What Are You Trying to Accomplish With Your Wealth?
By Brett Carleton, CFP®, ChFC®
President & Founder, Heritage Wealth Management
In Part 2 of this series, I asked a question that can be surprisingly difficult to answer:
What does money mean to you?
For many people, the answer isn't actually money.
It's security. Freedom. Family. Experiences. Generosity. Independence. Legacy.
Once you've thought about that question, I believe there's a natural next one:
What are you actually trying to accomplish with your wealth?
I've spent decades helping families plan for their financial futures, and one thing I've learned is that people are often very good at telling us what they've accumulated.
They can tell us the value of their investment accounts. They know what their business is worth. They know approximately what they'll receive from Social Security or a pension.
But ask someone exactly what they want all of those resources to accomplish, and the answer can become less certain.
That's where some of the most important financial planning conversations begin.
“I Want to Retire Comfortably” Isn't Quite a Plan
One of the most common goals we hear is:
“I want to retire comfortably.”
There's certainly nothing wrong with that goal.
But what does comfortably mean?
Does it mean maintaining exactly the lifestyle you have today?
Traveling several times a year?
Buying a second home?
Spending more time with your grandchildren?
Leaving your career at 60 instead of 65?
Helping your children financially?
Giving more to charity?
Those are all very different versions of a comfortable future—and they require different financial decisions.
That's why at Heritage, I prefer to talk about the next phase of life rather than simply retirement.
For many successful people, the goal isn't necessarily to stop doing everything.
It may be having the freedom to decide what they want to do, when they want to do it, and who they want to do it with.
Turn the Number Into a Life
Financial planning naturally involves numbers.
We need to know how much you're spending, what you've accumulated, how your investments are positioned, what income you'll have, and what taxes may look like.
But the numbers should support something tangible.
Instead of simply saying:
“I need $X million before I can stop working,”
I think it's more useful to ask:
“What would I do differently if I knew I had enough?”
Would you work fewer hours?
Would you travel more?
Would you spend more time with family?
Would you buy the vacation home you've talked about for years?
Would you volunteer?
Would you help your children now instead of leaving everything to them someday?
Would you finally take up the hobby you've never had time for?
Those answers begin turning a financial target into a life plan.
Be Specific About the Experiences You Want
One thing I've become increasingly aware of is that some goals have a time limit.
Travel is a good example.
A family may tell us they want to travel extensively during the next phase of life. That's helpful, but I'd rather go deeper.
Where do you want to go?
Europe?
National parks?
A month overseas?
An annual family vacation?
And perhaps more importantly:
When do you want to do it?
A trip you can comfortably take at 62 may be more difficult at 82.
The same is true of cycling, hiking, skiing, or simply keeping up with grandchildren on a family vacation.
Financial plans often project expenses over decades. Real life doesn't unfold quite so evenly.
There may be years when it makes sense to spend more because those are the years when you have the health, energy, and opportunity to enjoy it.
Good planning should account for that.
What Do You Want to Do for Your Family?
For many families, wealth isn't just about their own lifestyle.
It's also about the people they love.
Maybe you'd like to help your children purchase their first homes.
Maybe you'd like to fund your grandchildren's education.
Perhaps you want to take your entire family on a trip every year.
You may want to provide financial support to a family member with special needs.
Or you may simply want to know that if one of your children encounters a difficult period, you have the ability to help.
These aren't just estate-planning questions.
They're life-planning questions.
And sometimes there's an important distinction between what you want to leave your family someday and what you'd like to do for them while you're still here to experience it with them.
What Impact Do You Want to Have?
The same question applies to charitable giving.
Rather than beginning with:
“What's the most tax-efficient way to give?”
I think the better starting point is:
“What do you want your giving to accomplish?”
Is there an organization that's been important to your family?
A community you'd like to strengthen?
A problem you'd like to help solve?
A value you'd like your children and grandchildren to see you support?
Once we understand the purpose, then we can consider the financial strategy.
Tax planning, donor-advised funds, appreciated securities, estate planning, and other strategies can all be valuable tools.
But the strategy should follow the purpose.
Don't Forget the People Who May Need You
Financial goals also aren't limited to things we hope will happen.
Sometimes planning means preparing for responsibilities we may face.
Could an aging parent eventually need financial or physical assistance?
Does someone in your family have special needs that require long-term planning?
If something happened to you, would your spouse know where everything is and who to call?
Are your estate documents current?
Have you thought about who will manage financial decisions if you're unable to?
These may not be the most exciting parts of a financial plan.
But for many families, they're among the most important.
Your Goals Don't Have to Be Financial
This may sound unusual coming from a financial advisor, but some of the most important goals in a financial plan don't have dollar signs attached to them.
Spend more time with my grandchildren.
Travel with my spouse while we're healthy.
Help my children without making them dependent on us.
Make sure my family is taken care of.
Give back to organizations that have meant something to us.
Have the freedom to work because I want to—not because I have to.
Those are life goals.
Our job is to determine what financial resources and strategies can help make them possible.
What Happens When You Already Have Enough?
This brings us back to something I discussed in Part 2.
Some families eventually reach a point where the financial plan indicates they've accumulated enough to accomplish everything they've told us they want to accomplish.
And yet they continue accumulating.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that.
But I think it's worth asking:
What is the additional money for?
If another year of work meaningfully increases your security, that's one thing.
If you're building wealth specifically for future generations, that's a goal.
If you love your work and have no desire to stop, that's perfectly reasonable too.
But if you're continuing simply because accumulating has become the default, it may be worth revisiting the purpose behind the plan.
At some point, financial success can shift from:
“How much can I accumulate?”
to:
“How intentionally can I use what I've accumulated?”
Write Down What You Want Your Wealth to Accomplish
Here's an exercise I think can be useful.
Imagine that your financial plan has already answered the question:
“Do I have enough?”
The answer is yes.
Now finish this sentence:
Because I've been financially successful, I want to be able to…
Don't start with numbers.
Start with your life.
Maybe it's:
Travel with my spouse.
Help educate my grandchildren.
Spend more time with my family.
Leave my career earlier.
Support an organization I care about.
Make sure my spouse is financially secure.
Help care for my parents.
Create experiences my family will remember.
Leave something meaningful for the next generation.
There is no correct answer.
But there should be your answer.
Give Your Wealth a Job
I believe money is a tool.
And tools are most valuable when we know what we're trying to build with them.
Accumulating wealth is important. Investing wisely is important. Managing taxes and risk is important.
But those things aren't the ultimate objective.
The objective is the life that your financial resources allow you to live—and the impact they allow you to have.
So before asking whether your investments are earning enough or whether you should make another financial move, consider asking yourself:
What am I actually trying to accomplish with my wealth?
The clearer you can make that answer, the easier it becomes to determine whether your financial decisions are moving you toward it.
Coming Next: What Financial Concerns Keep You Up at Night?
In Part 4 of The Questions Investors Should Be Asking Themselves, we'll look at the other side of financial planning.
We've talked about what you want your wealth to accomplish.
Next, we'll talk about what you're afraid could prevent that from happening.
Because identifying the things you're worried about—whether that's running out of money, market declines, taxes, healthcare, family responsibilities, or something else—can help determine which risks need to be addressed and which fears may simply need greater clarity.
About This Series
The Questions Investors Should Be Asking Themselves is an ongoing Heritage Wealth Management series exploring questions that can lead to more meaningful financial planning conversations.
Because sometimes improving your financial life doesn't begin with finding a better answer.
It begins with asking a better question.
Disclosure: This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment, tax, or legal advice. Investment strategies involve risk, including possible loss of principal. The questions and concepts discussed in this article were inspired in part by the work and perspectives of David Booth, founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors and author of Stay Calm. Heritage Wealth Management is not affiliated with or endorsed by David Booth or Dimensional Fund Advisors.