Money touches many aspects of our lives, from our daily choices to our long-term dreams. Yet many of us make financial decisions without fully understanding the deeper values that drive them. By exploring and defining your money values, you can create a more intentional and fulfilling relationship with your finances.
Let’s explore how.
Understanding Money Values: The Foundation of Financial Decisions
Money values are the core beliefs and principles that shape how you interact with money. These values influence the financial decisions you make – from daily spending to long-term investing and charitable giving. They’re deeply personal and often reflect your life experiences, family background, culture, and aspirations.
Your money values might center around financial independence and the freedom it brings, allowing you to make choices without external constraints. Perhaps you prioritize security and stability, focusing on creating a strong foundation for yourself and your loved ones. Some individuals find meaning in building a legacy that will benefit future generations, while others derive satisfaction from supporting social or environmental causes close to their hearts. Many people value experiences over material possessions, choosing to invest in memories rather than things.
These values aren’t static – they can evolve as you move through different life stages and experiences. What matters is recognizing and honoring them in your financial decisions.
Why Defining Your Money Values Matters
When your financial choices align with your values, you’re more likely to feel confident and purposeful about your money decisions. This alignment can create a natural framework for decision-making, helping you navigate complex financial choices with greater clarity and conviction.
Understanding your money values can enable you to make clearer choices about spending and saving, while setting financial goals that genuinely resonate with your aspirations. This understanding can provide steadiness during market volatility, as your decisions are anchored in deeper principles rather than short-term market movements. Additionally, when you’re clear about your values, you’re better positioned to create lasting impact in areas that matter to you, whether through strategic giving, conscious investing, or thoughtful estate planning.
Sometimes, there’s a disconnect between stated values and financial actions. For instance, you might value environmental sustainability but hold investments in companies that don’t align with this principle. Or perhaps you prioritize family time but find yourself working overtime to maintain a lifestyle that doesn’t truly reflect your values. Understanding your money values helps identify and address these gaps, and can help create greater harmony between your principles and your financial life.
A 5-Step Process to Discover Your Money Values
Here’s a structured approach to help you uncover and define your money values:
1. Understand Your Money Identity
Your relationship with money has been shaped by countless experiences throughout your life.
Begin by examining your earliest money memories and the financial lessons learned from family. Consider how past experiences – both positive and negative – have influenced your current views about money. Look at your present financial behaviors and patterns, noting which feel aligned with your authentic self and which might be automatic responses based on past conditioning.
2. Create Your Values List
Take time to thoughtfully explore areas where money intersects with what matters most to you.
Consider your aspirations for personal growth and development, including education and skill-building. Think about your relationships and how money influences your ability to care for and connect with others. Reflect on your career goals and how they align with your values. Consider your commitment to health and wellbeing, community involvement, environmental impact, and the legacy you wish to leave.
3. Set Clear Priorities
Resources can be limited, making it important to prioritize your values thoughtfully.
Consider which values feel most essential to your wellbeing and what trade-offs you’re willing to make. Think about how your priorities might shift over different time horizons – what matters most now might evolve as your life circumstances change. Look for values that align with both your short-term needs and long-term aspirations, creating a framework that can guide decisions across various life stages.
4. Define Your Purpose
For each of your priority values, take time to understand its deeper significance.
Reflect on the experiences that shaped this value and how it connects to your core beliefs. Consider the impact you hope to create by honoring this value – both for yourself and others. Understanding the ‘why’ behind your values can strengthen your commitment to them and help maintain focus during challenging times.
5. Evaluate and Adjust
Regular reflection can help to make sure your financial life remains aligned with your values. Review your spending patterns to see if they reflect your stated priorities. Assess whether your investment choices support or conflict with your values. Examine your giving strategy to ensure it creates the impact you desire. Be willing to make adjustments as your values evolve or when you notice misalignment between your actions and principles.
How a Financial Advisor Helps Align Money with Values
Working with a financial advisor who understands the importance of values-aligned planning can help transform how you approach money decisions. A skilled advisor can help translate your abstract values into concrete financial strategies, and help you assess whether your day-to-day choices support your deeper principles.
This partnership can help you design an investment approach that reflects your values while working toward your financial goals. Your advisor can help create a giving strategy that maximizes impact in areas you care about, while developing estate plans that honor your legacy wishes. When facing complex financial decisions, your advisor serves as a sounding board, helping you navigate choices while staying true to your values.
A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional can prioritize your interests, and help to build a financial plan that authentically reflects your values rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach. This relationship can provide ongoing support as your values and circumstances evolve over time.
Partner with Abacus for Values-Aligned Financial Planning
At Abacus Wealth Partners, we believe that understanding your money values is an important part to creating a meaningful financial life. Our advisors take time to understand what matters most to you, helping create a financial strategy that honors your values while working toward your goals.
We integrate values-aligned comprehensive planning into many aspects of our work, from investment management to tax strategy and estate planning. Our approach guides us in helping you make financial decisions that align with what matters most to you. This comprehensive perspective allows us to support you in creating a financial life that feels authentic and purposeful.
Ready to explore how your money can better reflect your values? Contact our team to start a conversation about values-aligned financial planning. Schedule a call today.
