How do you Value – Family and Relationships?
The majority of things in life have a financial cost attached to them and family and relationships are no different.
Generally speaking, you will be more confident of achieving goals relating to family and relationships if you are able to plan for them in advance. To restate a recurring mantra … planning helps you prosper: by increasing the chances of avoiding financial surprises.
Family and relationships hold different levels of importance for different people. The financial and lifestyle goals for someone with a large, close family may differ enormously from someone with a very small, separated family (even if they share identical financial circumstances). Likewise it is important to recognise that people have different cultural backgrounds which may lead to vastly different personal values. (Different values perhaps highlights why for one persons important need is another person less important want).
It is imperative to get an idea of what role(s) family and other important relationships (church, sport etc..) have in your life, in order to truly establish realistic and attainable financial and lifestyle goals. When this is done it makes it easier to determine any impact on an individuals financial plan.
To help your thoughts on how you value – Family and Relationships, consider the following:
- What can you recall about your family when growing up?
- What messages about money did you receive from your parents?
- What financial values taught to you by your parents continue to affect you today?
- Describe the aspirations you have for your family?
- Do you Know exactly what may or may not happen to you family if you were not here tomorrow?
- How important is it for you to be able to assist the financial lives of your children/grandchildren while you are still alive?
- What pets do you have? How important are pets to you?
- Do you want to leave an estate for your children and/or grandchildren? If you have no children who would you like to benefit from your estate?
- What are the key things in your life at the moment?
- Do you have anything left unsaid that shouldn’t be?
Next time you sit down with your family look at the TV guide, fight over the remote control and are wondering what to watch; why not ask some of these questions instead.
Not many of us take the time to ask these types of questions to understand the people we love and care for … perhaps our lives would be more enjoyable if we did.
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Dan Smith is a self employed Financial Planner based in Rockhampton. He has clients in various locations throughout Australia but predominately in Central Queensland and specifically the geographic area encompassed by the Rockhampton Regional Council.