Mary had been looking at one of her investments.
It was a mutual fund she and her husband had owned for years.
She knew it had done reasonably well.
What she couldn't remember was why they had originally bought it.
She called her financial guide, Breed.
“I've been thinking about selling one of our old mutual funds,” Mary said.
“Why?”
“I may want to use some of the money.”
“For what?”
Mary thought about it.
“I've been thinking about selling the house and moving into a smaller place. I'd also like to travel a little more.”
Breed nodded.
“That sounds like a change in plans.”
“It is.”
Mary paused.
“But I'm nervous about selling the investment.”
“Why?”
“Because it feels like I'm doing something wrong. The money is invested. It's working for me.”
Breed smiled.
“Working for what?”
Mary laughed.
“I knew you were going to say something like that.”
Breed continued.
“When you and your husband originally invested that money, what was it supposed to do for you?”
Mary thought about it.
“I think we were saving for retirement. My husband and I talked about it a lot back then. But he's been gone for two years now. I'm retired and starting to think differently about what I want the rest of my life to be.”
Mary paused.
“I think the purpose of the money has changed.”
She thought about the house.
The possibility of moving.
The trips she'd been putting off.
And all the years she'd spent thinking about saving for the future.
Then it occurred to her.
The future she'd been saving for was now.
Mary thought about the next few years and what they might bring.
She realized that none of us really know what the future holds.
But she knew what mattered to her now.
And maybe that was what she needed to think about before deciding what to do with the money.
“I think I've been so focused on keeping the money invested,” Mary said, “that I haven't thought enough about what I actually want the money to do now.”
Breed nodded.
“That's an important distinction.”
Mary looked at him.
“So you're not telling me whether I should sell it?”
“I could give you an answer.”
Mary waited.
“But I think there's a better question to answer first.”
“What's that?”
Breed smiled.
“What do you want the money to do now?”
Mary thought about the question.
For years, the answer had been simple:
Retirement.
But she was retired now.
Maybe the question wasn't what the money had been intended for.
Maybe the question was what she wanted it to do next.
And perhaps that's something worth remembering when we look at our own investments.
An investment can remain perfectly appropriate while the purpose behind the money changes.
Sometimes the important question isn't:
“Should I keep this investment?”
It's:
“What is this money supposed to help me accomplish now?”
Because the purpose of your money matters just as much as the investment itself.
Richard Sowa, Founder – Read The Money Mirror
FINANCIAL DECISIONS ARE NEVER JUST FINANCIAL.
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