Some people are fortunate enough to fall within the sheer scope of individuals who literally have no financial worry. These people lack nothing that money can buy. They drive the best cars, live in the best homes, take vacations to the choicest of destinations at will and eat wherever they want.
Money is never a problem for this set of people. Whenever they do not do a particular thing, it is because they don’t want to, and not because they cannot afford it. In essence, these people have no want. They have all earthly goals checked, and one would thus be quick to conclude that they technically do not need any financial planning.
However, these people do not have everything, and there’s still a need to do some planning. The planning they require is, however, not the conventional financial planning we know.
Material Belongings
On the one hand, consider a person who wakes up and still has everything he currently has in his or her life i.e., the same career, relationships, and interests. All these are unchanged, except that the person no longer has any possessions. Now, how do you think such a person would feel? What do you think would be the person’s first reaction or step?
If you find yourself in such a situation, what would you do? Would you be afraid or you’d remain unperturbed? Would you still be filled with happiness?
Take out time to consider these questions and honestly determine what would become of you if any of those things happened to you. The essence of this is to show you that even though one has enough wealth to meet all needs and wants, material wealth isn’t the primary source of happiness. Wealth and earthly possessions are merely tools that ought to be used to seek out goals that are worthy and cannot just be taking away at the snap of fingers.
Now, let us assume that we are on the same page and you agree that possessions are just tools to assist a person in seeking out worthy goals. The next question is, how can you be sure that you are channeling your resources and wealth in the appropriate direction towards the people, causes, endeavors, and values that are very dear to you?
To get more practical, imagine that when you wake up tomorrow, nothing about your life has changed, except the fact that you do not have any possessions save for the clothes you have on and a bag that contains the exact amount of your net worth. How would you feel? What would be your first action and reaction? Would you do things the same way or differently? Would you still buy the same car and buy a house in your current neighborhood?
Would you decide to make identical reinvestment? Would you give to similar causes? Would this determine how you expend your human capital? Would you make less or more investments in your household and community? Simply, what do you think you would change?
Re-examination of Motivation
Think deep, and you’ll realize that there are indeed some things you would want to change. This implies that a person who has all his needs and wants fully satisfied still has a lot to gain from a re-examination of what motivates them the most and the extent to which they are acting based on such motivations i.e., their financial and life planning.
Experts have concluded that people who have the most financial resources are also the ones who have a lot to gain from a regular and conscientious exploration of where they currently are and where they could subsequently be. This gives a clear vision of where they are headed, and without doing this, there’s a high tendency to get influenced by external circumstances and dreams belonging to others rather than one’s desires.
Thus, these questions are just as important to those who have everything as much as they are to those who do not have enough. In essence, we should all strive to ensure that we are not possessed by our possessions. The principal end of any financial or life planning is to see that our possessions do not limit us, but rather help us attain freedom.
