How to Identify Your Financial Values
You could spend a lifetime thinking about your financial goals but, quite frankly, most of us want actionable advice now. Learning how your mindset and values impact your finances can help you be more successful and more fulfilled. We’ve identified five broad categories and key questions for determining your financial values.
- Achievement & Success. To what degree do you see money as a symbol of success or a measure of freedom? Are you driven by the need to achieve results?
- Order & Security. How important is it to your mental well-being to have order in your financial life? Do you need to feel in control? How much satisfaction do you gain with a sense of security or making progress?
- Relationships & Money. Do you define yourself through the responsibilities you feel toward those around you (family, friends and even strangers)?
- Self-focus & Awareness. Do you need financial independence to feel at peace? Do you intuitively feel that you must take care of yourself as a prerequisite for other decisions?
- Stress & Anxiety. How much do you worry about your financial life? Is your interaction with money plagued by frustration?
Each one of these categories is distinct, and you can score high or low on any number of them. For example, you can score high on your self-focus while also scoring high on your relationships and money. Understanding which of these categories drives your thinking, behavior and personal fulfillment can help you chart a course toward a successful financial life.
The Money Mindfulness tool aids you in identifying those values and gives you ideas that will align with your values for how you can be more successful in accomplishing your financial goals.
The Bottom Line
You can find both fulfillment and success in your financial life, but it starts with understanding what makes you tick. This awareness can lead to insights about how you can chart a course that is uniquely yours through some of the most difficult financial decisions.
