How to Make Better Financial Decisions in 2022 – Part II
A 1-minute read!
Part II in our blog series "How to Make Better Financial Decisions in 2022."
Maximizing Wealth vs. Maximizing Life
When it comes to building wealth, everyone is eager to find the best scenario i.e., the best way to find monetary success. It’s easy to get caught up analyzing numbers and “what-ifs” from spreadsheets in our search to find the most optimal way to manage our finances.
While a noble effort, we will often find that choosing the “best” approach will not give us much peace of mind. Last week we learned about our Totem Pole of Importance. Now it is time to go back and assess what we value most. The key is to find the balance between maximizing our wealth and living out a fulfilling life. It is important to weigh the pros and cons and decide what choices enhance our finances while providing us fulfillment and peace of mind.
Turn Your Life Philosophy into An Action Plan
Decisions should positively impact our lifestyle both now and in the future. We often spend our resources (time and money) on things that don’t fulfill us and may actually hurt us. When analyzing a financial decision, we should ask ourselves the following questions,
- Will this choice support my dreams and values?
- In what ways does this decision impact me or my family in our future?
- Will this decision promote our well-being down the road?
These kinds of questions help us give your best and provide additional context for the many ways our choices impact our life. The goal here is to align our values with our financial actions.
Take Baby Steps
Making successful strategic, mindful decisions will change the way we carry out our personal mission, financial decisions, and long-term financial and lifestyle goals. Once we’ve established our values and goals, we need to make consistent micro-decisions that support those big-picture decisions.
This can include setting our own personal boundaries like making a monthly budget and sticking to it, even when there is an amazing sale or deal available that doesn’t fit into our plan. It also means to avoid spending money on non-priorities, creating a concrete strategy around our debt repayment, in addition to adding intention to our long-term savings goals like investing a bonus from work or leftover money from our monthly budget.
Once we start to develop these strong financial habits, it will impact the way we approach money and especially how we respond to disruptive trends: our current pandemic, a recession, loss of household income, the death of a family member, or the gain of an inheritance.
Daily well-made micro-decisions is a sure way to help move us toward our goals. These changes also focus our mindset to one decision at a time, creating sustainable brain patterns and concrete behavior that affects financial thoughts and actions for the long-term.
Ready to make better financial decisions and attain your personal goals? Mountain Pass Planning is an independent, subscription based Financial Planning company. Let’s work together to prioritize, organize, and strategically align your finances with your values. We want to help you make better financial decisions, gain more control of your finances, and design a more intentional way of living one decision at a time. Give us a call today at (845) 592-0789!