Beyond the Numbers

Money is hard to talk about for many reasons, each of which are made worse by it being considered taboo.  All of this is before you bring in emotions and math!!!

You are not a number!

The “best” decisions always have some level of subjectivity when it comes to real life. At the end of the day, the numbers should be part of the conversation but can’t be all of it. A plan someone won’t stick with is useless, regardless of what the numbers say.

Every decision has tradeoffs. The tradeoffs in financial decisions can be all encompassing and life altering, but most of us haven’t been given the tools to talk about how to make them. The more we can normalize talking about money the better equipped we can all be to make more informed decisions.

Money intersects with all aspects of our lives making for unique decision-making challenges.

Adding to the mystique around money is the fact that appearances can be deceiving. We can’t stop ourselves from assuming things about other people’s financial well-being from the limited information we see.

As humans, if we try to always be rational, we are likely to fail, but if we accept that fact and instead aim to be reasonable there are many paths that can lead to success.

It is easy to overlook how vital behavior is when it comes to increasing the likelihood of success with long term financial goals.

No one will ever be perfect, but together we can all get better. The more we get used to talking about money the more we can learn from each other’s collective experiences navigating those tradeoffs. Having the tools to navigate these decisions with intention, could significantly improve your quality of life and helping people do that is why I love this job.

What do you want to talk about?

-Dan