Change Is The Only Constant

Zoe Team

Jun 8, 2018

4 min read

A financial advisor reviewing a plan with two clients at a table

Key Takeaways

Goals and values can evolve, necessitating periodic financial plan reviews.
Stagnation often signals a need to reassess your strategy and current priorities.
Embracing change allows for more agile and realistic wealth management.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if my goals change?

It is normal for priorities to shift; review your financial plan periodically to ensure your investments and savings strategy still align with your current values.

How do I know if I need a new financial advisor?

If your current strategy feels stagnant or if your life circumstances have significantly changed, it may be time to consult an advisor to realign your goals.

Is it bad to change my long-term financial plans?

Not at all; being flexible and responsive to life changes is a hallmark of healthy, long-term financial management.

Sometimes you think you’re working hard towards a goal and feel like you’re even making progress. At the same time, accomplishment isn’t exactly in reach despite your best efforts and you realize with dread you’re somehow treading water without actually getting anywhere. Or maybe you crushed a few of your goals in the last 6 months, and are now stuck on your newest one. All your inner drive to achieve it seems to have vanished. Tempting as it may be to panic or quit in the face of such realizations, there’s a simple solution to remedy these woes.

Reassess

Pull out the personal values you took the time to write down. Is everything the same? Consider if you’ve experienced any major or minor life changes since you initially wrote them. Has anyone passed away or has a new child been born? Have you changed jobs, discovered a new hobby, or become more involved in the community? Some of the values you wrote down are timeless, but others are inevitably circumstantial. You are always learning, growing, and changing and some values will adapt with you, but others won’t. Write down any changes you recognize, then pull out your money values and go through the same process.

At Zoe, we have a somewhat unique view of retirement. Many traditional financial institutions drive home the need to “plan for your future”. They hone in on your fear of the unknown and use that as a catalyst for signing up for all sorts of retirement planning products. Our view is different. As discussed in our blog Don’t Plan For Retirement, Plan For Life Satisfaction, it is impossible to know what you will want or who you will be when you ultimately retire. And because of that, it’s very tough to plan for something unknown.

The idea that you are constantly changing (as we talked about in You’re a New Person Every Year) affects both your retirement planning and your goal setting, as we mentioned earlier in this piece. Reassessing where you stand today, helps you to realign your goals with your current situation, your new outlook and anything else that may have shifted since you decided on your short- and long-term financial goals.

Change what needs to change

Through the process of reassessment, you may have updated some of your values or you may feel they’ve stayed the same. Regardless, take some time to consider: are any of your current goals conflicting with any of your values? Occasionally we get sidetracked from the things that really matter to us or find something we thought mattered doesn’t. Any goal you’re pursuing that doesn’t line up with your values needs to go! It’s an unnecessary drain hindering you from true achievement.

For me, my career goals shifted once I was in the seat that I had dreamed about for years as a macro investor at JP Morgan Asset Management. When I got there and did my job for a few years, I had this sinking feeling of “is that it?”. I had to go back and reevaluate my goals. I realized that now that I had a new vantage point of the industry, it was time for a change as both the industry and I were changing.

Change and a financial planner

As a network that offers you access to the best financial advisors out there, we are always focused on what our advisors should be doing for you. In a previous blog series, Financial Advisors, The Tell All Series, we looked at What Makes For a Great Advisor, and one of the key attributes was their ability to keep you on track - even when the track changes. It’s nice to have someone on your side that can say, “OK, so things have changed, what should we do within the spectrum of your personal finances to adjust course so that we stay true to what the you of today wants and needs”. Not only does this make the process easier, but it allows you to be open to change, not to fear it.

When you’ve finished, intentionally take a minute to acknowledge that change is a positive and necessary part of growth. How could you possibly improve if your existence was constantly unchanged? Take notice and celebrate that you aren’t stagnant! Welcome change, and anytime you’re feeling stuck in a rut, reassess. Life’s an unpredictable journey; continually take the time to ensure that you know yourself so you’ll be your best self.

The aim of this blog series was to show you just how personal wealth is, and should be. Understanding the value behind the steps required to create, manage and assess your goals and progress is vital to understanding the complexity of your personal finances and then having the ability to take control of them. We hope you feel empowered to take the lead in your personal finances and develop a plan that is right for YOU.

To start from the beginning of this Wealth Is Personal blog series, click here.

Reassess

Change what needs to change

Change and a financial planner

To start from the beginning of this Wealth Is Personal blog series, click here.

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