How Do You Define Financial Success for Yourself?

Financial success means having the financial resources and plan to support the life that matters to you. It may include retirement, family, experiences, charitable giving, financial independence, or leaving a legacy. Because your priorities are personal, financial success should be defined by your goals, not someone else’s bank account.

What does financial success look like to you? 

• Is it retiring at 60? 
• Paying for your children’s education? 
• Owning a lake home? 
• Traveling with your friends or family? 
• Giving generously? 
• Building a business? 
• Or simply having more freedom to decide how you spend your time?

The good news: there isn’t one correct answer!

At iWealth, we believe success is personal. That’s why our Minnesota financial planning team starts by understanding what you want your money to support before building the financial strategies around it. 

Your financial plan shouldn’t tell you what your dream is. Your dream should tell us what your financial plan needs to do.

Is Financial Success About How Much Money You Have?

Financial success is not defined solely by income, net worth, or investment returns. Your financial resources matter, but success is better measured by whether those resources support your priorities, lifestyle, future goals, and definition of financial independence.

Numbers matter. But numbers need context.

For instance, imagine two Minnesota families, each with a $3 million net worth:

• One wants to retire early, travel extensively, and help fund college for several grandchildren. 
• The other enjoys working, lives relatively modestly, and wants to leave most of their wealth to family and charitable organizations.

Same net worth. Very different definitions of success.

That’s why comparing your finances to someone else’s can be misleading. You’re comparing numbers without knowing what those numbers are expected to accomplish.

How Do You Define Your Financial Dream?

Start by replacing “How much should I have?” with a more useful question:

“What do I want my money to make possible?”

Think beyond your investment accounts. Consider the life behind the numbers.

Your financial dream might include retiring without dramatically changing your lifestyle. You may want to spend winters somewhere warmer, help your children buy their first homes, start a second career, support aging parents, give more to your church or community, or pass wealth to the next generation.

The more specific you become, the more useful your financial planning can become.

It’s similar to building a house. Before an architect creates the blueprint, you need to explain how you want to live in the house.

A holistic financial plan should work the same way.

How Do Your Values Influence Financial Decisions?

Your values can help determine which financial goals deserve priority:

• If family is one of your highest priorities, you might choose to fund annual family vacations or help with your grandchildren’s education rather than purchase a more expensive second home.
• If independence matters most, you may place greater emphasis on building enough financial flexibility to retire earlier or work fewer hours.
• If giving back to the community is important to you, charitable giving could become part of your tax, estate, and retirement planning rather than something you consider only at year-end.

As you see, these aren’t simply spending decisions. 

At iWealth, your dreams become the goals that help drive our financial and retirement planning processes. Our Minnesota-based financial planning team creates customized financial plans with you, not for you, because your values and priorities must be reflected in the decisions made.

Thinking about a second home? Be sure to read our blog: “Does a Vacation Home Fit Your Long-Term Financial Plan?”

How Do You Balance Living Today With Planning for Tomorrow?

Planning for tomorrow doesn’t mean postponing everything you enjoy today. And enjoying your money today doesn’t mean ignoring your future.

The challenge is finding the appropriate balance.

Consider a couple who loves traveling but is also saving aggressively for retirement. Some of the concerns they may have include: 

• Can we spend $20,000 a year on travel without significantly changing our retirement plan?
• Should we save more now if we want to retire five years earlier?
• How much should remain in cash for unexpected expenses?
• Can we help our children financially while still funding our own goals?

Those questions require more than a savings target. They require looking at your cash flow, investments, retirement projections, taxes, estate considerations, and competing priorities together.

That broader perspective is one reason working with a wealth management firm in Minnesota can be valuable when your financial life becomes more complex.

Can Your Definition of Financial Success Change?

Absolutely. In fact, you should expect it to.

What matters at 35 may look very different at 55 or 70.

A growing family may initially define success as buying a home, building retirement savings, and funding college. Twenty years later, the priorities may shift toward retirement timing, taxes, caring for parents, helping adult children, or creating a legacy.

Major events can change the picture even faster: marriage, divorce, an inheritance, selling a business, changing careers, becoming a grandparent, or losing someone you love.

Your financial plan should reflect those changes.

The destination can change, which means the financial decisions supporting it may need to change as well.

Download your complimentary copy of our newest eBook: “What Does it Take to Build the Retirement of Your Dreams?”

What Should Be Included in Your Definition of Financial Success?

Your definition should be highly personal and can include several dimensions of your financial life. For instance:

• Lifestyle: What do you want everyday life to look like, both now and in retirement?

• Time: When would you like work to become optional, or at least less important financially?

• Family: Do you want to help children, grandchildren, parents, or other people you care about?

• Experiences: What do you want to do while you have the health and time to enjoy it?

• Giving: Are there organizations, causes, or communities you want your wealth to support?

• Legacy: What would you like your wealth to accomplish after your lifetime?

• Independence: How much financial flexibility would allow you to make important life decisions based more on what you want than on your next paycheck?

Your answers then become the foundation for your financial plan.

At iWealth, our Minnesota financial planners work with individuals, families, and businesses from offices in Waseca, Mankato, and Bloomington, Minnesota. Our holistic financial planning process looks beyond investment performance to consider how retirement planning, investment strategy, tax and estate planning, and other areas of your financial life work together.

We start by looking at your current financial situation, existing resources, goals, time horizon, and tolerance for investment risk. From there, our advisors work with you to develop financial planning and investment recommendations tailored to your circumstances rather than based on a generic formula.

That distinction matters.

You aren’t a spreadsheet that needs to be optimized. You’re a person or family with competing priorities, limited time, changing circumstances, and your own ideas about what makes life meaningful. Schedule time with our Minnesota-based financial planners today to discuss your financial goals and needs. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Financial Success

What is the best definition of financial success?

Financial success is having financial resources and a strategy that supports your personal goals, priorities, lifestyle, and future plans. The appropriate definition depends on what you want your money to accomplish.

How do I know if I am financially successful?

Look beyond your income or net worth. Consider whether you are making progress toward your major goals, managing your financial obligations, maintaining adequate savings and liquidity, and using your money in ways that align with your priorities.

How much money do I need to be financially successful?

There is no universal dollar amount. The amount you may need depends on your lifestyle, retirement goals, family responsibilities, expected spending, taxes, longevity, charitable plans, legacy goals, and other circumstances.

Is financial independence the same as financial success?

No. Financial independence generally refers to having sufficient resources to support your lifestyle without relying primarily on employment income. Financial success is broader and may include family, giving, experiences, legacy planning, business goals, and other personal priorities.

Why are personal values important in financial planning?

Your values help determine which goals deserve your time and financial resources. Understanding what matters most to you can help your financial advisor evaluate tradeoffs among spending, saving, investing, retirement, family support, charitable giving, and legacy planning.

How can a financial advisor help define financial goals?

A financial advisor can help you turn broad ideas, such as “retire confidently” or “help my family”, into specific goals that can be evaluated financially. Those goals can then be incorporated into retirement, investment, tax, estate, and cash-flow planning.

How often should I review my definition of financial success?

Review it whenever your life changes significantly and as part of your regular financial planning discussions. Career changes, retirement, marriage, divorce, inheritances, business sales, health changes, and new family responsibilities can all change what financial success means to you.