At Master’s, you hear us talk a lot about connecting your personal values with the use of your capital. We want to help you align your financial decisions with what is most important to you. Why do we believe this is so important? Because the more resources you have, the more difficult it is to be sure that they are all being optimized for your personal goals and values.

Think about how you handled money when you first entered adulthood. The financial decisions you had to make were fairly obvious and concrete: budget wisely, save consistently, reduce debt, increase your earnings power, etc. The early years of wealth building are generally more about management rather than optimization. However, once you get past some of the initial financial hurdles that most of us face, it becomes harder to know where to ‘assign your dollars’, and if you don’t give each dollar a job, they still find someplace to go!

We have had many conversations over the past year or two with clients who are transitioning away from their careers or businesses. Having a clear set of values has helped us have meaningful discussions about what the next phase of life will look like. I recently had a conversation a friend who was in transition and was reflecting on his career and what was coming next. When we revisited his values, generosity of time was something that stood out. He realized that during his career, he had not been able to prioritize spending time serving in an area he was passionate about, and was looking forward to dedicating significant time to this area to, in effect, make up for lost time.

As financial planners, we love the numbers and the projections, but they are simply the foundation for freeing you to think more broadly about how your finances can align with what is most important to you. Those conversations are the ones we remember the most, and we consider it a privilege to have them with you.

How have seen your values lead you to better financial decisions?