Will Jones
Retirement planning can be an emotional time for people because it often involves confronting one’s financial situation and the challenges that come with a major life transition.
Jackie Campbell, CPA, CFP®, notes that the lingering anxiety some people feel during retirement planning tends to be less about money alone and more about a gap between financial preparation and emotional readiness. She addresses this gap in her book Beyond the Money to help people feel confident and prepared about the next stage of their lives.
A Background in Navigating Transitions
Much of Jackie’s insight stems from her 30+ years of experience as a CPA and CFP; during this time, she has worked with individuals, families, entrepreneurs, and first responders as they navigated important financial and personal transitions. Her career has placed a special emphasis on helping clients move beyond the technical side of money to focus on clarity and direction, particularly when it comes to retirement and other major life milestones.
She started her practice after realizing, over the course of her career, that many of her clients were doing well financially yet still felt uncertain or stuck about retirement. Jackie later determined that the procrastination that resulted from this anxiety wasn’t coming from a lack of preparation, but rather a sense of doubt that came with not knowing what to do next. This realization drove her to help people reconcile their finances with their feelings on the changes to come in their lives.
Technical Expertise and Deep-Set Compassion
Jackie stands out among financial advisors for her ability to merge technical expertise with a deeply human approach to helping people plan for the future. Her practice emphasizes life transitions, emotions, and meaning, as she sees events like retirement as a thoughtfully designed next chapter rather than an ending. By viewing these moments as opportunities to celebrate, Jackie gives her clients the confidence they need to purposefully prepare for what’s next.
Jackie’s approach to financial advising takes into account each client’s unique needs and circumstances, as families, entrepreneurs, widows, and professionals all face challenges specific to their situations; business owners considering succession, for instance, often have different questions and concerns than widows facing life’s next chapter. Her depth of experience allows her to address each client’s uncertainties and the ways in which they can prepare financially and emotionally.
Much of this advice can also be found in her book Beyond the Money, a guide that walks readers through topics such as tax preparation, emotional confidence, and the value of clarity in retirement planning. The book is intended to help people move forward with readiness and outline their life’s direction in such a way that balances financial stability with freedom and meaning.
Clarity, Confidence, and Confetti
Life is full of what Jackie calls “confetti moments,” including retirement and other transitions people experience as they get older. For her, these transitions are to be celebrated despite the anxiety people often associate with them. Her continual belief in the natural progression from clarity to confidence is what helps her help others see life’s changes as more than matters of money.