Every individual is driven by their dreams, aspirations and life goals.
There is a constant push towards doing the best we can, be it saving towards a specific goal or even otherwise, so that we can lead a comfortable future.
While at it, we all derive meaning and happiness from different sources in our life. But where does money fit in this scheme? The perfect answer to this is shared by Robert Kiyosaki who famously said, “Money is not the most important thing in life, but it does affect everything that is important”.
Over the past decade, individual investors are increasingly opting for financial planning to help achieve monetary related goals comfortably. Despite its numerous benefits, financial planning has certain limitations as it only focuses on monetary goals and tends to exclude softer aspects that lend meaning and happiness to our lives. A money-focused approach often leads to burnouts, resentments and sometimes adversely impact health and relationship, as it happened with Vishal.
Vishal, a young software engineer in Gurgaon dreamed of owning a swanky penthouse. Taking into account his income, growth prospects and all other factors, he figured that he would require five years to make his dream come true. However, if his earnings doubles due to extra efforts, his dream could be achieved in two years. Consequently, his lifestyle became the proverbial burning candle from both ends. In his bid to earn more money, he let go of his health, relaxation, relationships and started working on extra projects over weekends also. Soon this lifestyle started impacting his physical & mental health, and he suffered a stroke. The steadily rising bank balance was of not much use.
This is not a unique case. It is a common belief that slogging between 20 to 40 years of age is a prerequisite to enjoying life in the 40s and beyond. While hard work and future planning are important, what is more, crucial is to lead a healthy, balanced life. The years that go by are precious resources and if we don’t live a good life with the financial resources we have, then despite a huge bank balance we may have to live with serval regrets.
Remember, money should be a creative and constructive force helping us achieve the ideal life.
Post his recovery, when I met Vishal and became aware of his predicament, I introduced him to our proprietary concept of Life value financial planning (LVFP®), a holistic and evolved approach derived from the combination of financial planning and life planning.
Owing to the implementation of our in-house process called ALPEAK®, a six-stage comprehensive and algorithmic life value financial planning process, there was a positive transformation in his life.
What is Life Value Financial Planning (LVFP®)?
LVFP® is a comprehensive planning framework that combines the best practices of financial planning and life planning. The approach here is to ensure that you live the best life possible in sync with your core values, passion, purpose and dreams, with the resources you have.
The purpose here is to enlighten and transform a client’s life with an aim to maximise their life opportunities.
The role of a Certified Life Value Planner (CLVP®) is immense. The planner acts as a guiding force in the process of self-discovery, wherein the client recognises his core values, passion, earnest dreams and prized aspirations. As a means to help one achieve these, the planner further distils their vision to create meaningful goals. Thereafter, CLVP® designs a meticulous plan to execute the client’s vision to perfection by allocating financial resources as per the best practices of financial planning. Apart from these, the planner also holds the client accountable by periodic evaluation to keep them on the path of their best life.
The pandemic has caused several individuals to face some bitter realities of life. It is time to rediscover your relationship with money and effectively utilize it to create an optimal life, bridging the gap between the life you want to have and the life you are living. Salary is a monthly feature for a working individual but the month (time) gone by will never return. Be cognizant of the fact, that the money we all work hard for, should act as a means and not the end.
So, plan your life, not just your money and give value to the real beauties of life.
(The above article was written by Vikas Sharma, CFP, Co-Founder & CEO, The Logical Advisor and the same was published in the March 2022 edition of Outlook Business)
