What Would You Do, If You Had A Million Dollars In This Very Moment?

You can bring about social impact with your money, even if you’re not a millionaire.

Last week, I caught up with an old friend who shared her legacy planning ideas for non-profit charities and beneficiaries. 

It was a refreshing topic of discussion, as most people I meet commonly think estate planning or wealth distribution as something they need to plan for themselves and not others, if it isn’t something reserved only for the rich. 

I was surprised as she was, like most others, in a stage of “wealth accumulation” for her upcoming needs, but she had also made plans as to how her money could and would serve self-actualisation needs such as donating to a charity of her choice.

What does this have to do with finance?

One my favourite questions to ask in my appointments with new clients is:

“What would you do, if you had a million dollars in this very moment?”

This is because the response is often very telling of their mindset towards financial planning. One of the more common responses I get is, “If I have a million dollars, I can finally xxx”. 

I don’t believe that there is a right or wrong answer to this question. More often than not, I realised that one’s most immediate response coincided with where they stood along Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, in the financial sense. The way you conceptualise the potential of the money you are holding.

I found the thought unsettling when considering wealth management. There is the implication that as you acquire more wealth, you’ll naturally move up along the hierarchy. However, there is actually no hard and fast benchmark that will determine when you ‘graduate’ from one band to the other. 

Consider this. You can be a millionaire and still be stuck in a state of survival, if your cash flow is unmanaged and living expenses are always increasing because of factors such as lifestyle creep. And even though you’re considered relatively wealthier compared to others, you are still unable to fulfill more than your short-term needs relating to yourself.

A possible measure of the social impact of your money 

Here’s my take: Applying this hierarchy of needs can be useful when you want to clarify how you want to measure how much social impact your money holds instead of looking at your net worth.

If you’re in the upper bands, you may realise your true economic potential in the physical, social and psychological sense as you hold the power to impact far beyond just yourself. You may begin with your immediate family, then loved ones, and then extend towards social causes and charities that you believe in. Chances are, expanding your mindset and outlook to money may bring you a greater degree of accomplishment and freedom.

So, where are you on the hierarchy of financial needs today? And when it comes to money, who are the ones that you usually think of spending on?


Cheers,