‘Big Yellow Taxi’ + ‘Blue’ = ‘Little Green’
I was surprised to learn that one of the most innovative and accomplished songwriters, Joni Mitchell, considers herself an "accidental musician." Several years ago in an interview, Joni declared,
"I'm a painter first...and I apply painting principles to music."
While painting our new home, I thought about the intersection of painting and financial planning. Turns out, there are key similarities shared in both the processes and results.
For this article, I declare:
“I apply painting principles to personal financial planning.”
Organized Processes, Crisp Results.
Over the years & largely through trial and error, I’ve developed a standardized process for painting the walls in my home:
1. Place rosin paper on Floors
2. Drape covers upon furniture
3. Paint ceiling: 2 coats
4. Prime walls
5. Apply eggshell-finish paint to walls: 2 coats
6. Tack painters’ tape around molding, doors, windows
7. Apply semi-gloss paint to trim
Repeat in each room. Simply, it is an organized process that guarantees crisp results.
On the financial planning side at Greenbeat Financial, we use a seven-step process, created for every Certified Financial Planner™, to guide financial planning engagements:
1. Understanding the Client’s Personal and Financial Circumstances
2. Identifying and Selecting Goals
3. Analyzing the Client’s Current Course of Action and Potential Alternative Courses of Action
4. Developing the Financial Planning Recommendation(s)
5. Presenting the Financial Planning Recommendation(s)
6. Implementing the Financial Planning Recommendation(s)
7. Monitoring Progress and Updating
The process is adaptable to a variety of circumstances and ensures an organized, repeatable approach with consistent results.
Segmenting the Big Picture.
My youngest daughter, Eliza, learned landscape portrait foundations during her art class last year.
Foreground, middle-ground, background.
Diligently drawing, she segmented her picture into three sections, sketched in larger, more focused figures in the foreground, slightly smaller structures with less detail in the middle-ground, and distant objects in the background. Eliza’s completed ‘big picture’ has depth, motion, and perspective. The blocked segments on her blank paper served as a reminder to apply a certain set of rules and detail.
With personal financial planning, it is vital to include your goals and dreams within your financial ‘big picture.’ Once on the planning canvas, these get segmented according to time horizon, priority, and need. Adopting a high-level, segmented organization system is necessary because the funding of or completion of these goals will be driven where they are placed: either in your financial foreground, middle-ground, or background. Even though a given goal may be years away and seemingly less clear (e.g., to travel in the first 3-5 years of retirement), it is visible and, therefore, a known component within the planning picture.
If it is visible, it is attainable.
Fresh Coats, New Beginnings.
Through implementing a proven painting process, every completed room in our home feels more reflective of us. Space by painted space, peace of mind expands and a deeper sense of ‘home’ takes root.
Implementation of personalized financial planning recommendations achieves a similar result ... the sense that you are on the right track, progressing towards your vision of a more promising and prosperous tomorrow, with the space to spend time on matters that are important to you and your family.
Fresh financial coats promote new beginnings.
A 'Little Green’
“Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you got ‘till it’s gone…”
Not always, Joni. One of the valuable results of financial planning done well is that you know ‘what you got’ and can strategically preserve a ‘Little Green’ for yourself, your family, and your legacy.
Photo by Yannis Papanastasopoulos