You may not know it, but we all face some sort of personal value-related dilemmas throughout the day. In fact, how you approach these dilemmas is probably as important to your wealth-creation goals as what you do with your investments.
A recent survey by The Nonprofit Council found that 67% of Americans focus on values when evaluating a donation, and 74% do so when considering spending their money.
Meeting this need makes perfect sense. The people who can spend their time and energy more wisely have a greater chance of financial success, while those who fail to do so will not have the time or energy for the philanthropic or spiritual pursuits that might matter to them personally.
For example, consider a recent newspaper story about a man who had a very bad accident when a pickup truck veered into his path and sent his car crashing into the highway median. He broke his neck and lost both of his legs, but he was not hurt badly enough to lose his employment at a nearby slaughterhouse.
Although he had done well at work, saving money on health care for himself, he failed to set aside money for a long-term care policy that would have paid for his health care needs, had his legs been cut off. He could not afford to make this investment.
In the end, he had lost everything, but fortunately he wasn’t financially doomed to spend his life in the type of poverty he saw in his childhood.
In a personal finance sense, meeting your financial needs can help you achieve your financial goals. If you need medical care, how you spend your time and money can help ensure you can get the most out of the health care system. If you own a company that is struggling financially, spending your time and energy on improving your business’s financial management can mean more profit for you and your shareholders.
One of the best ways to influence your investment decisions is to adjust your values to what matters most to you, what you might need later, and what you can do to fool-proof your future. This is an important consideration to make because you never know what you might run into in the later.
A good example is the need for senior care services from the likes of Care for family. When you’re older, you may develop a chronic condition that warrants the need for at-home care, so you’d want to be financially prepared to take on the expenses that come along with it.
Likewise, you might want to relocate to the countryside when you retire to spend your time in a carefree setting. So, you will have to fine-tune your investments to make it more effective in funding your goals, wants and needs.
A good way to start investing is by setting up a strong foundation to help you deal with times of economic uncertainty, market volatility, and bankruptcy. And to do that, you’d want to look at assets that can protect your financial health and mental peace when your finances are depleting, or if you’re heading towards times of economic struggle.
Real estate is a great option to consider when you have stability in mind. You have the option of checking out residential properties like the ones listed at Finlay Brewer. There are commercial spaces that you can rent out or offer on lease to set up a form of passive income. You could even purchase land in rural areas to double up on the amount you initially invested in a few years. The idea behind property purchases is to make sure that you have something to rely on when your personal finance takes a hit.
Likewise, investments should also be oriented in a way that can make your retired life more comfortable too. You should seek to invest in different places that facilitate financial growth in the long run. Whether you choose to put down your money on IRA Investments or accumulate a collection of highly liquid, tangible assets, the choice of investment should rest on you, so long as you’re clear on what its purpose is.
Another option for meeting this need is to set aside a certain number of days each year on which you set aside your time for any and all of your investment activities, charitable giving, health care costs, debt repayment, retirement planning and spiritual activities.
The more time you have set aside to devote to your financial activities, the more likely you will be able to make wise investment decisions and achieve your goals. And if you do decide to make an investment, be sure to do it in a way that aligns your investments with your personal values.
Learn more about setting aside time for personal finances, and read a book on setting aside time for your investments. Colorado Capital impact investing can help you with the actual investments to get into.
Be sure to read the Forecasts & Strategies section for the latest investment trends.
