"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money." ~ Benjamin Franklin
Are you using your life as a tool for a money plan or do you use money as a tool for a life plan?
At the core of my philosophical belief system with regard to money and personal finance, is life planning. Essentially, I believe life planning is the antithesis of conventional financial planning, or what I call money planning.
The Money Plan: This is the conventional financial plan. It is almost entirely quantitative in nature. The money plan implies that you must use your life as a tool to accomplish money-oriented goals. In other words, to accomplish the objectives of the money plan, one sacrifices one's health and well-being to climb the corporate ladder, to save more money and to retire sooner and wealthier. Conventional financial planning, in the form of a money plan, perpetuates the root cause of stress -- the pursuit of money, material wealth and social status. In order to reach money goals, one creates a money plan. To reach this money-oriented reward, you are the tool -- not the money.
The Life Plan: Life planning, as opposed to money planning, is completely opposite in its essence -- money becomes the tool and the life becomes the benefactor of its utility. Life planning is almost entirely qualitative in nature -- it is more art than science. One forms the life plan first and the money-oriented planning becomes one of the ingredients to fulfilling the life plan -- to making a life. I like to say that life is not a tool for a money plan -- money is a tool for a life plan.
"He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
So how does one form a life plan? The process is certainly not difficult or complex in its form but deserves more than one blog post. I will dedicate a total of three posts to life planning and how it can lead to a meaningful existence -- something a money plan will not likely accomplish.
Don't be a tool! That's a job for money -- not you!
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Beautiful post!
I think one of the secrets of living a vivid and exciting life is never to run out of plans for the future. And the plans we make need to be steep learning curves. That keeps us challenged and growing.
Posted by: Mary Jaksch/GoodlifeZEN | April 12, 2009 at 05:04 PM
Thanks, Mary!
I like your idea of "steep learning curves." For me, by nature, my learning curve is slow in the beginning but rapidly steepens once I begin to "get it."
I guess my skull is so thick it takes a while for things to get into my brain! At least those things stay there once they gain entrance.
Patience is truly a virtue...
"Nature never hurries -- yet all is accomplished." ~ Lau Tzu
Cheers...
Posted by: Kent @ The Financial Philosopher | April 13, 2009 at 09:30 AM
Between 'Living for Money' and 'Money to Live' there is a very fine line. With so much happening in one's life it is very easy to forget this. No doubt money is one of the very essential things one needs to live like water and air but one should always draw this fine line to it as it can very soon end up consuming most of your time and life.
I think it this way. Life is time and time although is "LIKE" money but not really money as you cannot replenish it like money and once the time is spent it cannot be earned back or replenished. This means that whatever time one has in his or her life should be spent as wisely as possibly and some planning for it will definitely help in making wise choices for your time investment. Looking forward for your tips Kent!!
Thanks for the nice post!!!
Sumit
Posted by: Sumit Kumar | April 17, 2009 at 01:51 PM
Thanks, Sumit!
If one thinks correctly, one will realize that neither time nor money can be "saved" -- they can only be "invested."
Thanks again...
Kent
Posted by: Kent @ The Financial Philosopher | April 17, 2009 at 02:11 PM
I'm looking forward to learning more about this, Kent.
Thanks for the insight.
Posted by: Ned | April 19, 2009 at 03:01 AM
This post makes me think of life differently. Money is a tool but society fools so many people including myself into obtaining it for material pleasures
Posted by: Omar | April 21, 2009 at 11:22 PM
Kent, thanks for your insight. This post was very timely for me, as I just went through a significant perspective shift in this regard.
I recently landed a consulting engagement for nearly double the rate I had ever billed before. At first I was thrilled by the money that I would receive, but then as the engagement progressed, I realized it was still just work. I did my thing, sent an invoice, and got paid, just like always. The fact that there was a bigger number on the invoice didn't add any deeper meaning to it at all.
Now more than ever before, I want to be sure that my work is integrated with my life plan, and not that my life is integrated with my career plan, to paraphrase what you said.
Posted by: Mike Stankavich | April 23, 2009 at 04:56 PM
Mike, thanks for sharing your personal experience. I realized, a few years ago, that I was living for money when my (then) 4-year old son asked me why I was away from home so often. I told him I was "working to earn money for all the things we have."
My son quickly replied, "I'd rather have my Daddy than money."
He was (and still is) right. I changed my life and I'll never go back to making my life a tool for a money plan.
Thanks again for the comment...
Kent
Posted by: Kent @ The Financial Philosopher | April 24, 2009 at 08:24 AM
Nice blog, I like really like it. good work.
Posted by: Bucket Trucks | May 13, 2009 at 10:41 AM
People also perform better when motivated by the interest, enjoyment and challenge of the work itself, not by external pressures or rewards.
Posted by: Coach Factory Store | January 26, 2011 at 08:36 PM