Financial decisions and life decisions often go hand in hand. Do you buy a home or move to a different city? Do you start your own business or keep working your 9 to 5? To make your money work for you in the best way possible, it’s important to establish what financial planner Mindy Crary calls your “Chief Initiative.”
Photo by DieselDemon.
Crary, a Certified Financial Planner, says this is what she advises her clients when they’re having a tough time with big financial decisions — find the thing you value most in life. It might be family. It might be exploring, learning, or your career. When you know your “chief initiative,” you narrow your focus, Crary says, and it’s easier to see whether or not a decision is compatible with that initiative.
To figure this out yourself, she suggests asking a few questions. For example:
What’s causing you stress in your life? It’s likely that you’re feeling stressed by something because it’s going against a core value.
What is most important to you in your life? I’m talking about the thing that you would do or want or believe no matter what.
I tried her exercise, figured out my own chief initiative (independence), and it’s a great decision-making shortcut. I go back and forth on big money decisions a lot. Ultimately, I usually end up aligning them with what feels right, but actually knowing why it feels right makes the process a lot easier.
Her full post is definitely worth the read, so check it out for yourself at the link below.
How One Concept Can Simplify ALL Your Money Decisions [Creative Money via Rockstar Finance]
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