Give Your Dollars a Job

Give Your Dollars a Job | Josh McAlister

At AWM Capital – we believe that what gets planned, gets implemented, and gets executed. The concept makes complete sense – but rarely do households complete step 1, and thus 2 and 3 do not stand a chance. Financially, have you ever planned where you want every dollar of income you earn to go?

My wife and I have three boys, a five-year-old, a 2 ½ year old, and a 13-month-old. They are the best thing that has happened to us, it is almost as if they have always been a part of our lives. As their father, my mission is to raise boys into men that will have 3 characteristics that guide their daily actions:

1. In all that they do, think of others first.

1. Be courageous – take the risk of doing what is right when it is uncomfortable.

1. Strive to have their daily work filled with meaning and purpose.

If we think of others in all that we do, we will work to be selfless and be responsible. If I think of my wife, my colleagues, my family, my neighbors, and others that I do not know rather than myself, that will govern the decisions I make politically, economically, socially, environmentally, etc. as every decision can either hurt or help someone else.

Courage requires only that you move forward towards a mission in the face of uncertainty, inexperience, or uncomfortableness. Too many times, it is the things we regret not doing that haunt us. I desire to equip our boys with skillsets, knowledge, and love to have the courage to do what is right.

Meaning and purpose – Josiah Igono, Founder of All Things Performance, stated, “the work itself is my reward” in a recent podcast done with AWM Capital. Sounds great, right? Are we not all striving to find meaning in our work?  Do we not all seek a path that is gushing with purpose? Do we not all desire a career where we run up the stairs 2 at a time on the balls of our feet? Of course we do, but many of us do not even believe this is attainable. Our work is a means to an end – the dollars we earn pay for the lifestyle we have created to at best enjoy the weekend days & nights, and 2 weeks annual vacation. Weak mindset and process if you ask me.

There are 168 hours in a week.  Say you are a great sleeper and sleep 8 hours a night (good for you!). After sleeping, you now have 112 hours awake. Let us then say you are a go getter and work on average 50 hours a week vocationally. After sleeping and working, you now have 62 hours of ‘free time’. How do you spend it? Reading? Mastering a skill? Perfecting your craft? Giving that time to others in need? Or is it Netflix and Instagram?

Same holds true with our finances. All of us know what our gross salary or wages are if we are an employee, and to the business owner, I would argue you have a pretty good projection of what your annual take home pay will be. But do you know where you intend for every dollar to go?

At AWM Capital – we believe there are four categories where our money is used:

1. Taxes – Largest expense and should be effectively and ethically minimized

1. Charity – Your wealth is impact – wasted wealth is wasted impact

1. Savings – In order to achieve true financial independence – pay yourself first

1. Lifestyle – Annual cash outflow for this year’s current lifestyle

Within each bucket there are complexities and nuances in determining those numbers – such as effective tax minimization, what investments are appropriate in the savings bucket, and what is controllable vs. fixed in the lifestyle bucket.  The complexity addressed is the value of a holistic financial advisor. The job of the household is to simply determine where they desire their dollars to go and communicate that to the advisor.

Conclusion:  

When I give my boys direction and guidance, they are ready to move and eager to accomplish the task (mission) I have laid out for them. However, the opposite holds true as well – without clear direction and guidance, who knows how my boys will respond.  

My challenge to you is this – seek out an advisor who listens, is empathetic, and has the technical expertise to help give each dollar of your household meaning and purpose to achieve the lifestyle outcomes you desire.

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