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Wants and needs: How pandemic life has taught us what matters

Living in a pandemic has highlighted a stark reality. Financial stability is integral to our overall wellness. Money impacts our personal relationships, stress levels, and ability to interact with the rest of the world.

When COVID-19 hit, our days were turned upside down. Those creature comforts we often took for granted – visiting friends and family, sending our kids to school, having a reliable means to make a living, hopping on an airplane, accessibility to food and household essentials, eating in restaurants – were suddenly stripped away. Our perspective on what was essential and what was a luxury changed dramatically.

We gained fresh insight into what matters most and what we can simply do without.

The jumping off point of any financial plan is your wants and needs – your “whys” for striving to be disciplined and purposeful with your money. You get to choose what you would like to achieve in your life. Wants and needs come in two buckets: tangibles (homes, cars, vacation properties, clothing, food) and intangibles (retirement, travel, a comfortable standard of living, philanthropy). Once your goals are set, we put actionable steps into place to get you where you want to go.

Consider these questions:

  • What are the absolute, nonnegotiable, requirements for your future well-being?
  • What would you enjoy owning if you could afford to?
  • What would you like to accomplish in the future?

Give these topics some thought. Surprised at what you came up with? Your answers may be completely different than they were pre-COVID. You might even be shocked at how your financial mentality has progressed. What you once spent your hard-earned money on could now seem completely nonsensical. What you never would have considered buying or doing before might now be an absolute imperative to your future happiness.

Pandemic life has given us the rare opportunity to reevaluate our intentions from a financial perspective. You may realize that an aspiration you once deemed crucial is now relatively unimportant. And you may yearn to reach certain goals that you hadn’t even considered pre-COVID.

Don’t let this fresh insight pass you by. Instead, use it to steer yourself in a meaningful, purposeful direction.

Always remember that planning for your financial future isn’t a one-time exercise. Even in “normal” times, your circumstances constantly evolve. With a major disruptor like the pandemic, I would be shocked if your financial goals had not shifted. I urge you to review your financial plan and see where you stand.

If you would like a second opinion on how to move forward, let us help guide you along the way. Don’t hesitate to reach out for a free initial consultation.

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