“Hello,  my name is Robin, and I’m looking for a financial planner.  I’ve never done this before.  I never had money before,  but I really need some help with how to to handle an inheritance.  All my adult life I’ve been living day by day, getting by alright, though I  have some credit card debt.  I’ve only saved very minimally in my retirement account.”

” I’m a little overwhelmed at this point because my grandmother died six months ago and left me some money.  It’s such a blessing, a real gift, but I know nothing about how to manage money.  I am getting excited that I may be able to do some of the things I’ve always dreamed of, owning my own home, maybe starting my own business, going on a real vacation or even adopting a child.  I’m single and think that if I don’t adopt soon, I won’t ever have children.  But I know I don’t have enough to do all these things and maybe I should just tuck it all away for retirement.  I don’t know what to prioritize or how to start and I don’t want to mess this up.  I don’t even know where I should put the money right now.”

I assured Robin it would be a pleasure to help her plan out how she will use her inheritance and to help her work towards achieving those goals in her life.  I told her that it would be fine to keep her money in her bank, in a savings account if she has one, until we meet.  She said that she had seen the questionnaire on my website and that she would print it out and bring it with her to our first meeting.  We set a morning appointment in a couple of weeks as her workday is flexible.  Robin thanked me, sounding somewhat relieved already.