Several years ago, I was opening up a fortune cookie at a Chinese buffet, and the fortune said, “Enough is as good as a feast.” I really try to apply that to my own life and to my clients’ lives when we’re talking about financial contentment.
First off, everyone needs to ask themselves, “What is enough for you?” Is it going to be that you retire one day? Is it that you live a certain lifestyle? I can’t really answer that for you, but really, you’re going to have to ask yourself - “What’s going to make you content in life?”
I’ve seen people who have a lot of money who are very, very sad. I’ve also run into people who don’t have much, and they are really thrilled with life and happy to be here. I remember some of my most happy memories in life were when I was a broke-grad student and didn’t have anything.
So, financial contentment - when we’re doing a financial plan…first off, it really starts with having realistic goals for yourself, for your family, and for your future. And creating a plan that has an investment strategy that makes sense for you and allows you to reach those goals that you set for yourself. It’s not at the end of the day, “I was able to buy this thing” or “I was able to make this much money.” At the end of the day, it’s whatever is going to bring you peace. And really, I like working with people who have that attitude.