Make Your Choices Significant in Life [12 Ways]

By Sarah Carlson, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®

Every day, you make your choices no matter how big or small they are. I always keep learning about a friend or client who is choosing to make an impactful choice in their lives. This pandemic has brought about a massive wave of people making changes in their careers, quitting or retiring from their jobs, changing homes, and even life partners. I have seen many people aged 50 and older choosing to retire early, especially from the medical industry. Whether these choices are temporary or not, making a choice in life can profoundly affect your financial life.

My friend Sherry recently quit her job only to find out she did not think through her situation, and now she is bored and feeling irrelevant. In addition, she did not do any work to prepare emotionally or financially for not having an income. The recent spike in inflation has put pressure on her pocket book. She has to make choices she wishes she would not be making.

A common and challenging task in life is making choices. Are choices being made for you or are you making choices in life? If you consider making some of these significant changes, here are twelve things you may want to consider before making a choice in life.

Emotionally

1. Take time to understand the motivation behind your urge. Are you burnt out, and perhaps a well-planned vacation could recharge your passion? Do you indulge in play regularly, or is your life all work and no play?
2. Are your emotions situational? Perhaps you don't like your boss or co-workers, or maybe you feel undervalued by the people you serve? Is your desire for change because of your work situation or possibly your home life?
3. How will you spend your time if you are not at work? What do you do to nurture your relationship with yourself?
4. We all have blind spots when it comes to our personal choices that are emotionally based. They can help you see your situation from a different perspective. Before pulling the trigger, have you talked it through with a loved one or a professional?

Financially

1. Do you have a clear understanding of your expenses? How will those expenses change once you are retired?
2. Do you clearly understand how you will create income streams from your investments? What are the risk/reward trade offs?
3. If you are under age 65 (under the age of Medicare), where will your medical benefits come from, and have you researched the costs associated with that?
4. Inflation is here. How will your income stream keep up with the rise in expenses? Do you understand the impact of inflation on your costs over time?
5. Have you repositioned your assets to your current time horizon and risk tolerance? There is a big difference between accumulation and distribution when investing.
6. Social security. There are so many options for you and your partner; this may be an area worth getting some professional help in selecting the option that will help to maximize benefits for your life expectancy.
7. Inheritance. It will be nice to get some, but unless your legacy has legally been mapped out and cannot change, it is best to act as if you won't get an estate.
8. Have an income distribution plan. Mitigate taxes and maximize your income for the many years to come.

Conclusion

One of the hardest things to do in life is making choices. How to make positive changes in your life by taking the leap of change may be the right opportunity to enjoy more of your life journey. When making choices in life, there is so much that is unpredictable when you make your choices.

As a Spokane financial advisor, I love helping clients adjust their finances with the changes in their lives. If you take the time to understand your motivations and create an action plan to honor your intentions, you will have a better chance of finding the happiness you are seeking.

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Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.