By: Joey Casolaro, CFP®
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or doing unless it means effort, pain, and difficulty.” Many things that come quickly and easily do not provide the same value or worth as things we must work toward.
Your effort into a home-cooked meal with fresh, whole foods is far healthier than convenient, fast food. The number of lottery winners suffering significant stress and loss is well known.
Looking back at your life’s most significant accomplishments, you’ll find it typically took a persistent effort to overcome an obstacle and achieve your goal. Often, focusing on the purpose of the effort gives meaning to overcoming the difficulty of the situation. Finding the purpose is what some call discovering your WHY.
Financial planning is one of those things that requires an effort to realize any value.
The effort may include the time necessary to collect data and participate in meetings for decision-making outside your comfort zone. We face dozens of decisions daily - many are provisional, while some have a lasting impact. To avoid the pain that some associate with the decision-making process, many people default to conservative options rather than assuming some risk, which may be more prudent.
Before making a choice, it’s critical that you first ask yourself why this is important to you—continue asking why until you arrive at the core purpose for what you want. Understanding your WHY will help you decide if the risks associated with your decision are worth taking.
For example, when it comes to investing in the stock market, your expected return is dependent on two factors:
(1) How much risk are you willing to take (based on the percentage of stocks versus bonds you own)
(2) Your ability to stay invested in the market long-term, especially during volatile times.
Although this may seem simple, many investors fall into the trap of emotional investing, which is when you allow your emotions (greed, fear, and impatience are the most common) to impact your long-term investment decisions. These feelings, however, are expected when investing money acquired through years of hard work and sacrifice.
When emotions arise during your investment journey, you want to ask yourself, “Why is this money important to me?” Write the answer down on paper, then ask yourself why that is important to you. Continue this process until you discover your WHY for investing – your purpose.
Our main objective at HIGHLAND is to improve people’s lives by educating them and guiding their decision process. We start our financial planning process with a life plan that explores your aspirations and desires to develop a vision for your future. The effort you put into your financial planning may require overcoming challenges and difficulties, but the value you receive can be life-changing. Remembering why you are making an effort is essential to staying true to your purpose and keeping the end goal in mind.
Joey Casolaro is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ at HIGHLAND Financial Advisors, a Fee-Only fiduciary wealth advisory firm that offers comprehensive financial planning, retirement planning, and investment management. Joey graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in personal finance and successfully passed the CFP national exam in 2021. Joey enjoys working out, spending time outdoors, and hanging out with family and friends in his free time.