Holistic Financial Advice: The Secret to Keeping More of Your Money
Most people assume financial advice is all about investing—picking the right funds, managing risk, and growing wealth. And while investing is very important, it’s just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to a truly comprehensive financial plan.
New research by behavioral economist Shlomo Benartzi, published in the Financial Planning Review (2025), reveals that holistic financial advice—guidance that covers not just investments, but also savings, debt, and insurance—can be worth an average of $4,384 per year per household. It’s the equivalent for most people of a 7.5% salary boost, just from making smarter financial decisions.
And the best part? These financial gains don’t require taking more risk or working harder. They simply come from making better decisions in areas that most people overlook.
So, what’s causing these hidden financial leaks?
The Three Big Money Drains Benartzi’s Research Uncovered
Benartzi’s study highlights three major areas where people are quietly losing money: retirement savings, debt, and insurance. Each of these categories offers “sure wins”—financial opportunities with guaranteed upside and zero downside—that most people miss.
1. Retirement Savings: The Free Money People Leave Behind
Imagine being handed free money and choosing not to take it. That’s essentially what’s happening to 40% of older workers who fail to take full advantage of their 401(k) employer match.
Even couples who both have access to 401(k) plans frequently make inefficient contribution decisions, often failing to prioritize the plan with the better employer match—a mistake that costs an average of $700 per year.
And this isn’t an investing issue—it’s an optimization issue. With the right guidance, these easy wins could put thousands of dollars back into people’s retirement accounts, with zero additional effort on their part.
2. Debt: The Silent Wealth Killer
For most people, debt decisions matter far more than stock market returns. Why? Because the wrong debt structure can cost thousands in unnecessary interest payments.
1 in 5 homeowners with good credit fail to refinance their mortgage when rates drop, costing them $2,632 per year on average.
People juggling multiple credit cards often pay off balances in the wrong order, leading to hundreds—sometimes thousands—of dollars in avoidable interest costs.
A well-structured debt plan could be the difference between building wealth and treading water financially—but most people never realize they’re making costly mistakes.
3. Insurance: Overpaying for Peace of Mind
Choosing the wrong insurance isn’t just a financial leak—it’s a flood. Yet, most people don’t have the time or patience to sift through complex policy details, so they default to high premiums and low deductibles, assuming they’re making the safest choice.
The result? 61% of employees choose suboptimal health insurance plans, often paying far more than necessary. The average cost of this mistake? $510 per year—and that’s just for health insurance. Similar inefficiencies exist in life, disability, and long-term care insurance.
The irony? People overpay for coverage they don’t need while leaving themselves exposed in areas where they actually do need protection. And they rarely realize it until it’s too late.
So, What’s the Solution?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: The average person doesn’t have time to optimize all these financial decisions.
Between work, family, and actually enjoying life, no one wants to spend their weekends comparing insurance policies, calculating efficient 401(k) contributions, or tracking mortgage rate fluctuations.
That’s where holistic financial planning comes in.
Benartzi’s research makes one thing clear: Traditional financial advice that only addresses investments (often done poorly with high-priced funds) is leaving too much value on the table.
True wealth management isn’t just about growing your money—it’s about keeping more of what you earn by eliminating inefficiencies in your entire financial life.
And the best part? Once these decisions are optimized, you don’t have to think about them again.
Imagine Having:
✅ A retirement plan that ensures you’re capturing every available employer dollar.
✅ A debt strategy that minimizes interest costs without you lifting a finger.
✅ An insurance plan that gives you full protection—without overpaying for things you don’t need.
That’s what a holistic financial advisor does. Not just managing investments, but taking the entire financial burden off your plate so you can spend less time worrying about money—and more time actually enjoying it.
Final Thoughts: The Hidden Cost of Not Having a Holistic Plan
While regulators often focus on the cost of financial advice, Benartzi’s research suggests that the real problem is the cost of not getting advice.
For too long, financial planning has been treated as a luxury for the ultra-wealthy. But in reality, lower- and middle-income households stand to benefit the most from holistic advice—because small financial improvements in these areas have an outsized impact on their overall wealth.
So the question isn’t, "Do you need financial advice?"
It’s, "How much is not having holistic financial advice costing you?"
If you’d rather enjoy your time than spend it stressing over optimizing your finances, it might be time to work with an advisor who handles all of this for you.
Because at the end of the day, money is a tool—not a to-do list.
Holistic Planning at IronFjord Wealth Management
At IronFjord Wealth Management, holistic planning isn’t just an add-on—it’s the foundation of how we manage investments, optimize savings, and structure financial decisions to work together.
Unlike traditional advisors who focus solely on investments, we integrate every piece of your financial life into our planning process—from tax efficiency and debt management to retirement strategies and insurance optimization.
That means you get more than just an investment portfolio—you get a complete financial plan that helps you keep more of what you earn while still growing your wealth over time.
That’s not to say we don’t love the investing side too—we absolutely do! We geek out over our low-cost, in-house portfolios. But we also know that great investments need a rock-solid financial foundation to truly succeed.
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