Financial Purpose - Know Yours To Achieve Success!

“The secret of success is constancy to purpose.”
Benjamin Disraeli

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The Importance Of Financial Purpose

Before we dive too deeply into the financial side of things, let’s take a second to focus on “purpose.”

Answer this question: Have you ever done anything (intentionally) without a reason?

Of course not. Even if the action was one you didn’t want to do, something drove you to do it. Maybe it was a negative reason, maybe you were reluctant, or maybe you wanted to. Regardless, intentional actions have purpose.

Consider the discipline required to become a great athlete. Let’s use a runner as an example. What is a runner’s purpose in pushing their body to the point of exhaustion day in and day out as they train? Surely not “just because.” No, there is something more.

Maybe the runner is highly competitive, and the idea of victory drives them to get up and getting moving every day. Or maybe the individual is determined to stay healthy, and has chosen running as the method to achieve that goal. It could be anything, but it won’t be nothing. These types of people are driven by purpose.

Just like purpose gives the runner motivation to train, day in and day out, identifying and knowing your financial purpose is the only way to stay motivated over the long term.

The Financial Race We’re Running

We’re going to stick with the running analogy for a second here…

Maintaining good personal finances is actually pretty similar to maintaining good health and training for a race. It takes effort, every day. And not having a purpose in mind is a great way to fail.

Especially when you consider the type of race you’re in.

You are running a financial marathon, not a sprint. You are in this for the long haul. In fact, you will always be in this. And if you’re going to stay motivated enough to cross the finish line and win, you’ve got to have a financial purpose.

A Personal Example

Two years ago, my finances were structured completely differently. It wasn’t that my wife and I lacked money, necessarily, it’s that the places we kept our money lacked security. We were always a couple of months without a renter or one dip of a particular stock away from trouble.

Also, no real budget to speak of. We knew there was money leftover each month, so we called it good. I guess we thought the future would take care of itself…

In short, we were making it work without working to make it right.

Then something happened. We found out we were going to be parents. And suddenly, security became more important.

Putting our family in a strong financial situation, one where we could weather any emergency, became our purpose. And we got wild!

We stocked up as much cash as possible, beginning with selling our single stock investments. We downsized back into our smaller home and reduced our mortgage dramatically. In other words, we set up a defense.

And then, after our daughter arrived and the hospital bills were paid, we paid off all our debt and kept enough cash on hand to cover half a year’s expenses.

Family security became our number one purpose.

Changing Purposes

Now, several years later, will still value family security. Every financial decision we make hinges on this element. However, we achieved this goal in the short term, and are working towards it steadily in the long term. Now, we’ve moved on to another purpose that gives us the intense motivation we need to continue to sacrifice and work hard each and every month.

We’d like to move into a larger home as we begin to grow our family even more. But, we have some rules about that. We want a 15 year mortgage, and we want the monthly payment to fit comfortably into our budget. That means we need a large downpayment.

So now, each month we set our budget up so that we can continue to make huge gains toward this goal fast. Having this clear, defined purpose in mind keeps us motivated when we might otherwise stumble into a restaurant every night, or go on an unplanned shopping spree.

We have a purpose and a plan. We stick to it.

I mention this because your purpose will probably shift and change over time too, and that’s okay! What’s not okay is forgetting your purpose altogether and straying from your established plan.

Finding Your Financial Purpose

So, I’ve told you mine. Now you need to find yours.

Maybe you’re 22, single, and in an awesome career field making more than you know what to do with. Your purpose might be to get ahead now, so that you never need to depend on anyone else for security in the future.

Or maybe you’re 52, and haven’t done the best job of planning for a looming retirement. Your purpose might be to turn things around for the sake of your future self. Start investing now, and start investing a lot.

When it comes to your financial purpose, it doesn’t matter what it is, it only matters that you have one. Find it. If you’re in a relationship, find it together. And once you find it, keep it at the front of your mind so that you can have the financial success you deserve!

And remember, regardless of your money goals, you can “Bank on a Budget” to get you from where you are to where you want to be!

“To forget one’s purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

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Alex

Hello, my name is Alex! I'm a public school teacher who has achieved some big financial goals just by getting control of my money using some simple strategies like using a monthly budget. Now I'd like to share what I've learned with you. Welcome to "Bank on a Budget!"