Many of our clients are over the age of 50 and experiencing the typical middle life transitions – semi or full retirement, divorce, loss of spouse, etc. In all of these transitions money questions and concerns have a powerful influence. Often times our clients are not sure where to begin focusing their energy in their personal finance journey. We always encourage them that the planning of their financial future doesn’t begin with money as much as it begins with their life! One of the first things we do when working with a new client is to lead them through a simple but powerful exercise of filling out a Financial Satisfaction Survey.* This begins to frame the conversation about their financial future in a very life centered, values based way—because we know that our satisfaction in life increases when we invest our resources of time, energy and money on the things we have identified as most important!

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by financial decisions, our clients often tell us that this one simple exercise helps them to break things down into manageable steps so that they can prioritize and know where to begin; they value the fact that this exercise incorporates all aspects of their financial life. They often receive an overload of information from the media, investment brokers, CPAs, and attorneys, not to mention friends and family; and while this advice can be sound, it is often received in a disjointed/conflicting manner. When we begin by taking a high level view of their present life, and the life they most desire in the future, and wrap the financial discussions around that, it keeps what’s most important to them in the center and provides clients with much needed clarity. And, by far that’s the most valuable aspect of this exercise! Gaining clarity on values as it pertains to money helps them to make better financial decisions with less anxiety!

What we know to be true about any adult over the age of 50 going through one or several middle life transitions is that they are looking for guidance and advice on how to prepare for their financial future in a way that is consistent with their most deeply held life goals and values. We have seen firsthand how having clarity around basic financial decisions let’s a client move on to a deeper dialogue about how to invest their resources to live their version of a meaningful life!

Why is this so important? For most of us the year’s preceding these mid-life transitions were filled with hard work and putting the needs of family and saving for the future first. Our clients are now experiencing some freedom for the first time in 20+ years, where the needs of others aren’t dictating their day to day existence. They have a finite period of time where they have the ability to do the things they have put off, be the person they always wanted to be, and impact the people and world around them in a way that is most meaningful to them. Gaining financial clarity around the future lets you shift your thoughts towards envisioning your best life! As the rapper Eminem say’s “you got one shot”!

*Click here to download your Financial Satisfaction Survey and to gain clarity around your financial future.