The way to conscious financial decisions: why your own why is so crucial

Instead of following ill-considered and automated behavioral patterns, which are often characterized by habits, social pressure or short-term impulses, this reflection makes it possible to develop a clear, self-determined attitude. It is up to you to choose a path that fits your values and goals in life. You have the opportunity to have ato write a very personal story, in which you determine why money has a meaning for you, what it means for your life and what role it should play. The crucial question is: What position do you want to take money in your life? Why is it important to you? and equally significant: Why could it also play a less central role? The preoccupation with theown why is an extremely powerful and positive experience. It creates clarity, enables orientation and ensures that many questions about dealing with money are self-resolved – not because they are solved by themselves, but because they are able to make decisions for their lives in line withtheir beliefs. With a clear, value-based attitude towards money, many challenges can be overcome more easily. They recognize which behaviors really make sense and can specifically question and change unproductive patterns, such as pointless investments, impulsive consumption or constant comparison with others.

A value-oriented foundation as a guide

A clearly formulated, authentic and ideally common why forms the basis for a more conscious handling of money. It provides orientation that allows decisions to be made at a deeper level and thus gain more clarity in financial planning. This means that you can more easily identify which expenses, investments or austerity measures make sense andwhich are rather counterproductive because they are not in line with their values. This basic understanding also makes it easier to have conversations with partners or family members in which different ideas about how to deal with money exist. Instead of reinforcing conflicts, it is much more helpful to recognize and respect the respective perspectives. The consciousUnderstanding your own values also makes it easier to follow a clear line when making important decisions, be it saving, investing or consuming.

Money as a tool for meeting your own values and goals

If you know why money has a specific meaning for you, it will be easier for you to use it sensibly. Money then becomes a tool that supports your personal values, long-term goals and dreams. It’s about not just hoarding or using money out of necessity, but seeing it as a means to create quality of life, to realize dreamsand protect yourself and your loved ones. Good financial decisions are the ones that bring you closer to your goals, reflect your values and make you feel like you are shaping your life according to your ideas. People often react irritated when asked why money plays an important role for them. This is not because the question would be badBut because it triggers profound considerations that many prefer to avoid. Most of the time they then provide keywords such as security, freedom, independence, quality of life or design options. However, these terms are very broad and serve more as projection surfaces for desires, fears or longings. There are usually no clear, concrete ones behind such termsGoals, but rather diffuse feelings. They mean something different for every person and leave a lot of room for interpretation.

Research the why behind the most important money motives

The crucial step is to further question these keywords and explore why they are personally meaningful to you. The central question is: Why is financial security really important to you? It is helpful not to be satisfied with a single answer, but to follow up on more deeply. Possible reasons could be that you thereby independent ofwant to remain good for the goodwill of others, want to ensure optimal medical care in the event of illness or want to live up to their responsibility towards their own children. There are many other questions to answer for each of these answers. Why is it essential for you to be independent of the judgment of others? Perhaps because they always have the desire toChange job if you are dissatisfied or because you never want to find yourself in a situation where you would have to stay with someone else for financial reasons. Why is it important for you to be able to take care of the children? possibly to give them a good start in life, ensure long-term care for a disabled child or shared experiences andto finance vacations. The financial resources you spend on this vary greatly. For some, it means financing a degree in a metropolis like Munich or Boston, while others are more likely to get along with a modest budget and deliberately include that the children also bear responsibility for their own education.

Deep questions for more clarity and self-determination

These questions are just a snippet of a variety of considerations that can help you recognize your personal why. The American financial expert George Kinder, who is heavily influenced by Buddhism, recommends asking three key questions when clarifying his own money motives. These should help you to grasp the core of your motivation and a clear,Develop authentic attitude. The first question is comparatively simple: Imagine you are fully financially secure and could shape your life as you wish. What would you do? What would change? What dreams could you implement now? This is about the free development of your wishes, about dreams that you may have only been quietly up to nowcarry with you. A sensible extension of this question is: If you had more money or more time, what would you do with it? Imagine you have 5,000, 25,000 or 250,000 euros available and you could freely decide within a week, a month or a year how to use this money. What would really be important to you in this case?The question is clearly more drastic and confronts you with its finiteness. It is: Imagine you learn that you only have five to ten years left to live without being sick, but that you will eventually die. What would you do in this remaining time? Would you fundamentally change your life? If so, how? This question is a powerful impulse to own your ownsharpen list of priorities. She gets you to deal with the essentials and find out what really matters – against the background of your own limitations. The third question is another emotional increase: Imagine you only have a single day left to live. What wishes and dreams remained unfulfilled? Who else would you like to see orvisit? What else would you like to do? What would you regret in retrospect? These questions open the view to the essentials and shed a new light on one’s own matrix of values. Many people report that when we think about it, they recognize the importance of spending time with loved ones, realizing dreams and making bold decisions. would have money for themhelped to realize these wishes or to realize them even earlier.

Clear goals based on your own values

Once you have recognized your personal why, the next step is to formulate concrete goals based on your values. This means developing measures such as creating reserves for old-age provision, financing the education of children, investing in your own future or drawing up an emergency plan. It is initially sufficient toRecord goals in writing without immediately supporting them with specific figures. Rather, it is about making your values visible – for example in the form of a so-called “one-page financial plan”. This plan is not a detailed timetable, but a guide that accompanies you in everyday life and gives you a clear direction. It is important that this planremains simple, understandable and clear. Because in the complex world of finance, simplicity is often the key. It is intended to help them to keep an overview of the confusing terrain of investment, savings plans and investments and to make the right decisions. It’s less about perfection, but about a clear, value-based orientation that youpersonal goals and motivates them to persevere even in difficult times.

Deliberate use of money as self-empowerment

Ultimately, it is about consciously shaping your relationship to money and building it on a solid, value-based basis. The intensive preoccupation with one’s own why creates clarity and helps to make decisions that are authentic and in line with their personal beliefs. If you know why money has a meaning for you, you can target itto realize your desires, dreams and goals. This creates the basis for a self-determined, responsible and fulfilling handling of money. The central message is: Simplicity and clarity are your most important tools to make the right decisions in a complex world and go your individual path. By knowing your valuesAnd build on them, they develop an attitude that supports them in all areas of life and helps them to shape a life according to their ideas – financially, emotionally and personally.