Planning vs The Plan
At Hill Investment Group, we often say that real financial planning isn’t about being exactly right today—it’s about being less wrong tomorrow.
That may sound strange coming from a team grounded in evidence, logic, and long-term thinking. But we also know life doesn’t follow a straight line. That’s why we believe the most valuable part of financial planning isn’t the plan itself—it’s the process of ongoing planning.
Carl Richards, a friend and fellow long-term thinker, offers a great analogy we love to share:
Airline pilots prepare a flight plan before every trip. Yet when asked how often the flight goes exactly according to that plan, the answer is: rarely.
Course corrections are built into the process because the unexpected is expected. Weather changes. Winds shift. But the destination remains the same—and they keep adjusting until they land safely.
The same principle applies to your financial life. We build your plan using the best data available—making thoughtful assumptions about returns, taxes, inflation, goals, and more. But the moment the plan is complete, we know one thing for sure: it will be wrong. We just don’t know how yet.
That’s not a flaw. It’s reality.
Real planning is what happens next. It’s the process of revisiting, refining, and adjusting—so you can stay on track, even when the world around you changes.
That’s why our team is here: not just to build your plan, but to keep you flying steady all the way to your destination.
Take the Long View.