• This newsletter follows a 3 Pillars framework each month: grow income, reduce expenses, and save more.  

• Week 4 is up for grabs topic-wise so I usually answer questions submitted.

• Send your questions to me at [email protected] and I’m happy to do for you.

To learn more about comprehensive planning or coaching engagements available, checkout my website and schedule a call.

What can you do this week?

When it comes to how you invest, look beyond your account balances.

• What people and activities bring you the most joy in life?

• Is that really being born out in how you live your life? 

• How about in the way you spend your money? 

There’s A Lot Of Ways To Use $

How’s your ROL?

Mitch Anthony is a financial planning thought leader and author who coined the phrase Return on Life.  Essentially, spending decisions don’t only have to have a financially beneficial result (Return on Investment) to be valuable.

• Money spent on experiences may not show up on your balance sheet but provides a Return on Life that makes you rich in other, more meaningful ways. 

• For too many people, they’re waiting to “take their gains”.  They are working too hard for too long and deferring doing what makes them truly happy for a date when it “makes more sense”.  Maybe a promotion or their retirement. 

• We too often are viewing money we have in terms of what it can do for us in visible ways. Your home, your car, your clothes, etc. are often siphoning off more happiness than you realize. 

Experiences Over Things

• This topic has been looked at extensively in one Cornell University 20 year study. 

• Dr. Thomas Gilovich concluded that money spent on experiences instead of things “provides more enduring happiness”.

• Experiences, while short lived, are not just memories but become part of your identity. They enrich your life, becoming the stories that make up who you are.  Experience contributes to personal growth.

• Buying things, on the other hand, has a wasting effect and can decrease in personal value over time. This same research found buying things caused us to raise our expectations, compare ourselves with others, and that the enjoyment found in purchasing things fades quickly.

• Also consider that there’s opportunity cost in that newer vehicle, larger home, or renovation project instead of those experiences. 

• You could be trading those things with diminishing real value for experiences that could truly enrich your life, in an enduring long term way. 

What To Do Next?

As a financial planner I can tell you that I’ve seen too many people waiting to live the life they want.  Clients are still looking for permission to spend their own money. 

To get more Return on Life you can start with these steps:  

1. Spend time getting clear on your values.  This exercise helps. 

2. Get specific on your life goals.  Retirement is not an answer.  What do you really want to do?  Who do you want to be?

3. Complete a comprehensive financial plan to make sure your dreams aren’t irresponsible and your numbers work.  Your resources might be finite but your ability to be creative and reprioritize is not.

4. Then confidently invest in the experiences with the people that bring you the most joy. 

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