With the year we’ve all had the idea of gaining more financial security or success probably sounds even more appealing.

Well, It’s the start of the new year, and it’s usually around this time that we all set some sort of goals for the year ahead. So if there’s some version of success on your list, let me ask you, have you stopped to ask yourself what that success looks like and then what steps you’ll take to get there? What about financial success? What about success in retirement?

As financial advisors, we know every family has a unique set of competing priorities that make up financial “success.” Invariably it includes some aspects of lifestyle, giving, retirement, leisure, confidence, contentment, and legacy. 

It’s often those unique priorities and goals that help you define what financial success is for you and your family.  They identify what matters most, and when translated into goals they can be broken down into the steps needed for accomplishment and a framework for making wise financial decisions.

For some the idea of success is not just about achieving that goal, but if that goal brings some version of excess than it includes what we do with it when we get there. To the Christian, success should include how we use (or steward) the resources we have been given, weather those resources come in the form of talents, time or money.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…

So how do you achieve your financial success?

You can’t achieve financial success, if you haven’t taken the time to define it

Start by clearly defining your priorities and identifying just what you want to accomplish you’re your money. Ask yourself what are your goals for the new year? What are your goals for the next 5 or 10 years? In this process you will need to quantify how much money for each goal or priority you will need. What does that goal look like? (lifestyle, giving etc.).

For those of you thinking about retirement, just what will you do when you retire? There’s the financial side to retirement of how much is enough, yes of course, but for most a successful retirement is about more than making your daily tee time (golf might just start to feel like a job if you have go every day). Read our post on finding meaning in retirement.

Don’t forget to include God in the conversation

Consider picking a specific date and place where you can spend uninterrupted time thinking through what matters most to you.  Believe that God wants to give you the desires of your heart not for selfish consumption, but to honor Him. (Psalm 37:3-6). Write down your ideas, impressions or desires. From a Spiritual perspective this is the time to pray and ask God, what He might have you do. For those of you that have read Pastor Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life,” your priorities should help you do just that - live a life that fulfills God’s purposes for you and your family.

Again, it’s these unique set of competing priorities that help define your personal definition of “success.”

Competing Priorities

We say competing priorities because remember when it comes to your finances there are no independent financial decisions. Money can often only be used to satisfy just one of your priorities. Spending money in one area affects the others since money once spent is no longer available for other priorities. After all, if your goal for the new year is to save more towards retirement, but exercise more and buy a Peloton those goals are certainty competing.

Conclusion

Financial success most often comes from spending less than you earn, avoiding the burden of debt, and then investing the excess over time in a way that supports those priorities.

So what does financial success look like; most often it's the replacement of worry with confidence and the achievement of those goals that help fulfill your most important priorities. Most importantly it's defined by you! 

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