Every successful financial plan begins with clarity. Before we talk about investments, retirement, or taxes, we first define what success looks like. We often try to improve ourselves by changing our habits: exercise more, eat healthier, read more, be more productive. But lasting change often starts one step earlier, with how you see yourself.
The Life Hack: Before setting your next goal, define three things:
1. Your Identity: Who do you want to be? Your self image influences your decisions, confidence, relationships, and standards. Instead of saying, “I want to exercise more,” think, “I’m someone who takes care of my health.” When your actions become part of your identity, they’re easier to sustain.
2. Your Values: What matters most to you? Choose the principles you want guiding your decisions: integrity, courage, kindness, discipline, generosity, family. Your values become your internal compass when life gets complicated.
3. Your Purpose: Who do you want to impact? Purpose can simply mean using your strengths, experiences, and time to make a positive difference for the people around you. I’ve experienced this shift myself.
Early in my career, I focused heavily on building a successful business, growing assets under management, and earning professional recognition. Today, my greatest sense of purpose comes from helping families make wise financial decisions, mentoring the next generation, and becoming the best father, leader, and person I can be.
– JASON
One of the questions I get asked most is, “How do you travel with a family of four? Isn’t it really expensive?” My answer is usually, “We don’t like to pay for flights.” Using credit card rewards strategically has made family travel much more affordable. One of the best ways to use points, in my experience, is transferring them to airline frequent flyer programs rather than redeeming them for cash back or booking through a travel portal. The key is choosing a card that transfers points to multiple airline partners at a 1:1 ratio. The more options you have, the more flexibility you’ll have when searching for award flights. For example, a recent search found a one-way KLM flight from Los Angeles to Amsterdam for 25,000 Flying Blue miles plus about $206 in taxes and fees, compared to $862 when paying cash. That’s a savings of about $406 and a redemption value of more than 2.6 cents per point.
A Few Tips:
1. Choose a card that rewards your everyday spending.
2. Look for multiple airline transfer partners.
3. Transfer points to the airline and book directly when you can.
With a little planning, everyday spending can turn into your next vacation. The goal isn’t to spend more on your credit cards, but to make the spending you’re already doing work harder for you. For our family, points have made travel far more affordable, and paying cash for flights has become the exception rather than the rule.
– JESSICA
Your phone already includes two built-in features most people never enable. Both take about five minutes to set up. One can help in an emergency, and the other can help your loved ones if the worst happens.
If you’re in an accident and can’t speak, someone helping you can open a medical card from your locked phone. It can show your name, age, blood type, allergies, medications, medical conditions, and emergency contacts, with no passcode required.
On iPhone, open the Health app, tap your picture, select Medical ID, then tap Edit. Fill in the details that apply, add your emergency contacts, and turn on both “Show When Locked” and “Emergency Call.” On Android, go to Settings, then Safety & Emergency, then Medical Info and Emergency Contacts. On a Pixel, this is in the Personal Safety app.
To test Medical ID on an iPhone, wake the screen, press and hold the power button and volume-up button for about three seconds, then slide the Medical ID bar. That is what a first responder would do, so try it once to make sure you know how it works. After a 911 call ends, iPhone can automatically text your emergency contacts, share your location, and continue updating them if your location changes. You can also choose someone you trust to access certain items, such as photos, messages, notes, and files, if something happens to you. Think about all the photos stored in a cloud account that no one else can reach.
On iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name, select Sign-In & Security, then choose Legacy Contact. Pick your person, and they will receive an access key, which is a code they keep unless they ever need it. Google’s version is called Inactive Account Manager and can be found in your Google Account settings.
Not everything in an account transfers, so it is worth reviewing what is included. Still, it is a small step now that can save someone you love a major headache later.
– PALMER