In my financial planning practice, one of the first questions I ask folks is “What is the money for?” This question may seem simple at the surface, but I have found that it is one of the most difficult questions for people to answer. Sure, everyone knows saving money is a good idea. The vision of retirement is as ingrained in the American psyche as apple pie. What is not so clear, however, is what makes that vision of financial freedom in the future so important that you are willing to build financial habits and make financial changes today.

I generally approach this by helping my clients discern their non-negotiables in life. The phrase, “Bucket List” has become a standard part of our lexicon in recent years. This is essentially what we’re getting at. While the phrase “It’s on my bucket list” rolls easily off the tongue, developing a clear pathway to make it part of your life experience can be far more challenging.

So, let’s begin someplace concrete:

1. Write it out. No judgement, just you, a pen and paper, and all your wildest dreams of things you would like to do, experience, give, have. Go nuts, get it all out. It’s kind of fun, right?
2. Create three columns labeled “Must Do,” “Nice to Do” and “Could live Without.” Now, this is the first step of separating out the things that truly matter and the things that you can let go of. Does leaving an inheritance to your children make the cut? Or is it more important that you can travel to one new place every year and take your grandkids with you? Or maybe you just want to comfortably garden and volunteer for the causes you care about. Again, no judgment! This is your life, your dream, your vision, your Bucket List. The only thing that matters is that it is something that inspires you.
3. It might take a while to get through Steps 1 and 2, but that is fine. Without clarity on these, Step 3 is impossible. Step 3 is where we start to take action. When you look at those three columns, compared to your savings, what do you see? Is achieving those Must Do’s within your financial realm of reality? Or do you have some work to do?

Try not to think in extremes at this point. If that little voice in your head is saying anything close to “That’s impossible! You’ll never be able to do those things!” As kindly and gently as you can muster, tell that Inner Dissuader thank you, and buh-bye. Remember, no judgement, not even from yourself.

After going through this exercise, most of us will have some financial habits to create, some changes to make, and more clarity to be had. The reason for making those changes is abundantly clear now – they are your Financial Bucket List! The things for which, when you look back on your life, you will be grateful that you made the financial effort, changes, and habits.