It’s a new season, and this one’s a little bit of a cop-out if I’m honest. But with good reason! I am currently hard into writing the MeaningfulMoney book, and I’m trying to create as much space as possible to do that. So for the next few weeks, I’ll be resurrecting some of the greatest hits of the podcast for your listening pleasure.

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This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support.

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Putting money into perspective

Today we’re going to be talking about Getting Money In Perspective. I deal with clients every day and many of them have the correct perspective when it comes to their financial situation. Others do not, and part of my job as a financial planner is to act as a counsellor and try to adjust their feelings about money towards a more healthy balance.

I’ve said before on this show that money is a means to an end and never an end in itself. By this I mean that the pursuit of money for its own sake is a hiding to nothing. If the accumulation of wealth is your main mission in life then you’ll never be happy, because how much is enough? I have refused to work with clients before because all they wanted from me was to help them make more money at the expense of pretty much everything else.

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The Kinder Questions

Here are the three questions I mention in the podcast, devised by the legend that is George Kinder:

1 – Imagine you are financially secure, that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. How would you live your life? Would you change anything? Let yourself go. Don’t hold back on your dreams. Describe a life that is complete and richly yours.

2 – Now imagine that you visit your doctor, who tells you that you have only 5-10 years to live. You won’t ever feel sick, but you will have no notice of the moment of your death. What will you do in the time you have remaining? Will you change your life and how will you do it? (Note that this question does not assume unlimited funds.)

3 – Finally, imagine that your doctor shocks you with the news that you only have 24 hours to live. Notice what feelings arise as you confront your very real mortality. Ask yourself: What did you miss? Who did you not get to be? What did you not get to do?

Resources mentioned in this episode

Book: The Seven Stages of Money Maturity by George Kinder

Book: Lighting the Torch by George Kinder

Podcast: Teaching Children About Money

And of course, you can click the button below for a (kinda) full transcript:

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