Most financial advisors will tell you that emotions and investing are two things best kept in isolation. Emotions cloud your judgment, they say. Emotions provoke irrational behavior and have no place among the pie charts and annualized returns on your financial plan. Best to compartmentalize your feelings and save them for your therapy appointments. We believe that the idea you’re your emotions should remain separate from money and investing is a myth.
As advisors, we believe that expertise and empathy both have a role to play in money matters. Anyone who focuses on one at the expense of the other is presenting a false choice. Further, we have seen that self-reflection leads to self-knowledge, which leads to self-confidence, which in turn leads to better decisions and timely implementation. It’s not just about feeling good. That’s important, of course, and we want as much of that for ourselves and our clients as possible. But we’ve also seen that embracing our emotional sides and having those pivotal conversations leads to better financial outcomes.
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 clarify your values, priorities, circumstances and aspirations; and then guide you in defining and designing your unique version of the “rich life.” Not only that, 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.
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.
We encourage you to consider working with a financial advisor who shares this philosophy and who is willing to tackle these issues with you. There are a range of “discovery” methods and tools that advisors use to frame the process and the discussion. We are big fans of Money Quotient, a non-profit that offers financial advisors tools and training to help and inspire clients to look inward to maximize resources and live purposeful lives. You can find such an advisor here – check it out!
www.moneyquotient.org/advisor-search/
