One Wealth Perspectives

Financial Planning is a process, and at it’s core, one that is ongoing. At One Wealth Advisors, our aim is to develop financial plans for clients with the notion that the plan becomes the baseline for decision making moving forward. However, financial plans, more often than not, evolve into something that look vastly different – 5, 10 even 20 years down the road. Circumstances change – careers change, income rises, we get older, children are born, grow up, go to college etc., etc. Hence, that baseline financial plan should reflect those dynamics, embodying what we like to call a “living – breathing” document. And much like our “living-breathing” bodies, the plan should be given a regular “check-up”.

A survey conducted last year found that money remains the top source of stress for Americans, regardless of income. Understandably, a combination of recent events such as high inflation, supply chain issues, and geo-political uncertainty have aggravated this feeling. One effective way to react to stressors, is to focus on the elements that are in our control and create a plan of action for them. While we cannot control inflation and global uncertainty, we can manage the ways in which we spend and save.

A healthy relationship requires accountability, so why would we treat our relationship with money any differently, and why does the topic of money create anxiety in relationships?

The answer to these questions likely come from issues stemming from our childhood, or other life events. Financial advice can help remedy these issues, but we first need to learn about the history of our relationship with money.

This week, I am interrupting our weekly thoughts with an annual piece that I plan on writing each January going forward. The purpose of this piece is to remind us all of some of the general principles we try to utilize in the advice we give as well as some observations about the current investment and economic environment.

We dedicate the month of January to the broad topic of financial planning and I have the pleasure of writing the 2023 inaugural Thought of the Week. Last week, as I was mulling over what to write about, I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal that reminded me of the now 85-year running Harvard Study of Adult Development.