George Kinder, founder of “Life Planning”, thinks how money should be managed | Wilnesh News

Greg Iacurci: What is the basic premise of the life planning movement?

George Kind: The basic premise is that financial planning is about setting clients free. Everyone has a dream of freedom and they should realize it. This applies to people who have no money, people who are in debt, and people who have a lot of money.

The focus shifts from money (we have a lot of anxiety and lots of tasks to do) to freedom. What does it actually look like, what does it feel like, and what are the steps to get there?

GI: What do you mean by freedom?

Goalkeeper: I think we all have our own feelings, and our feelings are through these three questions.

If people only focus on money, they forget who they really want to be and what they want to do. They often think, “Maybe I won’t be able to do this until I retire, or maybe I’ll never achieve this. So I don’t really want to deal with it. I just try to be more efficient with (my) money.” ”.

The premise of life planning is that, no, you should focus on your freedom dream and do some exercises to discover what it is. Then you’ll find that the money side of things goes much more smoothly because it doesn’t feel like such an overwhelming task.

GI: Do you think people blindly save money or try to build wealth without really thinking about what it’s for?

Goalkeeper: Everyone I meet does this. This is a common phenomenon throughout civilization. People get lost in their daily lives without a structure. Without the dream of true freedom, (financial) tasks are difficult to accomplish.

GI: These three questions help highlight what is most important to people and what they want to do in life – and it gets them thinking about how they can use money to further those goals?

Goalkeeper: Exactly. It keeps your eyes on the prize. People really don’t know what their goals are. I think their ultimate goal is something they read in a financial journal or the Wall Street Journal or a personal finance blog. They think they have to fix their IRA and budget more. They get lost in it rather than always looking at, “Okay, there’s a reason for this and the reason is I want to live this life and if I do these things (then) I can get there and do it in a relatively short period of time.” time to get there.

GI: But that doesn’t necessarily mean that people are saving in the wrong way, right? You’ll hear these rules of thumb, such as that you should save at least 15% of your income for retirement. You just ask yourself why are you doing this?

Goalkeeper: There is nothing wrong with this. Also, if you read good advice columns, or you read books or have an advisor, you’ll have a good idea of ​​how to save and how to invest and all of that. So there’s nothing wrong with that. But the focus is off, so you’re lost.

You say, “Save 15% for retirement.” So why do we use the “retirement” framework? I think “freedom” is a stronger and more appropriate term for everyone. Freedom could happen in a year, or it could happen in six years. It doesn’t necessarily line up with what we typically think of as retirement.

GI: Basically, it’s not necessary to postpone your goals and ambitions until retirement.

Goalkeeper: Exactly. When we think about these things, we think about how to get there very, very quickly. By “soon” we usually mean sometimes within a few months, and almost always within three years, and usually within about a year and a half.

This may mean that you don’t get what you want, but you are definitely on the way to it and feel a lot of freedom from it.

For example, if your dream is to live in the country and you live in the city: maybe you occasionally go to the country for a two-week vacation (but now) maybe you take a four- to six-week vacation for a few weeks. Maybe you’re doing more remote work. Maybe you’re already thinking about where you want to live and figuring out how to spend three months there in a year or two. So as part of your financial planning plan and your financial life, you are actively moving towards freedom.

GI: Do you think this is something that everyone can practice, or do you think it’s more of a luxury that’s more for people with money? Maybe they can achieve financial freedom more easily.

Goalkeeper: When we look at it from the perspective of financial freedom, then, of course, people who have more means are more able to do it.

But I grew up in a very poor part of the country. I was born in West Virginia and live across the border in rural Ohio. I think when you grow up with people who are not wealthy, you realize that they each have a dream of freedom. Each of them wants to live a life that is extraordinary for them.

So, I would say this is definitely for everyone. The main reason is that when you realize your dream of freedom, if you do it well, you become very dynamic. You will be energized by its accomplishments. That’s why it’s not so much about money, but about cultivating a passion for who you really want to be.

GI: How does your new book further your life planning work?

Goalkeeper: At its core, this book is about providing inspiration and tips on creating your own life plan so you can live (it). The second subtitle of “The Three Realms of Freedom” is “Your Life is Yours.” This section of the book is dedicated to encouraging consumers to do it themselves, and if they can’t do it themselves, find a trustee who can combine these things to help.

There are two other elements. They may seem far away, but they are not.

We can only experience freedom in the present moment. It was the only moment we ever experienced. I spend a third of the book discussing how to master the present moment itself, and mindfulness plays a big role in that. In terms of personal finances, it helps because the less twisted and torn you are in the moment, the less you’re struggling or neurotic in some way, the calmer you are and the more accessible you are.

Then the last third (of the book) takes the concept of “trust” and applies it. What if, in addition to financial advisors who can have fiduciaries, what if every institution, every company, every nonprofit, every government were a fiduciary of truth, democracy, the planet, and humanity? I mean, let’s ask them to be fiduciaries and not have their own interests in mind. If we did that, I think it would solve the crazy situation we’re in.