Beneath the surface of the choices we make are our core values. In the sphere of money, we call them our ‘Financial Values’. We each have unique ‘financial values’ that play a role in our decisions related to money.
The role that they play depends on how much importance we’ve assigned to them either consciously or subconsciously. Exploring these core values allows us to make decisions that are closer aligned with what we truly care most about, and less influenced by everything else.
Investing intentional focus into our financial values allows us to examine if our choices are still aligned with our goals, or if they need to be re-prioritized.
Defining Financial Values
At the core, financial values represent our deeply held beliefs and goals around money. They can influence our day-to-day financial habits and our long-term relationship with wealth.
What Are Financial Values?
Our financial values are highly personal. They are shaped by our upbringing, life experiences, and aspirations.
At the core, they might be some combination of:
- Security / Peace of Mind
- Quality of Life / Freedom
- Family / Community
- Passions / Purpose
It’s important to identify which ones we have held on to that may play an oversized role in our lives. Sometimes we have deeply ingrained values that are leftover from past experiences, but are no longer serving us in a positive way.
For example: We may feel fear relating to financial decisions based on our upbringing or life experiences. This has caused us to prioritize security over purpose. But what we REALLY want is to get past that fear to make an impact on the lives of others.
The fear can overwhelm us if we allow it to. So realizing this and re-focusing on our current financial values can help us overcome that fear and start fresh with a new energy towards our purpose.
This is not to say: ‘Throw caution to the wind’. It is more to simply examine potential limiting beliefs that have been ingrained in us unintentionally and explore if those beliefs are still serving us.
Different ways this can manifest financially:
- Someone with the core financial values of Security and Peace of Mind may have a strong desire to build an extra large emergency fund, and save for retirement decades in advance while forgoing luxuries. They also may take a conservative approach to investing, attempting to avoid perceived risks.
- If someone has Purpose and Mission as their core financial values, they may derive the most satisfaction from supporting meaningful causes, or contributing to the benefit of others, even if it means less financial security for themselves.
- If Family or Community is the core value, this person may build an in-depth financial plan that solidifies the future of their family, putting legal and financial safeguards in place for multiple loved ones.
- If Quality of Life and Freedom are the main core values – This person may start their own business, invest in themselves aggressively, and build a life that maximizes their ability to live life on their own terms.
These values aren’t just preferences—they are the guiding principles behind our financial lives, and they often have been reinforced subconsciously for decades.
Our values serve as an important reminder that our financial decisions should reflect what we value most. Upon deeper reflection, most people realize that materialistic and arbitrary goals hold very little meaning.
Read about our Company’s Core Values Here.
The Difference Between Values and Goals
Values are the “why” behind our financial decisions, while goals are the “what” that we hope to achieve. Values provide the emotional and psychological grounding for the goals we set.
The Importance of Financial Values in Personal Life
Our financial values play a foundational role in shaping our personal lives. They help us shape the trajectory of our lives, build discipline, intentionality, and facilitate decision-making skills. All of which can enhance our overall well-being and can have a positive spillover to those around us.
Guiding Financial Decisions
Financial decisions impact other areas of life. Our financial health can impact our mental health and our relationships, so making wise financial decisions is rarely only a benefit of dollars and cents.
Using values to guide financial decisions allows us to avoid potential obstacles and pitfalls that take us further away from our long term goals. It’s not: ‘pinch every penny no matter what’. Its more: ‘Be mindful and intentional with our decisions, and make sure they stay aligned with what really matters.’
Building Financial Discipline
Our values help cultivate discipline by grounding our actions in a deeper sense of purpose. They can provide the motivation to resist impulsive spending or over-speculating on an investment by reminding us that money is simply a tool to facilitate the more important aspects of life.
Enhancing Personal Well-Being
When our financial actions are in harmony with what we care about most, that can help strengthen our own mental health, our relationships, and can foster a sense of fulfillment. Whether we’re striving for financial security, freedom, or generosity, aligning money with our values can bring us closer to a life of purpose.
I believe most would agree that living with fulfillment and purpose is quite a large variable in personal well-being.
Learn more about the link between finances and psychology here.
Financial Values and Relationships
When used wisely, money can foster harmony and mutual growth in relationships. When misused, those same relationships can experience high levels of stress and tension.
Aligning Values with Family and Partners
Open discussions about financial values with family or partners can help avoid conflict and build shared understanding. This is particularly important for planning for major life events such as marriage or buying a home. Shared values are the foundation for financial harmony within relationships, allowing couples to move forward together with a unified approach.
Where there are differences, communication is even more important. Both partners have to understand that the other’s values need to be considered on an equal level to their own.
Even when both partners are on the same page about values, it’s often the case that one is more numbers-oriented than the other, or that one is more planning-oriented than the other which can lead to disagreements in day-to-day financial habits. Financial Advisors can sometimes act as mediators helping each spouse be heard and see the perspective of the other.
Teaching Financial Values to Children
Teaching children about financial values can help them develop a healthy relationship with money from a young age, savings years or decades of avoided hardship. Sharing personal experiences or discussing family financial goals can foster an early understanding of being intentional with money. These good habits can set them on the path to their own version of success.
Financial Values and Career Choices
Financial values extend beyond personal finances—they can shape your career path and professional success as well.
Aligning Career with Financial Values
Choosing a career that aligns with financial values can provide greater satisfaction and fulfillment. While one individual will prioritize a higher paycheck for the financial freedom it can bring, someone else might prioritize the ability to work hands-on with others regardless of the pay. Both individuals will be more fulfilled if they follow the path that is right for them, and both will feel very unfulfilled following the wrong path that doesn’t align with their values.
Impact on Professional Growth
By staying true to financial values, we can create careers that resonate with our long-term goals. One individual may feel a commitment to the mission their industry is on, while another may be focused on giving back to the community.
A career choice that is aligned with our values is more likely to put us on a path towards professional growth. Passion leads to extra willingness to put in extra learning and effort, which enhances our capacity for growth.
The Role of Financial Values in Wealth Building
Personal Values and Wealth Building are not mutually exclusive.
Long-Term Financial Planning
Many decisions we make have a series of ripple effects. A decision today can set us on a whole new course.
Long term planning and intentionality helps us make decisions that keep us on the right path for our entire lifetime. Some of those decisions are small, others are big. But all of them matter to keep us on the meaningful path we desire for our lives.
Resisting Impulsive Decisions
When rooted in strong financial values, we’re less likely to make impulsive financial decisions that derail our progress. Instead, our values provide an anchor, helping us weigh choices carefully. Whether faced with an exciting investment opportunity or the temptation to overspend, these values can keep us grounded.
Building Generational Wealth
While each generation will have its own values, what matters is not any one individual value, but values in general. A values-based mindset and culture in our families and communities can live on beyond our own lives.
The hope for the future generations is that they don’t just live with external wealth, but they live with a deep internal wealth through fulfillment and happiness. We believe the answer of where to find that deep wealth lies within, and the path to get there is to examine our individual core values first.
Conclusion: Put Your Financial Values into Practice
After honest reflection, we may find that many of our past financial decisions have been influenced by fleeting desires, societal pressures, biases, or past experiences.
Refocusing on our values can help us make wiser choices going forward that keep us on the path that we really want to be on. With practice, these values can become ingrained at an instinctual level, and the options that take us further from our goals will become less appealing.
In our view, true wealth is found by people who keep their values at the forefront, allowing them to pursue purpose, fulfillment, and happiness—not just for themselves, but for others as well.
Key Takeaways:
- Identify your core financial values and let them guide your financial habits, from daily spending to long-term planning.
- Open discussions with loved ones about shared values can reduce financial stress and foster harmony.
- Teaching financial values to children can set them up for greater financial literacy and future success (However they define ‘success’ for themselves).
- Strong financial values serve as a guidepost for resisting impulsive decisions and focusing on long-term goals.
- Your financial legacy is more than wealth—it’s the values you pass down to future generations.
Next Steps:
- Reflect on your core financial values. What drives your decisions today?
- Are there any current habits and priorities that are overdue to change?
- Begin aligning your financial decisions with these values through intentional and consistent actions.
- Share these values with your family and set collective financial goals that reflect them.
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