The best financial strategy is one that allows you to enjoy your lifestyle while growing your money to provide for the life that you want in the future. Finding the perfect balance between living the life you want now and making the financial progress you need so you don’t have to work forever is the concept that I call lifestyle balance.
So how do you find this balance? Well, the answer is actually surprisingly simple.
Being financially secure and living your life at the same time is not easy. It may not be easy but the process is simple and that it involves looking ahead. This sounds simple, but it’s amazing how only a few people do it.
When I say looking ahead, what I mean is understanding the impact of your financial decisions over time. So looking at the numbers and saying that if you keep doing what you’re doing right now, this is how your situation is likely to change over time, but, instead of doing exactly what you’re doing now, what would it look like to change some things (like if you invested somewhere, or if maybe you bought a property, or whatever the strategy might be).
When you look at the different pathways and where they’re likely to mean that you end up, you can then choose the one that you’re comfortable with that gives you the right balance and the right financial outcome.
An important part of looking ahead is understanding the lifestyle choices and lifestyle options you want to create over time. This involves looking into the numbers and understanding them for the different pathways. You might need to do a bit of research and some good help to do that, especially if you’re not a gun with a spreadsheet to rock the numbers to the level of confidence you need to make some really big decisions.
When you have that level of clarity and visibility, it allows you to choose the path that gives you the right balance and it also gives you confidence in where you’re headed. It amazes me how a few people take the time to do this, but when you do, the impact is extremely powerful.
