Find your financial harmony (Video)

Integrating your finances with happiness and well-being should be easy. But for many people, it’s anything but.

And when it comes to retirement, the anxiety of dipping into savings is real for retirees who cling tightly to their money for fear of outliving it.

In his new book, “Wealth in Life: Finding Your Financial Harmony,” Certified Financial Planner Preston D. Cherry attempts to show intelligent ways to manage the emotional and psychological aspects involved in financial planning.

Cherry offered insights and advice in a conversation with Yahoo Finance. Here are edited highlights from that conversation:

Kerry Hannon: Why does money create such emotional chaos for some people?

Cherry Preston: It’s because we exchange ourselves for money. We work for this. We exchange a part of our being every day in order to earn income. Because you give a part of yourself every day, this transaction gives money a soul. It’s a moving exchange. Your identity lies in the money in your bank account.

How can we get out of trouble when it comes to managing our financial lives?

It’s about giving yourself permission. To start the unblocking process, you need to ask yourself the questions: Where are you in your journey? Where are you in your career or business? Where are you internally? Do you know what you no longer want to do? What do you want to do? Are you healthy?

Can you explain to us the importance of thinking about how we spend our money?

You must be able to do this thinking without shame or judgment and push back against societal norms and stigmas. God forbid you want to buy a new car. My wife and I are considering purchasing a Cadillac Escalade. Pricing for a 2025 Cadillac Escalade starts (at) around $90,000. It’s a choice and a preference. We have the capacity to do it. Our savings rate is reached. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We owe our explanation to no one. We give ourselves permission to do this.

This is a permission book to live your life the way you want, as long as you have a financial plan. If someone shames you for spending your money a certain way, you should say MYOB, which means mind your own business.

Learn more: 5 psychological tips to reduce spending and increase savings

How is money our partner?

Money is not just a tool. He’s your partner. You dance with a partner. A partner is fluid. Your relationship is flexible. He adjusts. He has a soul. I call this the humanity of money. You allow yourself to earn the resources you need in order to allocate that money to your preferences and goals.

How is your financial plan, your life project?

It’s a life plan because your financial plan always comes down to balancing your life and your money. It’s a seesaw. These two things are in motion. So it’s about balance and living in a way that brings you wealth and well-being together. This is how we thrive.

What are your retired clients’ biggest regrets when they retire?

A regret is: “I wish I had started saving sooner.”

The other regret is that they regret not having prepared themselves emotionally and having a plan for the transition to retirement. It’s about having answers to questions like: What will I do next? How am I going to do it? How will I reacclimate to my hobbies and know myself?

They regret that it took them so long to allow themselves to retire and then disconnect from an identity they may be accustomed to – whether it’s their business or their job in business.

Some of them regret ruining their finances to provide for their adult children.

And finally, they regret having been too tight with their money when they were in their sixties and for the first time in retirement, when they had vitality. This is the thorny problem of not starting to allow yourself to withdraw and use your money sooner. They had a hard time realizing that they had saved enough. and they had saved well.

Learn more: How much money should I have saved by 50?

A question about retirement? Personal finance? Is there anything career related? Click here to send a note to Kerry Hannon.

Any parting thoughts?

Give yourself grace to get where you want to go. You need to give yourself permission to live your life to the fullest now and not just in retirement. At 70, you may not be able to enjoy the things you would have when you were younger and had that vitality.

Kerry Hannon is a senior columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and author of 14 books, including “In control at 50 and over: how to succeed in the new world of work » and “Never too old to get rich.” Follow her on Blue sky.

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