Aligning Your Financial Plan with Your Values
Many people are discovering that their financial journeys are even more fulfilling when they align their plans with their values. These investing, spending, and giving strategies could help you grow your savings while also putting your values in action.
1.🌈 ESG investing
These investment funds contain companies that make positive Environmental, Social, and Governance impacts while also creating sustainable returns on investment. Some investors also use ESG as a strategy to invest a portion of their portfolios in specific companies that they feel rank highly in these areas or exhibit other important corporate values beyond just profit.
If you're interested in ESG we can review how your current portfolio aligns with these values. We do, however, caution folks against making broad judgements about specific investment sectors. For example, if you have strong negative feelings about large tech companies, we can dig a little deeper and find innovative, investible companies that are trying to improve their industries.
2. 💖 Charitable giving
Does an annual holiday donation to local food bank or even homes fill you with good cheer? Establishing a long-term charitable plan could make giving back a year-round source of fulfillment. Most charitable and nonprofit organizations offer recurring donation options that charge you monthly or annually like any other bill. Talking to your family about working important causes into your household spending plan can make those donations feel more purposeful and rewarding.
Charitable giving can also help to make estate planning a more positive process. Setting aside a portion of your hard-earned assets to help others in perpetuity builds a real legacy that will inspire your heirs and your community for generations.
3. 💪 #Support Local Startup
The single most powerful tool in your financial plan is your household spending. And while we often talk about the importance of budgeting to make sure you're hitting your saving and investing goals; you can also put your values to work by being more intentional about the money you do spend every month.
This is especially true as we begin to emerge from pandemic lockdowns. As it becomes safer to shop in your community, consider making a few less bulk delivery orders from big, established brands and spend a bit more at your local grocer or people who started a new side business. Swap out a couple fast food meals every month with orders from them. While some of the food sold online may cost slightly more, a slong as these purchases fit your budget, think of the extra cost as an investment in businesses that keep your community working.
4. 🎯 SMART money goals
It’s important to remember that some of our most cherished values are less global and more personal. Perhaps the importance of higher education is a value you want to put in action by planning for your child’s tertiary tuition. Perhaps you value living within your means, and you want to pay down your credit cards this year, or settle your home loan earlier.
Setting SMART money goals works for values of any size. For example, let’s say you value family time, and you want to start saving for a post-pandemic vacation:
Specific – We’re going to Langkawi on 1st March 2022!
Measurable – I’m budgeting RM 5,000 for this trip.
Attainable – We can use money we saved from our cancelled holiday trip in 2020.
Realistic – I can safely put an extra RM 500 per month into this vacation fund.
Timed – By the beginning of March 2022, I’ll have the RM 3,000 saved for this trip.
Of course, whether you want to take a vacation or set up a family charitable trust, planning is always the “smart” strategy. Let’s talk about the values you want to incorporate into your Life-Centered Plan in 2022.
You can also schedule for a free 30-min consultation session to discuss what’s on your mind to gain more clarity over your current situation.
