Personal money matters can be a source of stress or strength in your life – which is it for you? For people with a  solid, comprehensive financial plan, money matters empower them, excite them to new possibilities and move them to more meaningful action.  If money is a source of stress for you,  the process of designing and implementing a financial plan will give you confidence in your own personal abundance and will unleash significant, purposeful action for your family and your community.

This blog is aimed at philanthropy – so why does it seem that I’ve diverged into a totally different topic?  It’s simple – if you don’t know what you have, what you want to do with it and why, then you cannot hope to make a difference in the world.  As Larry Waller, founder of Waller Financial Planning Group, says, “While we can’t change the past, we do have the opportunity to shape our preferred future.”

The planning process is a cycle of information, decision and action:

A comprehensive plan encompasses the following 7 areas of your life where you generate and spend resources:

But the entire process requires that you begin with some really basic life planning.  What do you want for yourself? Your family? Your community?  Why do you want to your portfolio to grow?  What values do you want your lifestyle to reflect?  What do you want to protect?  Whose lives do you want to make a difference in and how?

That may not seem like the kind of questions that a cold, logical finance person should be asking. These questions are way too personal. Right?  Wrong.  Unless you can determine the answer to those questions, you won’t be able to decide where you want to work, how to make thoughtful and responsible spending decisions or protect the dreams and plans you have for others after you’re gone.

But making thoughtful and responsible choices depends upon how well informed you are.  A recent report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that most people are getting their financial planning information from their social network.  This cuts across all education levels and incomes.  This is alarming:  People are getting information from non-experts and fragmented sources.

I recently joined The Financial Awareness Foundation (TFAF) as an advisor.  The mission of this nonprofit is to give the public access to reliable financial literacy education.  I know that people who can manage their finances with confidence can transform their lives, have positive influence with their loved ones and enhance the lives of many others.

Would you like that?

If you are ready to “shape your preferred future”, I invite you to join me in a web call next week.  In this conversation, we will introduce a process for life-long growth and sustainability in your “personal economy” and a pathway to become an amazing philanthropist.  Click HERE to register.

Contact me if you have any other comments or questions: