Most of us are lucky enough to have a few days off around Christmas and the New Year.
It’s only when the hamster wheel stops turning that you realise how hard you have to run just to stay on it! However, we dutifully clamber back again on a dark January morning and off we go again.
Many people just keep repeating this cycle, over and over, until they finally retire. They think that stepping off the wheel just isn’t an option because they have bills to pay and a dream to be “financially set” before retiring from work.
These are all persuasive arguments that keep people on the wheel. And the hope is that someday, you’ll be able to stop running and enjoy the fruits of all that hard work.
Unfortunately, more often than not, “someday” never comes. If your focus in your work and in your financial planning is just having enough money, you’ll never feel like you have enough. There’s always another pound to chase, another way to economise so that you can make that pot just a bit bigger.
But for what? Is having more and more money, in and of itself, something that you really value? Does having more make the running on the wheel worth it?
You might think that this “never enough” mentality ends once a person retires. In fact, it just transitions into a new, related worry: “Am I going to run out of money?” Again, that “someday” gets pushed back in favour of more saving, more super-conservative living. You might not be working any more, but you’re still just chasing after more money.
At the end of the day, your money is not the shore you’re sailing for. It’s not the sea you’re sailing on. It’s not even the boat you’re steering.
Your money should be the sail. It should be the tool you use to get where you want to go.
Just like a good sailor learns how to manoeuvre the sails to catch the most wind, aligning what’s most important to you with your financial resources is the key to successful financial planning.
So instead of asking yourself if you have enough money, or if you will run out of money, ask yourself a better question:
Am I living the best life possible with the money I have?
That starts with thinking about what’s really important to you. What are your values?
The people whom you love. The causes that are dear to your heart. The activities that keep you feeling fit and full of energy. The hobbies that put your unique skills to their highest uses. The opportunities for learning and self-discovery that enrich your understanding of the world and of yourself.
We believe that aligning your financial plan with these values is every bit as important as analysing your tax situation or managing your investments.
Come in and see how we can help you plan for your whole life and get more from your money than just more money.
We offer all prospective clients a no-obligation initial meeting with one of our financial planners at our expense, to see if we can be of help to you.
