Paul and Ashley Silber, Thrivent clients in Lake Elmo, Minn., are high school sweethearts. They met their junior year of high school through a mutual friend and in their words “fell in love doing show choir together.” They got married in 2009 and five years later expanded their family with the first of three children.
It was at that time Ashley’s mom encouraged them to take steps to protect their family. Paul and Ashley connected with a local financial advisor who not only addressed their need for life insurance, but helped create a comprehensive plan for their family.
Their plan considered their current state, priorities, goals and dreams, and timelines. “It’s important to start working on your future as soon as possible. And that doesn't mean you have to have a lot of assets or that you must have your debt paid down. It’s just an opportunity to have a conversation with someone about what’s important to you,” Ashley says.
And what was important to the Silbers was putting protection in place for their growing family. They accomplished that through life insurance. As their income increased over the years, they added additional coverage. And, as time went on, they started saving for higher education for the kids and prioritizing their own retirement.
That first meeting with their financial advisor was 10 years ago. A lot has changed in that time, but it’s clear that those initial conversations put Paul and Ashley on a path for the future.
“We love being able to look toward the future and know that we’re taking active steps toward providing stability for the family going forward,” Paul says.
Addressing a mountain of debt
When Paul went to grad school and Ashley was expecting their second child, they started evaluating the amount of cash going out the door each month. They both had public and private student loans from their undergraduate degrees and wanted to focus on
“We came to our financial advisor and said, ‘we’re really gonna get serious about paying off this student loan debt,” Ashley recalls. So with their financial advisor’s help, they made some adjustments to their financial strategy and created a plan to tackle their debt.
The couple tracked every single expense for three years. With the adjustments they made to their retirement savings combined with expense tracking, they were able to pay down their student loans. They sacrificed a lot in order to do that, but they say it was worth it.
Building an emergency fund
Before they started paying off their student loans, the Silbers talked with their financial advisor about creating an
Having a financial safety net like an emergency fund helped put Paul and Ashley’s minds at ease. “It really helped us sleep at night knowing that if something happened that was catastrophic or an emergency, we could cover it,” Ashley explains.
Deciding to create an emergency fund may not be the most exciting way to spend your hard-earned dollars. But feeling confident about your financial future starts with these small, meaningful decisions.
Bringing shared values to life
One of the key reasons that Paul and Ashley have continued to work with Thrivent through the past decade is because of Thrivent’s commitment to generosity.
They’ve led
“We love action teams because they’re a tangible, low pressure, inclusive way to get involved and to help your community,” Ashley says. “You don't have to have money to spend, you just give your time. It's such an easy way to engage family, neighbors, coworkers.”
This inspired their oldest daughter to hold a neighbor’s market each spring with some friends. The group makes baked goods and jewelry, and as of last year, dog treats. The kids are committed to giving a portion of their proceeds to charity.
Having worked hard to instill core values like kindness, generosity and helpfulness into their kids, the Silbers are excited to see their children start living out these values and put others’ needs at the forefront. Watching their daughter donate some of the profits of the neighborhood market encourages them that the next generation will make giving back a priority, too.
“I love being able to see our daughter supported and provided with the resources to be generous,” Paul says. “And Thrivent really makes that easy to do.”
Real clients. Real stories.
A path forward
Paul is grateful for the relationship they’ve built with their financial advisor over the years.
“The biggest thing is having someone to talk to,” says Paul. “It’s not something we have to figure out alone. Thrivent has given us a safe space to talk about finances and create a path for the future.”
At Thrivent, we believe you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your values, goals or dreams—or go at it alone. Ashley couldn’t agree more: “Thrivent helped us go from two graduates struggling to pay our bills to addressing some of our concerns and gaining confidence about our future.”
Thrivent’s
