Most of the discussions with our clients focus on various elements that support the holistic financial health of that person and their family: Financial & Retirement Planning, Investment Management, Wealth Preservation, and Tax Analysis. While these are the core components, these are not the only areas our advisors address when working with our clients. Designing an efficient tax strategy or maximizing Risk-Adjusted returns for our clients is important, but we do not count out the importance of the health & well-being of our clients. In fact, this may be the most important driver in achieving a fulfilling and meaningful life – which feeds back into supporting a strong and stable financial plan! As our financial advisors at Stewardship Wealth Advisors say, “Your first wealth is your health!” After all, what is value in achieving one’s financial goals, without the well-being of the person to enjoy them?
This month we are promoting the importance of Investing in Your Well-Being. Here are our team’s top three considerations to focus on this summer:
- The Art of Life-Balance
Managing the juggling act that is building a loving home & family, enjoying life’s treasures found in great friendships, achieving growth and development in your professional and financial life, and (most importantly) being able to focus on yourself! We can all agree this is often easier said than done – however, it is important to properly allocate your most valuable resource, your time. No one is asking you to walk a tightrope over the Grand Canyon, although, at times it can feel this way. We are fortunate to work with a great group of clients that have developed this skill – and it is incredible to see how it benefits their relationships, their career, and supports every other part of their lives. Life-Balance is an artform – not unlike painting or cooking, and all the different parts and pieces are like the colors or ingredients used to create something wonderful; however, too much of one or not enough of another can put things out of balance. In cooking, it makes for a bad dish – but in life, it can manifest as stress or dissatisfaction. Everyone places what they value a little differently and finding out the balance that works best for you is something that takes practice, and conscious decision making.
- Yourself and Your Mental Health – How you act and interact with handling goals and objectives, overcoming obstacles, and building relationships all has a central starting point: You. Being in a good headspace allows you to think and speak more clearly, handle decision-making, and better handle the relationships in our lives. Its okay to make yourself and your mental health a priority.
- Exercise & Diet, but Dessert is okay, too! – The trick here is to create good habits – make positive lifestyle changes as the core of your daily routine, but still be able to enjoy the occasional lazy day or ice-cream. Good habits have balance!
- Life, Relationships, and Work: Time for your family & loved ones, time for friends, time for your career/work – like a plant needing water, sunlight, and good soil, our relationships require our attention in order to flourish. But we have to be careful to provide the right amount of each element, because too little or too much of any one thing leads to instability.
- Doing What You Love
There is always something to be said about the little things in life. These are the activities that tend to get us the most excited to place any of our extra time and energy. Here’s a thought for you though – maybe it shouldn’t just be “extra” time that goes towards these items. We would argue that these are the things in life that you look forward to, motivates you, expresses the best emotions within you, and is instrumental in solving for the “fulfilling” part of a fulfilling and meaningful life.
- Travel: A personal favorite of our team is traveling, aka vacation! Especially after this last year, now that it is starting to feel safer to be out and about, many of our clients are putting travel plans back together. Being able to disconnect from the everyday monotony of life and revisit a beloved place or explore a new one. Aryel & Jordan highly recommend walkable cities in the US. Destination spots where you don’t need a vehicle to have a great time: Seattle, New Orleans, & New York City are among their favorites! (Our best tip for exploring a new place is to do a walking or bike tour in the first day or two – having a local that is passionate about the area show you some of the best little eating spots and things to look for, gives you a lot of good ideas for the rest of your trip!)
- Hobbies: In our network of people, we hear some of the best hobbies! Artistic clients who create beautiful pottery work or custom stained-glass pieces, musicians who are talented pianists, guitar players, and singers, and our adventurers from those who explored the Antarctic, others exploring Europe with river cruises on the Danube, and even those that love to RV across our own beautiful country. One thing is that it is critical to give yourself an outlet!
- Don’t Wait for The Good Times to Be Happy
There is no better time to enjoy life than now! Too often, we wait for the good times to happen such as holidays, promotions, celebrations, etc. – when we have plenty of opportunities right in front of us to create happy moments. It’s ok sometimes to be in the pool with the kids when your laundry needs to get folded or stay up to read one more chapter when you should probably be in bed. Now this doesn’t mean making bad habits or ignoring our responsibilities – but know that it is ok to give yourself permission sometimes to take time to slow down, appreciate the good things around those we love, and to laugh often. This is the key to making the good times, better and the difficult times, easier.
