What You Own and Why | Family Conversations

By Advisor Luke Porter, CFP?

Not long ago, we met with a woman who found herself in an odd scenario:

• She lives below her means.
• She has accumulated substantially enough assets for her needs.
• She wrestled with heavy anxiety: “Will I have enough?”

What I found so interesting was why she still dealt with this anxiety. She had worked with another advisor who sold her jargon-filled products with high internal fees–ones she didn’t need. She struggled to understand what she owned, keeping her from experiencing peace of mind.

That’s why two of the most important questions in financial planning are what you own and why you own it. It’s easy to accumulate assets from annuities to real estate as you go through life.

It’s fairly common for financially successful households to experience anxiety, and complexity is the likely cause. If you find peace of mind hard to keep, start with what you own and why.

Inflation Falls in June: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on Wednesday noting that the Consumer Price Index rose 3% in the 12 months through June—the smallest increase since March 2021—while the gauge excluding fuel and food costs rose 3.3%.

Overall inflation has plunged from its peak of 9% last summer. The core measure also showed notable signs of cooling in June.

Family Conversations: In the vein of keeping up conversations on financial related matters with your family, here are some suggestions for questions for dinner this week:

• If you could choose 2 of these, which would you choose: being famous, having millions of dollars, being healthy, having loving friends and family, owning a business, being in the Olympics, or working in a job you love?
• Do you agree or disagree with this statement from financial podcaster Morgan Housel: The best thing money buys is control over your time. Why or why not?
• Does accumulating savings have more to do with how much you earn or how much you spend?