What is Financial Life Planning?

What is Financial Life Planning?

Financial Life Planning is a holistic process that puts your interests first and

focuses on increasing your sense of financial well-being and life satisfaction.

Initially, this process will help you to clarify your values, priorities, circumstances,

and aspirations; and then guide you in defining and designing your unique

version of the “rich life.” In addition, Financial Life Planning will increase your

understanding of the habits and attitudes that will facilitate your financial and

life goals and support successful life transitions.

Why Choose a Financial Life Planning Advisor?

Because of the unpredictability of life and the complexity of financial markets, it

is important to work with a financial advisor who will help you to achieve your

financial and life goals. And, it is essential to select an advisor who will take the

time to truly get to know you and to understand your concerns and your

dreams.

Therefore, in addition to traditional discussions of assets and net worth, these

unconventional advisors are asking their clients, “What will bring meaning and

purpose to your financial life?” If you are among those individuals disillusioned

with the results of “using your life to make money,” you will find the opposite

mind set of “using your money to make a life” to be both liberating and

compelling.

Life Transitions

Life is a continuum—an accumulation of experiences that makes us who we are and

influences how we view ourselves and the world around us. As we review these

experiences, we realize that our lives have been permeated with change. As ironic as it

may seem, change is the only constant in our lives. Therefore, how we respond to and

initiate change can have everything to do with how well we manage our lives and the

successes we experience. Virginia Satir wrote: “Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It

is the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.”

We can’t stop change, but we can often do a better job of anticipating and preparing

for change. How we respond to change will have a profound effect on the choices

we make, the opportunities we seek, and the quality of life we experience. So too can

our willingness to initiate change improve our lives and the lives of others.

William Bridges, author and preeminent authority on change and managing change,

defines transition as the psychological process people go through to come to terms

with a new situation. Therefore, overcoming challenges and taking advantage of

opportunities are key elements of making successful transitions throughout life’s journey.

It is also important to understand that making successful transitions requires both

practical strategies and emotional fortitude. We all encounter both expected and

unexpected changes in every area of life. However, those who are resilient are better

able to navigate each change, bounce back from disappointments, and welcome

new experiences.

In addition, because nearly all of life’s transitions have a financial tether, it is important

to consider how we can increase financial resilience. From a practical standpoint,

financial resilience requires a foundation of basic financial knowledge and a strategy

for building financial security. From an emotional standpoint, financial resilience requires

self-confidence. This is achieved by identifying fears and behaviors in regard to money,

and by working to understand and overcome the underlying issues.

On a personal level, your life satisfaction will increase as you continually seek to respond

to change in healthier and more productive ways. In the world of music, the “passing

note” is a note that is not part of a particular chord, but is placed between two chords

to provide a smooth melodic transition from one to the other. Likewise, it is important for

you to recognize ways that you can act as a “passing note” in your own life in order to

facilitate successful transitions.