By David Lamb
I have considered the importance of both physical and emotional health as part of your lifestyle in my recent blogs. This week I’m going to discuss the importance of relationships.
Do you remember all the celebrities who died in 2016? David Bowie, Prince, Mohammad Ali, Terry Wogan and Ronnie Corbett to name a few (I heard a rumour that there were a lot of celebs trying to change their name by deed poll to Keith Richards!)
But out of all of those legends of music, sport and TV, are you aware of any who had a big, lavish funeral? No, me neither.
I think that this is because, once they did not have their health, it didn’t matter what car they drove, how big their house was, how many records they sold or how much money they had in the bank. What mattered was the people around them.
Unfortunately, in this modern world, it is far too easy to lose sight of what is important because there is so much pressure to focus on consumerism, work, the stress of life and money.
My wife is a family lawyer and she sees a lot of business and career focused people who have spent years on building their business, climbing the career ladder and accumulating wealth.
Then, all of a sudden, they find themselves in the divorce process because they forgot why they started out in business or on their careers in the first place; to provide a good lifestyle for their family. And then it is too late.
So how does financial planning fit in with relationships?
Think about what you want to do for – and with – your partner, your children, grandchildren and your friends.
Do you have a bucket list? What is on it? What is on your partners bucket list? (It’s fun to discuss these things.) How much are these things going to cost? When are you going to need the money?
Do you need to spend so many hours at work? How much do you really need? How much is enough?
Once you know how much is enough, you will know how much time you need to spend on work and can then build a more balanced lifestyle.
It is important to remember: money could make you happier, but it is relationships that will make you truly happy.
