Plan with Purpose, Live with Adventure: Financial Planning for a Full Life
“Have a plan, but have an adventure” – Liz Witt-Lee
Money Can’t Buy Happiness, But a Plan Can Unlock Joy
Back in March, I wrote a blog looking at the topic of “does money buy happiness.” The conclusion was that while money alone does not buy happiness, it affords individuals the freedom and capacity to make choices, which translates to happier people. As I said then, Meridian can’t buy happiness for our clients, but we can help create the space and time for personal fulfillment, relationships, and emotional well-being by building financial plans that allow our clients to plan for the future while finding joy getting there.
The beauty of working with a financial planner to build a wholistic financial plan is the plan provides direction for your investment choices, a framework for decision-making, and the flexibility to adjust and change course along the way. While nearly every successful financial plan involves saving towards retirement, there is also emphasis on building in maneuverability. Life is unpredictable—opportunities arise, challenges appear, and priorities shift. By planning ahead and creating room for the unexpected, such as emergency savings or discretionary spending, you can adapt without derailing your long-term goals. This balance between structure and adaptability allows you to make confident choices while still enjoying life’s spontaneity.
Source: https://napkinfinance.com/napkin/financial-planning/
Financial Plans Are Roadmaps With Flexibility
Thus far, 2025 has been a year of extreme volatility, with every sentence about the future of the market including the word “uncertainty.” And it does not look like that is going to change any time soon. Having a financial plan can help ease the stress if the unknown, and keep you focused on your long-term goals, all while showing you where you have the flexibility to have an adventure too.
The Lifecycle of Wealth: From Accumulation to Adventure
We tend to consider the financial lifecycle in three general parts – the accumulation phase, when you are building and saving; the transition phase or “retirement red zone,” the 5 to 10 years on either side of retirement; and then the legacy phase, when individuals have settled into retirement. So often, in the latter half of that transition and into the legacy chapter, individuals struggle to adjust their thinking from “I have to save, save, save, so I can retire” to “I can enjoy what I worked so hard for.” By having a solid financial plan, you live within the guiderails of your plan, manage income replacement cash flow, and have choices about what to do and how to spend what you saved. Retirement isn’t the end of the road; it’s the destination you’ve been working toward, and it’s meant to be savored.
Ultimately, a full life is about more than checking off goals or reaching milestones. It’s about the memories you create, the people you connect with, and the happiness you allow yourself. Financial planning is more than just tracking income and expenses—it’s about creating a personalized guide to direct you through every stage of life. A thoughtful plan gives you stability and choices, and fun gives you the fuel to keep going.
Meridian was founded on “Clarify the Path. Enjoy the Journey,” meaning have clear plan to achieve your goals, but have fun along the way. Interested in building a financial plan? Meridian is here to help you build and implement a plan that integrates all the pieces of your financial picture into a roadmap to the future.
Adventures Require a Solid Foundation (and Sometimes Winning a Lottery)
As a financial planner, I have on more than one occasion said, “I cannot just ‘go with the flow’, I am literally a professional planner.” To some degree, always knowing what comes next is great, but it is easy to lose your sense of adventure. If you are familiar with the National Park Service, they now have a lottery system for many of their most popular trails, including my bucket list hike, Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. In March, applicants submit the dates they would like to hike and tickets are awarded by lottery. To increase my chances of getting permits, I applied for broad swatches of the year. And, after four years of trying, was lucky enough to get a pass for a day in early October! For this trip, I am leaning into letting spontaneity guide my travels to Half Dome. I have flights, place to stay, and a good pair of hiking boots – otherwise, adventure awaits!
