I’ve been surprised by a lot of things as a financial adviser. One of the biggest surprises has ended up playing a critical role in my development: the process of self-examination.
It has mattered both professionally and personally, and it should to you too. Yet hardly anyone openly talks about the need to get really clear with ourselves in an attempt to understand why do we do what we do with our money. And this avoidance is an enormous mistake.
But it’s also an error we can correct any time we want by getting clear about our values. Asking a few, simple questions can help reveal what matters most:
– Why is money important to you?
– Why do you spend the way you do?
– Why do you invest the way you do?
These questions help reveal what I call our financial values, or maybe even more accurately, our life values. If you don’t have answers to these questions, dig deeper. For instance, if you don’t understand why your money is invested in a certain way, ask more questions. Whose advice are you taking? What advice have you ignored, and why? The best investments for you need to be based on your own goals and values.
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