loader from loading.io

57: Why Your Money Needs Direction

Wealth by Design

Release Date: 01/31/2019

MINISODE: Hurricane Hiatus - An Update on the Wealth by Design Podcast show art MINISODE: Hurricane Hiatus - An Update on the Wealth by Design Podcast

Wealth by Design

Hello, loyal listeners! We wanted to let you know that we have a quick update on the podcast and a few things that are happening over at Toujours Planning right now. As you may know, we are a Lake Charles-based business and family, and our community, homes, and offices were devastated by Hurricane Laura in August.

info_outline MINISODE: Do You Need a Financial Advisor or a Certified Financial Planner™? show art MINISODE: Do You Need a Financial Advisor or a Certified Financial Planner™?

Wealth by Design

Do you need a financial planner? A financial advisor? An investment professional? A money coach? And what are those initials after their names?!

info_outline MINISODE: Are You Falling into This Stock Market Trap? show art MINISODE: Are You Falling into This Stock Market Trap?

Wealth by Design

In this minisode, Dustin breaks down the Sir Templeton’s quote: “Bull markets are born on pessimism, grown on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria.”. He also discusses timing the stock market, why it’s a bad idea, and what you should do instead.

info_outline MINISODE: Should You Have a Joint Account with Your Partner? show art MINISODE: Should You Have a Joint Account with Your Partner?

Wealth by Design

We’ll keep the intrigue to a minimum. In our opinion, the answer to this question is a resounding yes. Sharing your finances with your partner builds trust. Keeping them separate can breed suspicion and worry.

info_outline MINISODE: When Stock Markets Dip and Bounce Back show art MINISODE: When Stock Markets Dip and Bounce Back

Wealth by Design

In this minisode, Dustin recaps what a stock actually is and how stocks are bought and sold. He discusses how people’s emotions cause those peaks and valleys in the stock market, and how you can avoid that dangerous herd mentality when it comes to your own investing.

info_outline 112: Growing a Business & Wealth with Katell and Jon of Reverielane show art 112: Growing a Business & Wealth with Katell and Jon of Reverielane

Wealth by Design

Katell and Jon, a husband and wife design team, are founders of Reverielane, a purpose-driven brand and web design firm.

info_outline [Summer Remix] 102: Net Worth is King show art [Summer Remix] 102: Net Worth is King

Wealth by Design

We talk about fear a lot on our podcast. Fear is natural and, TBH, necessary. But fear can also make you focus on the wrong thing when it comes to your net worth. Paying down debt rather than building up your assets, to be specific. And that’s what we discuss in this week’s episode: where our fear of the “debt boogeyman” comes from, our three-step strategy on how to overcome it, and what part of your finances you should be focusing on instead.

info_outline [Summer Remix] 101: Robo-advisors: Your New Best Friend or Your Worst Enemy? show art [Summer Remix] 101: Robo-advisors: Your New Best Friend or Your Worst Enemy?

Wealth by Design

The robots have taken over. Just kidding. But, they have taken over a major chunk of the financial industry in the form of robo-advisors. But the truth is, we think robo-advisors are actually pretty useful. Of course, there’s a time and a place to use them, which is exactly what we cover in this episode of Wealth by Design.

info_outline [Summer Remix] 100: High Yield Savings vs. Stocks: Who Wins? show art [Summer Remix] 100: High Yield Savings vs. Stocks: Who Wins?

Wealth by Design

There are a lot of misconceptions about investing in the stock market, thanks to fear-mongering in the news, horror stories from family and friends, and a lack of education about the stock market in general. Your fears may also be why high yield savings seems like the better option for your money. In this episode, we talked about the differences between high yield savings and stocks. We know you’re probably a big fan of saving because it’s “safe,” right? Well, we’re about to rock your world.

info_outline [Summer Remix] 98: Leaving Behind the “Punch Clock” Mindset show art [Summer Remix] 98: Leaving Behind the “Punch Clock” Mindset

Wealth by Design

The concept of a punch clock — punching in to start a shift and punching out when it ends — is ingrained in many of us, even as business owners who write our own checks and make our own schedules. But it doesn’t have to stay that way! On this episode of Wealth By Design, we talk about how you can start changing your mindset and your life right now.

info_outline
 
More Episodes

Managing your money is a little bit like going camping or hiking. You spend a lot of time preparing and packing for the journey and then you’re off, ready to see where the road takes you. But what happens when you forget your map? And what happens when you don’t plan out where you’re going?

Starting off without a direction can feel exciting, but it can also prevent you from seeing (and doing) everything you want. The same goes for your money. If you don’t have a direction for your money, you may feel like it’s not enough, or that you’re not able to reach your goals. But your money can help you do all those things… it just needs a little direction. Listen to this episode to learn why your money needs direction and how to do it.

Here’s what you’ll learn

0:48 The importance of a roadmap when it comes to using your money successfully

5:47 Why Dustin doesn’t go hiking without a map anymore

11:05 How hiking without a map is a lot like managing money without direction

11:55 What ‘direction for your money’ really means

13:49 Dustin and Danielle’s favorite resources for giving your money direction

13:59 How to determine your direction with a net worth statement

14:30 Why you need a timeline for your financial goals

15:14 The power of an investment plan in giving your money direction

17:41 How the bucket strategy helps you give each dollar a job

 

Four actionable tips to give your money direction

In this episode, Dustin and Danielle give you plenty of reasons why you need a direction for your money. But where do you even start?

1. You need to know where you stand before you get started.

To give your money direction, you’ll need to start by calculating your Net Worth. Dustin and Danielle share a Net Worth Calculator in their collection of financial planning resources that makes this easy. This will tell you where you’re at with money and you’ll have a better view of where you need to focus your money most.

Dustin recommends doing this at least once a year. It’s an ongoing living document that needs to be updated so your money’s “marching orders” are in line with your current situation.

2. Create a timeline for your goals.

We all have goals and most of us have them written down. But what if you added a timeline to them? In this episode, Dustin and Danielle give you some great questions to ask yourself to flesh out your timeline — and they also give you tips on how to use a Financial Timeline to help you see your plan in action. (Note: They have a timeline you can use in their financial planning resources).

3. Create an investment plan

You might read that and think an investment plan is a financial plan. But it’s not. An investment plan is something you can do without an advisor, and it’s more of an investment goals analysis than anything. It’s not just for retirement investment goals, either. An investment plan is great for investing in a work-optional lifestyle at any age — or for travel, home buying, college savings, etc. To create an investment plan, Dustin and Danielle share their favorite investment planning tool that will tell you how to direct the right amount of money to your goals.

(P.S. Check out the episode if you want to see how to use this tool to the fullest.)

4. Create a savings system with the “Bucket Strategy”

The best way to give your money direction is to give it different jobs. At Worth It, we’ve talked about the “Bucket Strategy” before, which includes:

  1. The first bucket: Your emergency fund.
  2. The second bucket: Your intermediate goals.
  3. The third bucket: Your long-term goals.

Dustin and Danielle explain what each of these buckets mean and how you can direct your money to fill each one, so make sure to check that out. They also explain how the investment planning tool will help you figure out how much to allocate to these goals (and how long it will take you to get the buckets full).

Hopefully, this episode gives you a great launching-off point for your new money “map.” The best part is that you can do these yourself and figure out where you stand… without ever asking for help.

Have you decided you need help giving your money direction? Toujours Planning may be able to help. See if we’re a good fit by answering a few simple questions.

Resources & people mentioned

Connect with Danielle and Dustin