Much is talked about in the financial services industry these days about reaching your financial goals. Firms that used to only act as stock-trading platforms are now offering advice on how to help you reach your financial goals. The same goes for firms that used to only sell insurance products.
We, too, firmly believe that the healthiest way to develop your financial plan is by prioritizing your finances in terms of the goals you want to achieve in life. After all, it means you’re beginning with the end in mind, and we all understand the logic of trying to control only those things you can control in an attempt to live the life you want to live.
What’s not being discussed in the financial services industry these days is how to achieve your financial purpose. Your financial purpose goes much deeper than your financial goals. It’s about your ultimate life purpose, as well as the legacy you want to leave behind. It’s about structuring your finances, so they become a tool to help you achieve your ultimate purpose in life. It’s a very personal discovery that takes time and thought, but I’ll offer you a way to begin identifying and pursuing your financial purpose.
You can get started by asking these four questions:
1. Pretend to wave a magic wand over your financial situation, what would you change?
If you have several changes you’d like to make, you might prioritize them. If there’s little you want to change, then what’s most important to keep the same?
2. What would it look like from the outside?
What would you have? Who would be involved? What would you have achieved?
3. What would it look like on the inside?
What would it feel like? What emotions would you feel? What desires would be fulfilled? You might stay with this question for some time.
4. Lastly, what do you need from someone you trust to help you get there?
This could be a trusted advisor or simply a caring friend or family member.
This exercise is a wonderful way of aligning your financial plan to your desires and purpose in life, those important things which actually have nothing to do with money. This goes beyond financial goals and financial planning and gets down to the heart and soul of what money really is—a gift and a resource. We all know we can’t take money with us one day when we’re gone, but by going through an exercise like this you can create a lasting legacy that goes beyond your financial plan. This is your FINANCIAL PURPOSE.
Contact Southwestern Investment Group today to learn how our team can assist you in achieving your financial purpose.
MICHAEL J. PURIFOY is Executive Vice President at Southwestern Investment Group. Learn more about Michael by reading his bio here.
