Life First. Money Second.
What do you want your life to look like going forward? That’s the goal! Once you know the answer to that question you can start working towards creating the financial plan to secure that life.
The key point is that life is not about money. After all, the really important things in life can’t be bought. However, life is a whole lot easier when we don’t have to worry about money!
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a financial adviser over the last 13 years is that most people let their money control them, instead of it being the other way around. Everyone has different income levels and different challenges in using that income to meet their needs, but everyone also has an enormous degree of control over what they do with their money.
As we go through the coronavirus pandemic, it presents the perfect opportunity to spend some time thinking about what you really want your life to look like. Without that vision, spending on whatever interests you right now becomes the norm. And that is a recipe for long-term financial regret.
In the short term, many of us spend money on things that advertisers convince us will give us short-term happiness. Without a sense of the longer term, many of us are far too easily parted with our money with no real concept of the long-term implications.
And the longer this goes on, the bigger the consequences on what life will look like many years from now.
So, spend a moment pondering the following:
If you could build what you wanted your ideal life to look like in 5, 10 , 20 year’s time, what would it look like?
I’ll bet that most of the things you really want out of life don’t involve the sorts of things that the world is trying to get us to spend money on. How fancy a house do you really need? How expensive a car do you really need to drive? How many clothes can you wear?
I’ll bet that what you want more than material possessions is to feel financially secure and free from the stress of money?
Once you come to the realisation of what you want your life to be like, you may find that you will think differently about the way you spend the money you are working so hard to earn. It’s about making sure that you’re getting what you want out of life, rather than spending your hard earned helping someone else achieve their dream life.
The truth is that money allows you to secure the life you want to live. Everyone has their own unique answer as to what they want their life to look like.
So, the question then becomes, what do you need to be doing now to create the future you desire? Are you doing those things?
This is the whole purpose of a financial plan! We don’t know exactly what the future holds, so plans are not rigid, they need to be adapted as circumstances change. But if you never get around to planning something in the first place, not a lot tends to happen.
Alice in Wonderland tells us everything we need to know:
One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” was his response. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”
This is what often happens with our short-term financial decisions. With no plan of where we want to go, spending on things that don’t really matter to us becomes easy to justify. We can find ourselves a long way down a path that is actually leading us away from what it is we really want in life.
Most of have some big dreams for the future, but those dreams will cost money.
Life first. What are your dreams?
Money second. What are you doing today to make those dreams a reality?
Give yourself the best chance of that happening by creating a financial plan. There’s never been a better time to get started!
Cheers,
Daniel
If you’d like to find out more about how INDEPENDENT financial advice could help you manage cash flow, pay off the mortgage faster, get the most out of super and invest wisely, then get in touch on 0411 484 464 or head to wealthtrain.com.au.
Daniel McGregor is the man behind Wealth Train and is a member of the Independent Financial Advisers Association of Australia. This advice may not be suitable to you because it contains general advice which does not take into consideration any of your personal circumstances. All strategies and information provided are general advice only.
Daniel McGregor and Wealth Train are authorised representatives of Independent Financial Advice and Education AFSL 520963