What’s important about money to you?

What’s important about money to you? This is an uncomfortable question because we aren’t used to thinking about money in those terms. But it’s one of my favorite questions to ask.

The purpose of this question isn’t to think in terms of goals; it’s meant to go deeper than that or to get at the reason why we have certain goals.

The first answers people come up with are usually easy — things like security and freedom. But once we pause and really think, we can move even deeper still, or into what might be called the “why” of money.

This question gets uncomfortable because it forces us to get really clear about our underlying reason for doing things. It also forces us to face some inconsistencies in our lives.

Let’s say the first thing you come up with when you ask yourself the question, "What’s important about money?” is indeed freedom or security.

Then, the next question you should ask yourself is, “What’s so important to me about freedom and security?” From there, keep asking questions until you get to the thing that is most important to you.

Being able to answer this question gives you a lens through which to view your financial decisions. And after you’ve identified what’s most important, you’ll have incredibly useful information to help you make decisions that match your values.

In fact, it can make it easy to say no to things that distract you from what’s important. Like the self-help author Stephen Covey said, “It’s easy to say ‘no!’ when there’s a deeper ‘yes!’ burning inside.”  You just have to ask the question.

If you need help with the burning questions concerning your financial future, you can always reach out to us and we’ll help you get to that “deeper yes.”

Always,
Danny