Have you ever gone to meet with a financial planner to discuss a plan for financial freedom?
I felt as empowered as if I had just finished a triathlon. I finally understand why people are as diligent about financial planning as exercise.
This evening my partner and I went to a financial planner to discuss how we can spend the next 30 years trying to save for retirement, college tuition for kids and maybe even have something left for travel. Thanks to my smart husband, he immediately figured out why my calculations on the provided PDF form were over-calculating our expenses. Phew. I went into the meeting thinking we were spending about $50K more per year than we made.
When Sam asked us questions about our end goals, it dawned on me that I had clear answers in my head, even if they weren’t exactly in line with my partner’s. The good news is, they were closely aligned with some minor tweaks. I can attribute a big reason for that to some of the exercises I’ve been through in setting goals and thinking “big vision” for my life. Coming from a company that focused one hundred percent on their mission statement, I began to write my personal mission statement in the 90’s and subsequently started asking my fellow employees or staff to do the same throughout my career, to better know one another and support each other.
But I later tried a visioning exercise which was more free form. It requires you to let go of your past and just dream.
Although not as easy to share via a blog, you can try a super simple and fun exercise, which involves crayons and a large blank piece of paper. I will write my results below these instructions and it’s up to you if you want to continue reading what I did, or just complete the exercise first and share it. Then you can read on!
1. In the center of the piece of paper, draw what your ideal situation would be in 10 years.
2. Choose any corner and draw a simple picture of what makes you happy.
3. Choose another corner and draw a simple picture of what your ideal job or role in a company would be.
4. Finally, in another corner of the paper, list five things you want to accomplish in the next five years and draw pictures for each.
Okay, this is a start, but here’s how mine netted.
In the center was a small cozy house, picket fence, and family. This was done back in 2004 and it took me 6 years later to have those babies.
For me, what makes me happy is the idea of skiing at Whistler, and staying in a chalet.
My ideal job or role is working with women and guiding or supporting one another in a leadership capacity.
Five things I want to accomplish include: Ongoing healthy relationship (I drew a smiling couple holding hands), Balance which means sailing for spouse (I drew sail boats), Working out and completing triathlons (I drew runners), starting that family (babies), rewarding career (girl looking professional!)
How did this help? I was very clear in my discussion with Sam tonight. What do I want for our future? In a way, we have already accomplished so much of our dream, and can be more realistic in our goal setting. The big thing I don’t have? Flexibility.
I am not as stuck on retirement as I am on the flexibility to choose. For many of us, it might not be so much that we don’t like to work, it’s more that we want to do it on our own terms with fair compensation, while feeling emotionally rewarded. Someday soon, I want that choice.
Now, your turn.
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