CLARK FINANCIAL PLANNING SERVICES LLC
PARKLAND, FLORIDA

About Clark Financial Planning Services LLC Clark Financial Planning Services LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) in the state of Florida, is a fee-only financial planning firm that specializes in providing holistic financial planning and investment advisory services to individuals, families, and small businesses. We help people of all income levels achieve their goals and obtain peace of mind over their finances. We serve clients in Parkland FL, Boca Raton FL, Coconut Creek FL, Coral Springs FL, Fort Lauderdale FL and throughout all of South Florida. The address shown is our business mailing address and not our physical work location. We work out of our home office and meet clients at professional office space throughout the region. We have several locations throughout South Florida where we meet clients. Chances are we already have a location near you and if we do not, we will find one. For clients who are comfortable with technology, we will work with you on a virtual basis no matter where you are located, by utilizing secure online screen sharing sessions and conference calls. I am a fee-only financial planner who helps people of all income levels achieve their goals and obtain peace of mind over their finances. I founded Clark Financial Planning Services LLC in 2014 and I serve clients in Parkland FL, Boca Raton FL, Coconut Creek FL, Coral Springs FL, Fort Lauderdale FL and throughout all of South Florida. I had a wonderful 28-year career in the high technology industry starting out in electronics, then becoming a software engineer, and later a technical manager leading software development teams. Although I thoroughly enjoyed my previous career, personal financial planning and investing have also been my hobbies and passion for over 25 years, and I felt drawn to turning this passion into a career where I can help people achieve their personal and financial goals. I started investing and planning for the future when I signed up for my employer’s 401(k) plan in 1985 when I was 24 years old. Ever since then, I have been learning about investing and personal financial planning because I found it enjoyable and fun, but also because I wanted to have more choices in my life as I got older. To me money is not about getting more of it just so you can increase your lifestyle and buy more things but rather, it is about giving you more choices in life so that you can reach the goals and dreams you have for your family, your business, and yourself, and ultimately have peace of mind and security. When my parents became ill in 2011, they asked me to help them with their investments and other financial affairs. At that time, I was on a sabbatical from my previous career evaluating what I wanted to do next. That experience with my parents became the catalyst for me to focus on becoming a professional financial planner and advisor so I can help other people reach their personal and financial goals, and be there to help them through life’s transitions. I earned my Certificate in Financial Planning from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. I also hold an Associate Degree in Electronics Engineering and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science. As a financial planner, I focus heavily on making sure my clients are saving a sufficient amount of their gross income towards retirement whether retirement is 10 years away or 40 years away. In addition, I want to make sure my clients have sufficient emergency savings to cover everyday events, such as the car breaking down or the air conditioner needing to be replaced. Then of course, there is the second level of emergency savings that needs to be in place to handle bigger life events, such as finding yourself suddenly unemployed or ill, and unable to work for a while. Naturally, the list just keeps going on from here. Because of my profession, you might get the impression that all I think about is money and believe it is more important than all other things. Well, the answer is yes and no. I do think the most important thing you owe yourself and your family is to put the proper foundation in place to help secure your present and future financial well-being. I believe it is your responsibility to act as a steward of your money, oversee it, and manage it well. However, the other equally important thing in life is to enjoy it every day, to feel it, to live it, and experience it. Do not let all of the moments slip away with you being absent either mentally or physically from the world around you. I know, this all sounds like touchy feely stuff, and for the most part, it is. But the touchy feely stuff is what makes us human and we all really do need it, whether we want to admit it or not. Jimmy V died within a few months of giving that speech. When I read his story and watched the speech on YouTube, it really moved me. I started to think about it more, and I concluded that laughing, thinking, and crying every day are truly noble things to strive for and it will make me a better person if I do these things. Now to me crying does not mean that you literally have to cry every day, but rather it means to experience a serious emotion every day. It might be a tear in your eye when your little girl tells you she does not want you to go on that business trip today, or feeling empathy for someone you know or heard about who is going through a difficult time. When it comes to laughing, we all need to do more of that, and while doings so, we need to be able to laugh at ourselves and learn how not to take ourselves so seriously. When it comes to thinking, well we do that every day in our jobs of course, but I believe Jimmy V was probably referring to deeper thought. I found this poem to be inspirational. I keep a copy in my office and I read it occasionally to put myself into deeper thought, and to help stay grounded. I hope you get something out of this poem and at a minimum; it causes you to think more deeply about life and your place in the world. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.