"Tidying Up" Your Financial House
Jenn and I spent last night watching Netflix’s phenomenal, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”. We were fascinated, and a bit inspired by it. She takes the mundane task of creating a tidy home, and turns it into an experience where a couple grows closer together, by creating peace where there once was chaos. The process has a profound experience on the couples she works with.
Marie, has a philosophical frame work, Konmari, that she has translated into a specific set of milestones:
Clothes
Books
Papers
Komono (Misc items)
Sentimental items
After watching a couple of episodes, Jenn and I spent a few minutes, sorting through my vast “treasure trove” of books. Anything that did not “spark joy” in us, was sold or donated this morning to our local used book seller. Not only was it liberating to get rid of some junk, but Jenn and I worked together through the process, and connected with some old books that sparked a conversation … and we got 25 bucks!! for the old books. Overall it was a fun experience.
Much like Bruce Willis and the young boy in “The Sixth Sense”, that said “I see dead people,” I see finances everywhere. I could not help but see the parallels in what Marie and I do with families. I start with a philosophy: we should be living our best lives in the short/mid/long term, and then work through a set of milestones:
Create an emergency fund, get your down side covered with insurance
Maximize your earning and get your budget under control
Funnel money into accounts that fund your long term goals
Funnel money into trips/things/charity that suit your short term goals
Take care of your friends and family, with wills, 529s and care for your parents
Getting your personal finances in order seems like an overwhelming and impossible chore to many people — just like tidying your home — but when you dig in, you’ll find that it’s not as hard as it seems. You just need a financial planner to coach you along the way to “tidy up” your finances. As a result, you and your spouse will grow closer by removing the financial concerns and fears prohibiting you from reaching peace and sparking joy.
Are you ready to work with your partner on a profound experience? How can we spend some time getting your finances organized?