New England Patriots. Photo: Joseph Sohm, Shutterstock.

This month marks yet another Super Bowl win for the New England Patriots. In a sport that prides itself on competitive balance and parity, one team continues to absolutely dominate. So, what can a lawyer like you learn from the best in the football business as it relates to your financial life?

No substitute for a good game plan. Coach Bill Belichick is the greatest coach in NFL history and is probably most admired for his legendary game plans. He is a genius at figuring out how to take away what the other team does best. Case in point: The LA Rams prefer to run the ball as the foundation of their offense, averaging 142 rushing yards per game heading into the Super Bowl. However, Belichick's defense limited the Rams to a measly 62 yards rushing in the Super Bowl. Even if you don't care about football, you must admire the precise execution of a brilliantly designed game plan.

So, if retirement is the big game in your financial life, how well-prepared are you to win it? What are the key ingredients in a solid retirement game plan?  It starts with a target for how long you plan to work. Some law firms allow for great flexibility in terms of retirement age, while other firms have some version of mandatory retirement. Setting a target age for when you would like to retire is the first step to helping you map out a plan for how to make your money last for the long run.

Next, you must get a clear handle on your average monthly spending, so you know how much it costs you to enjoy your desired lifestyle. Once you know your needed spending level you can begin to calculate how much you need to save between now and your desired retirement age in order to sustain your preferred lifestyle until your 90s.

Lawyers create their wealth by year-over-year compensation growth, not through selling a company and enjoying a life-changing liquidity event. So, you need to come up with an annual after-tax savings plan and tie that to your compensation cycle so you know how much you will save from your salary, bonus and distributions (for partners).

You also need to build a portfolio of investments that aligns with your risk tolerance and return expectations. Find the right mix between stocks and bonds that enables you to sleep well at night and have enough growth potential in the portfolio to allow you to consistently outpace inflation. Once you find this appropriate asset allocation stick with it and resist the temptation to trade in and out of the market since that type of “market timing” strategy almost never works. A successful, secure retirement will not naturally happen on its own, it takes some solid game planning.

Be a value buyer. Over the years, the Patriots have mastered the art of creative contract structuring and the ability to find solid players at a discount. They understand that in a world governed by a salary cap they can't amass a roster full of high-priced super stars and expect to keep that roster intact for the long run. In order to have sustained success they must find solid contributors at reasonable prices.

The same is true when it comes to your investing. You must remember that the performance of your investments over time has everything to do with what you paid for the investments in the first place. Value investing is the very simple concept of buying quality investments at a discount to their intrinsic value. Think of it as buying $1 worth of assets for 85 cents. This type of investing may not be as exciting as buying the high-priced growth stock that gets all the attention from the media, but over time it works better.

In fact, according to research from mutual fund company Dimensional Fund Advisors, from 1928 to 2017, underpriced “value” stocks have averaged 3.6 percent higher returns than the higher-priced and often higher profile growth stocks. This isn't to say that growth stocks don't have a place in your portfolio, the point is that over time it pays to pay attention to what you pay for your investments.

Don't forget about defense. As the saying goes, offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships. Belichick is a defensive mastermind, and that prowess was on display against the Rams, holding them to a record-low 3 points.

For lawyers, a few defensive plays are wise to keep top-of-mind. First, fortunately many law firms offer solid long-term disability insurance programs. This is great news and hopefully your firm is in the camp of offering this attractive benefit. However, often even the most generous long-term disability insurance packages are not enough to replace all your monthly income that would be lost if you were to become impaired and unable to practice law. Take the time to talk with your insurance professional to make sure you have sufficient long-term disability insurance in place so that you don't have to significantly diminish your lifestyle should you be unable to practice law for some period.

Next, make sure that you are properly covered on the personal liability or “umbrella” insurance front. Maybe you are fortunate enough to own a lake house or a jet ski or other “toys.” Make sure that you have enough umbrella insurance in place to protect your net worth should you ever become the defendant in a law suit.

Finally, it's all too common for the “cobbler's kids have no shoes” syndrome to be true of lawyers when it comes to their estate plan. Having worked with many lawyers over the years I've noticed that lawyers are often so busy solving other peoples' issues that they forget to take the time to make sure their own bases are covered. Assess your own situation. Do you have the basic estate planning documents in place: will, revocable living trust, powers of attorney for health care and property? If not, reach out to one of your estate planning lawyer friends and get these basic documents in place and buttoned up. You will sleep better knowing that you have paid the necessary attention to the defensive side of the game.

Any time an organization has unusual success for a sustained period it's worth taking notice and seeing what we can learn from them. Hopefully these few suggestions will help you win more games in your financial life.

Important disclosure: Investments involve risk and past performance may not be indicative of future results. Balasa Dinverno Foltz LLC (BDF) investment and wealth management strategy recommendations may not be profitable, suitable or equal historical performance. BDF's current written disclosure statement discussing advisory services and fees is available for review at www.BDFLLC.com or upon request.

Justin Peacock is an owner and wealth manager at BDF, a fee-only wealth management firm based near Chicago with assets under management in excess of $4 billion. BDF serves clients nationwide and Justin provides financial planning services specifically tailored to addressing the distinct needs of lawyers. He can be reached at [email protected].