so. A financial consultant can help you find a comfortable ratio when it comes to the three biggest aspects of helping you plan your retirement—what are you spending, what are you saving, and how much debt are you paying off? Most importantly, financial consultants can offer prospective on your individual goals and needs as well as your retirement.”

A native of Summerfield, Camron is truly an asset to each of his clients. Not only does he possess a wealth of knowledge; he is also extremely personable and relationship-driven. He helps clients understand their current financial situation, creates and prioritizes financial goals, and develops a plan to help them reach or exceed their goals. Time and time again, he surpasses expectations of his clients by providing a customized approach to retirement planning rather than relying on cookie-cutter solutions.

“I do investments, as well as medical insurance and life insurance,” he said. “I put my clients’ interests first and foremost, and that’s why they refer their family members and friends to me.”

WILL I EVER GET BACK TO THE WAY I USED TO BE?

As a practitioner in psychiatry for more than 40 years, this question has been posed many times when I initially meet a patient. In return, I ask the patient what this question means and the patient responds with one of the following descriptions:

“I want my energy back.”

“I used to have a good outlook on my life and the future.”

“My thinking was quicker and more clear.”

“I used to socialize with ease and now I don’t enjoy being out of the house.”

“I think constantly—especially at night—and can’t sleep.”

“I feel frustrated all the time and people make me angry.”

“I don’t have any motivation.”

“I don’t do or finish the things I’m supposed to do.”

Past Understanding

In the past, the primary focus in treating an emotional imbalance was psychotherapy and the therapist may or may not refer you to a psychiatrist for medication management. This usually meant extended periods of psychotherapy with the focus on analyzing how earlier childhood experiences shaped your behavior now. Once the connection between past and present experiences began to make sense, the patient felt a sense of organized thinking, improved insight, and readiness to make changes. If a psychiatrist was consulted, medications were provided to help the person get through this difficult period.

Present Understanding

Now, after the 90’s “decade of the brain,” the approach to emotional imbalance focuses on balancing neurochemicals to improve the electrical conduction of the brain. This shift in approach is sometimes called “medicalizing psychiatry.”

We know two things: our brain is a circuitry of electrical conduction and when a part of this circuitry is not working effectively, we end up not thinking or feeling the same in the world. This eventually leads to emotional imbalance and negative feelings.

As an example, when we are using our computer/cell phone and it won’t

CELIA NACCARATO PHD, PMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC