What's your operating system?

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

Imagine you had a bunch of apps on your phone, but no operating system that tied them all together and enabled them to communicate with each other. It would be a hot mess, right? 

Yet, many of us handle our personal financial situation this way. 

Think about it…

Your financial “apps” are your bank accounts, college savings, credit cards, retirement accounts, mortgages, student loans, and insurance policies. And over time, you accumulate more and more of these accounts, which just adds more complexity to your life. 

This combination of accumulation and complexity that is modern day “adulting” can leave you feeling like you’ve got all the pieces but you still can’t quite figure out how to put the puzzle together the “right” way.

What you need is your own operating system.

This is the real superpower of ongoing financial planning. When done right, it provides you with a flexible financial framework that acts as your own personalized operating system.

Financial rules of thumb can only take you so far before it’s time for an upgrade. Creating a living, breathing flexible financial framework helps you to pull together all your financial “apps,” allows you to make your best guesses around your current and future goals, and then provides you with the financial comfort and confidence you need to pursue them. Then when your life changes – and change it will! – you have an operating system in place that’s ready to adapt with you.

So if you feel like you’ve got all the financial pieces but lack a system for pulling them all together so you can feel comfortable and confident in your financial decision making, please know that this is what ongoing financial planning is all about. It’s not some leather-bound book that plans out every step for the next 30 years of your life. Rather, it’s your own financial operation system for living your best life now and in the future.