Life’s for living and money’s for spending

It’s a simple stance – why bother hoarding your wealth for a rainy day when you could be using it smartly to achieve your goals and dreams?

I talk a lot about setting goals and finding out what’s most important to you and your family. Of course, this can be much easier said than done. Most families I work with are busy, high achievers and have kids, so they don’t really have a whole pile of free time.

So, to get you started, here’s a simple 5-step process you can use to help identify some of your most important life goals. Get a pen and paper and get writing.

Reflect on your values

Take some time to think about what is most important to you in life. Think about what really matters to you, and what you want to accomplish in life.

What steers you through life? Are you more motivated by quality time or by money? Are there any areas that you wish you could give more of your time to? These questions can help you get started.

Identify your passions

Think about what activities, hobbies, or interests you are most passionate about. What do you love? How do you feel fulfilled? What do you want to spend more time doing?

Maybe you enjoy volunteering. Maybe you love spending time with your family, travelling or have a knack for photography. Perhaps you simply want to spend more time out on the golf course perfecting your game.

Figure out what you love doing, then plan to do more of it.

Brainstorm goals

Now that you know what you value and what you’re passionate about, brainstorm ideas for goals that you can set in those areas. Let your imagination roam!

A fun place to start with this is to ask yourself: If you had all the money and time in the world, where would you go? What would you do? Who would you spend time with?

Brainstorming means there are no bad ideas. Pop a piece of paper on your fridge and call it your ‘ideas board’, and jot down things as you think of them. If you’re truly stuck for ideas, have a look at my recent post of bucket list ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

Prioritise and narrow down

Now that you have a list of goals, prioritise them in order of importance. You may naturally find that some goals are more important than others.

Narrow down your list until you have identified your top three most important life goals. But don’t throw out the rest of them – just because we’re focusing on the three big ones it doesn’t mean you can’t achieve some of the smaller dreams, too.

Take action

Now that you’ve identified your most important life goals, it’s time to start taking action to achieve them.

Get in touch with your financial planner and update your financial plan. They’ll help you cost these goals and set realistic time frames for when they can be achieved. They will also help you implement a strategy for how best to fund these goals as they are likely to have a cost.

What next?

If you’d like to discuss your situation and your plans for your future, please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01 908 1500 or email us at info@metisireland.ie.

Cian Callaghan
Private Client Manager