You are only on this planet once and get just one go-round at this thing called life.
We should all focus on living the best version of our lives for ourselves and for those around us. Many people think financial planning is all about being rich, but I believe that is true purpose is to help you live a richer life.
Money is just the fuel to enable you to live the life you want. Yes, you may desire more money but I wager this is so you can do more of the stuff that you want to be able to do. I don’t believe anyone on their deathbed is going to sit there wishing they had more money in their bank account.
Our focus should be on working out what a fulfilling life looks like and then how to use money to live that life.
The challenge is working out what really matters to you. What do you want to spend your time doing? Who do you want to spend time with? What experiences do you want to have? How do you want to allocate your money to do these things?
Are you clear on your dreams and aspirations, now and for the future? What is on your bucket list? What will you have regretted not doing if you never get the chance? When you look back on your life in your later years, what do you want to have done?
Once you know this you can decide what to do with your money to help you live the life of your dreams. It may be that you need to invest money so that you can work part from 50 and travel the world. Perhaps it is building your business so you can sell it and do whatever the hell you want. Maybe it is getting that dream house for you and your family or that holiday home so you can walk on the beach every morning.
Financial planning isn’t just about investment returns and finances. It is about aligning your use of money to help you live the life you want. View your money decisions from the return on life it offers, whether that is spending it now or investing for the future.
We are only here once so let’s live the best version of our lives. We are lucky to live in a world of abundant opportunities and to be able to design the life we really want. We just need to get clear on what that means to us.
Everyone’s version of what living richly will mean to them and what their ideal lifestyle is. All that matters is living a life that matters to you.
What does living richly mean to you?
Check out the parable about the Mexican fisherman to see what I mean about building your life and money decisions around what matters to you.
