What Is Your Enough Number?
What Is Your Enough Number?
This week I’ll share with you a very simple idea that may change your life. Yes, I said it may change your life. I don’t say that often, but I think it fits here. The concept is called the ‘EIEN’ and it can transform your thinking from one of scarcity to abundance almost overnight. Let me explain.
In a number of prominent studies, participants were asked the amount of money they require to feel financially secure. Before I share the results with you, let me ask, “How much money do you need to have accumulated to feel safe and financially free from worry?” The results of the study were stunning, if not saddening. Regardless of the participants’ level of wealth, the answer was almost always more than they had. That’s right, even the very wealthy do not find contentment until they have just a little bit more than they have now.
Shocked? Probably not.
Some of the hard wiring in all of us requires that we protect ourselves from danger through preparation. That said, when uncertainty persists, the need for more trumps everything else, right? What are we to do about this unrest that seems to exist deep within us? The answer is to spend the time and effort necessary to develop your EIEN, your “Enough Is Enough Number.” What’s that? It’s the amount of money you need in safe money investments that will provide you the lifestyle that is enough for you.
This is so painfully simple to understand that it almost sounds ludicrous. Yet so few have developed their number. Finding that elusive number is a combination of determining lifestyle costs and adding the cost of the unknowns that may wage war on your comfy lifestyle. Things like long term health care expenses, rampant inflation, and a new roof on the house are at the very heart of the fear of running out of money.
Would you believe that you can actually plan for these and turn unknowns into manageable knowns? In fact, that’s what we spend most of our time doing with and for clients. We walk them through every facet of retirement planning to discover and bring into the light the very fears that cause us to never truly arrive at our respective EIENs. They’re manageable.
The confidence that comes from the EIEN cannot be underestimated and it allows all sorts of magic to happen: becoming less prone to worry, more apt to become charitable with time and possibly money, and better able to live fully…free from the worry of money. Sounds good to me. So then, what’s your number?
The process begins with the basic budget. By accounting for every dollar that flows through your hands throughout the year, you’ll begin to gain confidence and also determine if changes would allow you to reach your goals sooner. Considering how your lifestyle and spending habits may change during retirement is a challenging, yet doable task. Then we consider all of the risks that may threaten your lifestyle and cost money to address. We apply some projections on likely rates of return from your investments, inflation rates, and taxes. Finally, we go out into the financial marketplace to determine the most appropriate strategies, products, and investments available to provide you the best outcomes.
The result of all of this preparation is a renewed sense of confidence and conviction about the best next steps to take. It’s a really transformative experience when you can see, feel, and understand your EIEN. It’s the basis for our retirement planning process and the results can be very exciting. In fact, we’ve seen a number of families achieve an earlier retirement as a result of the process.
While some people are content to ‘wing it’ during retirement, if you’re not that person, we can help. Find your EIEN and free yourself to focus on life’s bigger opportunities. It’s within your grasp.
