HOOVER – Greg Powell of Fi Plan Partners asked the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce the same question he asks his clients.

“Do you want your money to achieve your goals and dreams or outperform the S&P 500?” Powell said at the Chamber luncheon on Thursday, Dec. 5, at Hoover Country Club.

No one has ever answered that they had rather their wealth outperform the S&P 500, Powell said, so financial decisions should focus more on people’s individualized goals.

Powell stressed patience with investments during a time period of unrest, politically and in the markets.

“I’ve been doing this for 30-plus years, and I’ve been through a lot of markets,” Powell said about guiding clients through recessions and scares such as Y2K. “I still believe in the American dream. I believe in it strongly.”

Powell developed a “financial house” model, which serves as a “blueprint for financial growth and security,” while drawing a house with his then-5-year-old daughter.

The house includes “rooms” for financial opportunity, retirement fulfillment, legacy, lifestyle and more; so that people can develop a plan for their money.

“You wouldn’t give a builder your money who said, ‘I can build you a house without a blueprint,’” Powell said.

Prior to Powell’s presentation, Hoover City Administrator Allan Rice talked to attendees about knowing your “why.”

A challenge for working with millennials is their insistence on knowing why things are done, and they are done the way they are.

Rice told a story about workers laying bricks. Each was asked what they were doing. While the first two responded that they were laying bricks or building a wall, the third replied that he was helping build a beautiful cathedral where people would worship, marry, dedicate their children and celebrate other important events for years to come. He understood the “why” of what he was doing, Rice said.

“Are we going to be slaves to our punch list or are we going to remember our passion which leads to our purpose,” Rice said.