All of us have a subconscious financial bucket list of things we want to accomplish. After having meetings with thousands of clients collectively over the years, we have a pretty good sample size of the biggest checklist items people would include on their financial to-do list. Now it’s Chad’s turn to share reflections on his 40th birthday. While Mike looked back highlighting lessons he’d learned, Chad looks forward describing the biggest bucket list items people hope to accomplish within their personal finances. Everyone has different things that they worry about or financial goals they are trying to achieve. On this episode, we explore what really gets people excited about financial planning.
Most people have entertained thoughts about retiring early. It is a dream for most when starting out. The retire early movement is about having the financial freedom to spend your time as you choose. To retire early you need to understand what you spend, what you save, and how your investment portfolio should be allocated as a result. But many people don’t realize what they’re spending. Important points when considering an early retirement is finding the best way to withdraw your money from a tax perspective, having a disciplined investment strategy, and planning how to best pay for health insurance. Having a plan for these will help you decide if you can retire early.
How do you balance delaying gratification and celebrating achievements? Many people pencil in becoming a millionaire near the top of their bucket list. Despite being an arbitrary number, it’s one that is concrete and still a significant symbol of consistent savings over a working career. If you’ve ever read The Millionaire Next Door, you know the simplest way to reach this goal is to live below your means. By delaying gratification you can invest more in your future. Sometimes you may miss opportunities but your rewards will come later. Try to sustain your momentum by celebrating milestones along the way. According to the book, The Power of Moments, elevating smaller milestones on the journey can speed up your progress.
Not sure the Bucket List would exist if it weren’t for vacations. Thinking, planning, and sharing the trips we hope to take gives color to financial planning in unforgettable ways. Are you able to spend whatever you want on a vacation without guilt or worry? Steward Butterfield, the creator of Flickr and Slack, shared a great definition of levels of wealth related to vacations in a recent episode of the podcast How I Built This. Many clients rely on a financial advisor to give an objective third-party view of how much they should spend on a vacations. When talking through this with clients, we set up a customized yearly cash-flow plan that helps you see the longer-term effects of your vacation dreams. As we discussed in previous episodes, lasting experiences hold great value of their own, especially when planned for appropriately.
Searching for security creates a wave of emotions when dealing with money. For many, this manifests in the desire to pay off their mortgage. Many feel that true financial independence can only come from living completely debt free. But before you write that check to pay off the mortgage you may want to think twice. Is there value in having a mortgage? Could it be a good financial move to keep a mortgage even if you can pay it off? You have liquidity and equity even if you do carry a mortgage. Paying off a mortgage is an important level of security for many. If you are going to pay it off, you need to think first where the money will come from.
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