MY MONEY STORY
“TWO MILLION DOLLARS”
It was 2012 and my friend was telling me the “long story short” of a meeting she had with a financial advisor. After meeting for only twenty minutes, he counseled her that this was the exact figure a person needs to save in order to retire happily. It struck me that he might as well have told her she needed to start saving as soon as she learned to walk, because who could put that kind of money aside, in addition to the expenses of actual daily living?
MONEY GIVES YOU CHOICES
This was the money lesson I had learned growing up; money wasn’t everything; it certainly wasn’t the only thing. It did, however, give you options. The freedom to walk away when you needed to and the freedom to walk towards the good things in life. Money was a way to improve one’s future.
THE WORRYING “WHAT IFS”
Following that conversation though, I began to think money was not about freedom at all! It became a source of anxiety and worry. I went down a rabbit hole of “what ifs”. What if I had to stop working for a period of time? Then I would need the two million plus my living costs for that period. What if I became sick while still young? Then I would need the two million plus my living expenses while I was out of work plus my health care expenses for that period. What if… I needed to know where this impossible two million dollar figure came from.
A NEW PATH
As an experienced corporate finance lawyer, I already understood the essentials of how corporations employed different financial strategies to maximize their profits. As a co-founder of a non-profit focused on socially responsible investing, I knew how to help institutions translate their “money values” into both a positive financial and ethical outcome. Now I wanted to leverage my expertise in institutional finance to understand how individuals and families achieved their financial goals.
I developed an expertise in personal finance. I passed the Accredited Financial Counselor exam. I conducted monthly classes and provided 1:1 counseling to marines, sailors and their families through the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society. I volunteered with the High Water Women Foundation, founded by women in the hedge fund and financial service sectors, running workshops on economic empowerment. Lastly, I began providing financial counseling to anyone who asked for my assistance. In short, over the past 10+ years, I developed an absolute passion for, and knowledge about, money management.
I also learned that the two million figure quoted to my friend was absolute nonsense. There is no “one number that fits all,” and one’s personal financial targets certainly cannot be set after one cursory meeting.
Eventually, I created my own financial counseling program rooted in my observations on how people manage their money. I no longer believe money is simply a “hard science.” Rather, in working with a variety of clients, I have concluded that proper money management begins with asking questions such as:
How were you raised to think about money?
How has having money improved your life – or the lack of it harmed you?
What does a good life look like to you?
Only once I understand a client’s approach to their finances in relation to their routines and broader values can I help them articulate a financial future that motivates and excites them. Once we have a goal, we can work backwards to identify figures.
I named my program Blueprint Budgeting because each client I have receives a budget as detailed as an architectural blueprint, along with a broader financial plan centered on helping clients construct a strong foundation for their financial future.
The Net-Net
The idea that there are immutable figures crafted by experts applicable to everyone is a myth created to make money seem like an exact science that can only be practiced and understood by experts. In reality, it is something far more personal. Now, when someone asks me how much money they need to save, I do not give them a specific amount. Instead, I ask them first, as I now ask you, How do you want to live?