{"id":11854,"date":"2025-03-16T14:40:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T14:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=11854"},"modified":"2025-03-16T14:40:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T14:40:18","slug":"a-simple-exercise-to-maintain-financial-momentum-in-uncertain-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=11854","title":{"rendered":"A Simple Exercise To Maintain Financial Momentum In Uncertain Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Especially in times of market uncertainty or volatility, our attention tends to be sucked into the bottomless vortex of pointless prognostication and aimless activity. Yet, if you have a good plan in place, educated apathy is generally the most profitable move. As the sage Warren Buffett reminds us, \u201cThe stock market is designed to transfer money from the active to the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

But investing is just one part of wealth management\u2014and it\u2019s likely the element over which we have the least control. Therefore, regardless of the markets\u2019 machinations, we can absolutely continue to make progress in our financial plan beyond our portfolio. Furthermore, this progress can feel especially empowering\u2014and act as a healthy distraction\u2014as everyone else is fixated on the ticker tape.<\/p>\n

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Progress, not perfection<\/p>\n

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In a recent video short<\/a> from productivity guru Daniel Pink, he encourages us to act in a way supported by the science suggesting that one of the best ways to maintain forward momentum is to acknowledge our progress periodically. Almost certainly riffing on Teresa Amabile\u2019s work on the progress principle, <\/em>Pink encourages us to maintain momentum in our daily work by writing down three bullet points at the end of every day that acknowledge our progress.<\/p>\n

Amabile\u2019s research and her co-author, Steven Kramer, suggest that neither money nor recognition are the most powerful motivators in the workplace\u2014but instead, the sense of making progress in meaningful work<\/em>. \u201cOf all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday,\u201d Amabile says, \u201cthe single most important is making progress in meaningful work.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, how could we apply this principle effectively in our financial planning? The temptation is to limit our purview to the numerical, and while this may be the most convenient, thanks to the countability factor, it\u2019s often not the most accurate. Here\u2019s why: The numbers don\u2019t tell the whole story.<\/p>\n

Most obviously, your investment portfolio changes value daily, regardless of your personal efforts. And oftentimes, we purposefully choose to reduce our net worth for great reasons. For example, once you\u2019re in retirement, the chances are very good that your net worth will be purposefully and periodically reduced through the regeneration of your income and, quite possibly, a thoughtful gifting plan.<\/p>\n

Similarly, when your kids are in college and you\u2019re using your 529 plans to pay for their learning experience, your net worth is reduced\u2014even as your children\u2019s lives are enriched. In this case, you\u2019ve gained personally even though you, by definition, have less financially.<\/p>\n

What, therefore, CAN we count as progress toward our financial goals, if not our net worth? Think less about the number of dollars accumulated and more about elements of wealth that have been activated.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue financial success isn\u2019t just about accumulating wealth\u2014it\u2019s about activating it,\u201d says Doug Liptak<\/a>, the founder of the wealth management firm (for which I work), SignatureFD. \u201cWhen we regularly reflect on our financial progress, we don\u2019t just see numbers grow; we see the impact our money has on our lives, our families, and the world around us. That\u2019s what gives financial planning real purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doug proposes a four-fold mental model to help us reframe wealth management through a more purpose-oriented lens. Notably absent is any IRS code or financial jargon. He argues there are only four ways that we can deploy our wealth. You can:<\/p>\n