Living Your Family’s Values for ROL
You might think about your legacy plan in purely financial terms: who gets what, how much, and at what age?
But what does it actually mean, to you, to live a “good life”?
And what do you want your heirs to know about how you built your wealth, how you managed it, its limitations, and what it helped you to achieve?
The most effective lessons about the intersections of life and money aren’t learned in a classroom or read in a book. Your children are going to learn about your family’s values and how they touch on money and legacy from you.
Here are three ways that you can model those values and nurture sustainable success for your family’s next generation.
1. Walk Your Talk
Children see and hear everything.
They pick up on the realities that we try to shield them from. They hear whispers and echoes of the conversations about money that you and your spouse have behind closed doors. They know what things cost, and they form their own conclusions about your wealth by comparing what your family has to friends and neighbors. Everything from your facial expressions when bills are due at the end of the month to how you greet strangers is teaching them something about your values.
And if what you say contradicts how you act, they’re going to place a greater emphasis on how you act.
“Walking the talk” will eliminate any confusion about what your values are and how they guide you throughout your life. The kindness, compassion, and charity you model will be reflected a little more brightly the older your kids get. And if they see you pursuing fulfillment not in money, but in relationships, community involvement, wellness, and work that you’re proud of, they’ll look beyond money as well once they step into the professional world.
2. Talk Your Walk
Actions do indeed speak louder than words.
But that doesn’t mean your children don’t benefit from conversations about the most important things in life. After all, even a teenager or young adult still has a lot to learn about the world. Their understandings are limited, and their impressions might miss the forest for the trees.
Take some time to explain some of your “Whys,” and you can turn everyday experiences into teachable moments. Bring your kids to the office so that they can see what you do and how it improves the lives of other people. Discuss why you give money to specific charities and what your connection is to their mission. Show your kids how you and your spouse budget for expenses before you take your weekly trip to the grocery store.
And be open to potentially uncomfortable questions about your wealth. If you don’t upgrade your cars or cell phones as often as other families do, explain why you prefer to invest extra money in things like family vacations. Discuss how saving and investing now will give your family more opportunities later. Hearing your philosophies around wealth and good living will help your kids develop their own while also carrying on your legacy when the time comes.
3. Celebrate Wins
Conversations around money and legacy can sometimes turn into lectures on austerity. While you want your children to live within their means and behave responsibly, living your values also leads to personal growth and happiness.
So, if your child works hard for a better grade, saves up their allowance for a new bike, or spends a weekend volunteering at your local shelter, celebrate those wins and that growth with words and action. Tell them you’re proud. Take them out for a special dinner at their favorite restaurant. Make your own contribution to their favorite charity.
And help them connect the dots between money, values, and legacy into a blueprint for their own Life-Centered Financial Plan.
Investment advisory services are offered through Kingsview Wealth Management, LLC (“KWM”), an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Insurance products and services are offered and sold through Kingsview Insurance Services, LLC (“KIS”), by individually licensed and appointed insurance agents. KWM and KIS are subsidiaries of Kingsview Partners.
