I am Beth Freudenburg, a financial strategist and I’ve been helping families understand how their money works and how to truly enjoy the fruits of their financial lives for years. It is my pleasure to be here talking about financial health and fitness, and to how to find ways to begin the practice of being present in your relationship with money.
If the last year has taught us anything, It Is this; Being present Is more Important than being perfect.
We have collectively learned the lessons of re-prioritizing the actions, people, and experiences that are meaningful to us. Most Important, we have all had to learn how to cultivate calm and patience and find pleasure in smaller spaces. In short, we have learned to be present and appreciate what we have now, as opposed to worrying about what we may have later, what we want next or what we feel we are missing out on. Your personal finances should be no different. They, along with your relationships with those you love, require you to be present. Unfortunately, traditional financial planning strategies represent the antithesis of being present.
When we are present in our financial lives, the ‘what-if’s’ and ‘oh-no’s’ of speculation and goal-setting don’t exist. Instead, we spend time with facts and data – with ‘what is.’ It’s far less stressful, easier to manage and ensures that we are objectively working with what we have as opposed to what we wish we had. We become good stewards because we respect and treasure our work.
“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”
Deuteronomy 8:18
Achieving true personal wealth, health, and happiness requires that we be present. Becoming a good steward of wealth is easier than you might believe and has to do more with understanding how we make financial decisions and the rules of the financial industry as opposed to where we allocate investments or which broker we choose.
Over the next year, we will talk about what it means to be present as well as become a good steward of the wealth you create and how to become more present in those conversations. You will learn to look at your finances differently – as a coordinated group instead of one-off responses.
I encourage you to start where you are as opposed to waiting until your finances look more like you where you want them to be. Doing otherwise is a little like cleaning the house before the maid comes so she won’t see how you actually live. That work Is based on a false narrative and is not ‘being present.’
I’ve taught hundreds of families the rules of the financial game and the tenets of personal financial economics. They learn how to recapture money they didn’t realize was leaking from their financial bucket and make it available for other things; how to strategically place their assets to lower and recapture taxes; create more privacy; spend less on consumer fees; be better prepared for emergencies; and put in place a plan for whatever comes their way.
Presence and preparation are the most important parts of any task. If you are willing to get serious about your money, you believe in something a little bigger than yourself, and you love your family . . . welcome in.
I’m Beth, your personal financial trainer. It’s nice to meet you!
