Staying on Track in Uncertain Times: How to Adjust Your Financial Plan Without Abandoning Your Goals

  • Tillman Hartley

Uncertainty is a constant in the financial world — but your goals don’t have to get lost in the noise. Whether markets are volatile, interest rates are shifting, or policy winds are changing, a well-built financial plan should bend without breaking. For individuals and families with significant wealth, staying on track means revisiting assumptions, adjusting tactics, and reaffirming priorities. The key is knowing how to adapt without overreacting.

Strengthen your financial resilience during economic uncertainty
In periods of volatility, resilience starts with liquidity. For families with flexibility, increasing cash reserves in excess of our typical six-month reserve recommendation may provide additional comfort. Consider holding up to a year’s worth of personal and fixed business expenses in highly liquid accounts. This provides flexibility not just for spending, but also for timing larger investment moves such as acquiring real estate or rebalancing a taxable portfolio. Now is also a good time to revisit any personal or entity-level debt and assess whether refinancing or accelerating repayment makes sense in a rising-rate environment.

Reframe your long-term goals to stay flexible
You likely have a framework for major life and legacy goals; second homes, family business investments, or philanthropy. Rather than hitting pause in uncertain times, consider recalibrating timing or structure. A real estate purchase might be staged with a lease-to-own option or delayed to align with favorable financing. A donor-advised fund can let you meet charitable intentions today while preserving flexibility for disbursements later. The goal is to maintain directional progress, even if the tempo changes.

Revisit your retirement strategy amid economic uncertainty
Even with ample assets, retirement planning is not set-it-and-forget-it. In volatile markets, revisit your withdrawal strategy, particularly if you’re drawing from taxable portfolios or holding concentrated positions. Harvesting gains or losses strategically can soften the tax impact while maintaining alignment with your long-term risk profile. For those still in peak earning years, consider accelerating contributions to retirement plans or backdoor Roth IRAs, a subtle but powerful way to take advantage of market weakness and future tax-free growth.

Review your education savings plan
Education remains a top priority for many families especially in periods of uncertainty, and 529 plans often play a central role. For our clients, the question is less about affordability and more about efficiency and control. Ensure your plan still matches the student’s age and your broader estate plan. If your children or grandchildren are nearing college, it may make sense to move a portion of education funds to stable, liquid assets. For younger beneficiaries, keep funding steadily — even in choppy markets — to capture long-term growth and maintain generational flexibility.

Stabilize your finances with an action plan for uncertain times
High-net-worth families benefit most from clarity during chaos. A well-structured financial action plan should include more than just asset allocation. Now’s the time to update estate plans, evaluate insurance (including umbrella and excess liability coverage), stress test cash flow under multiple scenarios, and confirm you have a clear delegation of financial decision-making in place (e.g., powers of attorney or trustee alignment). When uncertainty rises, the families who fare best are the ones who already knew what they’d do — because they wrote it down when things were calm.

You don’t need to overhaul your entire financial plan in uncertain times — but you do need to stay engaged. Small, thoughtful adjustments can preserve long-term momentum while keeping you flexible in the short term. With a clear plan, disciplined execution, and the right partners, you can navigate through complexity and come out stronger on the other side. Please reach out if you would like to create a tailored financial plan or strengthen an existing one to weather uncertainty with greater confidence.  We’re here to help.

 

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