Inspiring Conversations with Peter Richon of Richon Planning

Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Richon

Hi Peter, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in North Raleigh with my younger brother and mother, a Wake County teacher. I can actually trace my career back to moving to North Carolina as a child. When I moved here, I obviously didn’t have a whole lot of friends immediately, but I did have a radio. I used to call up the local music radio station and ask to be a “Guest DJ” by introducing an upcoming song. Then, I would record myself on the radio. After a while, I was able to edit together highlight tapes of me being a radio DJ. Moving through school, I took radio, television, and film production classes from middle school through college. When I got out of school, I thought I was going to be a music and movie producer but, I ended up getting my first “real” job in talk radio. As my experience and skill set widened, I was soon running several different News/Talk stations simultaneously. I was the Program Director/Operations Manager for three AM stations and an online streaming station (before anyone knew what “streaming” or “podcasting” was), and I was the morning and afternoon producer for one of the biggest and oldest News/Talk stations in North Carolina. I was also hosting numerous financial programs on a weekly basis. I would ask question and learn more about money and investing for several hours each week. I also had the opportunity to run the board for Dave Ramsey once, as he toured the country. It was through these experiences that I realized I had a love, understanding, and appreciation for the financial world, and that not everyone was getting the solid financial advice they deserve.

In my mid-twenties, before “The Great Recession”, I made a career change. I first got a position working for one of the financial firms I had been hosting and producing radio shows for, then got my insurance license, and eventually my securities license. Over the next 5 years I worked to become the best advisor I could be. I became the vice-president of the financial firm I was working for. I was meeting with most of the clients while constructing, implementing, and monitoring the plans for their retirement. I had also hired and trained a team to support both the financial and retirement planning, and the radio production services that firm offered.

In 2013, I formed my own company, Richon Insurance Agency. We provided clients with additional needed insurance coverage and services, mostly which my wife Amber facilitated as District Manager/Broker Developer focusing on health insurance and supplemental insurance benefits. By 2015, due to a difference in values and long-term vision, I knew it was time to go out on my own. I had learned many valuable lessons about both what I did, and did not want to be as an advisor while helping to guide my clients’ financial stability, well-being, and planning for their financial future.

I am the founder, principle advisor, and planning strategist of Richon Planning LLC. We are a full-service financial, investment, and retirement planning firm. I am a Series 65 Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) and a Master Registered Financial Consultant (MRFC®). I hold a fiduciary responsibility to my client’s best interest as the highest priority when managing investments or making recommendations. I especially enjoy the role of responsibility I play in assisting to formulate, implement, and achieve each client’s own vision of retirement, including important financial goals like growth, preservation, income, tax reduction, and legacy planning. After years away from radio, but having continued to follow his teachings over the years, in 2018 I circled back to Dave Ramsey and proudly became a Dave Ramsey SmartVestor Pro®. In 2019, I authored the book “Understanding Your Investment Options” to help savers and investors better understand the variety of financial tools they have available, as well as how and when each tool should be utilized. I still host the “Planning Matters” radio show & podcast.

For the past 18 years, I have helped manage clients’ financial affairs, as well as mentored some of the nation’s leading advisors. I strive to provide education on the importance of planning and on specific, effective strategies for wealth management. I have helped introduce financial education courses in the local high school curriculum and have spoken in area schools to students, parents, and teachers on numerous occasions about furthering financial and life skills for the youth. I have been a featured financial commentator and contributor on over 150 radio stations across the country, where I have provided regular guidance and insight on the strategies savers and investors should be implementing to achieve their financial and retirement goals.

Richon Planning’s mission is to help optimize retirement for our clients by identifying opportunities and protecting what’s most important to them.

When not serving clients, I enjoy spending time with my beautiful wife Amber, who not only works side-by-side at Richon Planning, but has also formed an influential and motivational women’s business networking group, and my son Braxten, who at 15 is already a conscientious saver, a straight-A student, a pianist, a wrestler, and the starting pitcher on his school and travel baseball teams.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The values I have were formed through watching good role models face difficult financial circumstances, and through a variety of my own real-life “learning opportunities”. Opportunities can often present themselves through making mistakes, giving us the experience to learn and the opportunity to improve.

My mother was a single-parent teacher. It was not always easy to make ends meet but, she was also very careful with her money, and taught me how to pay bills and balance a check book at a young age. We were not poor, but she did have to be careful with money, and instilled those values in me.

Still, I made my fair share of financial mistakes, especially through college, where I managed to rack up five-figure credit card debt before graduating. It took me years to work my way out of that. It was a pretty painful process and, while in it, led to a sense that it was very difficult to get ahead in life. After graduation, I was reminded about the pitfalls of debt, the difficult side of the “have-it-now, pay-for-it-later” lifestyle, and especially of paying off debt when “life” happens after you have already bitten off more than you can chew. Those lessons stuck with me. Once that was behind me, I realized how much the financial discipline my mom had taught me was truly a benefit in life.

I certainly did not plan to become a financial advisor as a kid. Radio, television, or movie production were my dream. It was real life that taught me the lessons and importance of intentional discipline and proactive financial planning. I have been both a student and teacher of those lessons ever since.

These days, when planning for others’ retirement, there are many challenges, both known and unknown that I have to make sure people are financially prepared for.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our firm’s mission is to help people “Identify opportunities and protect what’s important”. We feel people deserve to feel confident amount their money and finances, and they can, given good information and education. We strive to provide that.

These days, access to the market and the ability to invest has become a commodity. Sound financial guidance on how to utilize that access effectively however, is still uncommon and provides great value. Investments are tools. A good advisor will teach you when, where, and how to use a tool, what that tool’s job is, and what that tool is not meant for.

Even if you have all the tools, you still need a blueprint. Many people, even many advisors, only have one tool and no blueprint.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I grew up in Raleigh. I have visited many other places. I like traveling and visiting but, I have never seen anywhere I thought was better to live and raise a family. We have good jobs, good wages, the population is well-educated. There is low crime. We have good schools, good universities, good healthcare, and good diversity. It really is a fantastic place to be in the world.

…Too many people are starting to recognize that but, you can’t stop growth. That also is good for this area.

Pricing:

• There are different styles of “costs” for financial advisors. I can do all of the models available.
• Fee-Only
• Fee-based
• Commission-based
• It depends on what a client needs financially and wants from a relationship.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.richonplanning.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richonplanning
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RichonPlanning
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/richonplanning
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichOnPlanning
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@richonplanning
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/richon-planning-fuquay-varina
• Other: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-planning-matters-radio-85739126/
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/planning-matters-radio/id1438252340