By David Lamb
When I first started writing about the components that make up our lifestyle, I suggested that money was at number nine. We eventually got there!
It doesn’t matter how much money you have, if you don’t have quality physical and emotional health, good relationships, enough time, personal fulfilment, a satisfying career, enjoyable fun and recreation and financial independence, you will not have a balanced lifestyle. Life will not be brilliant.
Remember; money could make you happier, but love will make you happy.
I wrote this blog on the day that Eddie Van Halen, reputedly one of the world’s greatest guitarists died. According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, his estate is worth $100m. I would guess his family would give every cent of this to have him back with them.
Am I saying that money is not important? No.
Money provides security and safety for you and your family and pays for all the necessities such as a home, food, clothing, and general living expenses. After the basics are covered, money can provide funding for the fun things in life, especially time, fun and recreation.
An abundance of money can help others, which can provide great personal satisfaction. More on this in my next blog.
But money can also cause problems.
I have seen many people obsessed with getting more and more money and accumulating more than they need. This usually means they spend too long doing the things that they do not want to do (work), saving money to do things that they will never get round to doing. What a waste!
Money can also cause arguments. I think it is safe to assume that most of these arguments are not about having too much money.
The big question, which is a theme that has run through this series of blogs, is how much money is enough? Enough to give you the lifestyle that you want without the fear of running out of money whatever happens.
The key to a good financial plan is knowing how much is enough. If you don’t know how much is enough, you don’t have a financial plan!
A good lifestyle financial planner will identify your (realistic) desired lifestyle, calculate how much this lifestyle will cost and then answer the question ‘how much is enough’? They will then work with you, using the resources you have available, to work towards achieving that lifestyle.
Money underpins every other aspect of your lifestyle. It needs to be well managed.
