In this Episode we discuss our personal narratives and how we came to an order of investing. In every game and arena there is an order to progress that helps the player/user grow. Some would choose to circumvent the order but in our experience we have found that following basic guidelines for investing will allow you to keep your growth trajectory in tact. In Part 1 of our two part series on 'The Order of Investing' we discuss the first four guidelines we use to help our clients.
Assessment - The process takes us through the practical day to day numbers including current family or business budget, debt and cash flow. We snapshot the current and expected margin to try and get an understanding if the client is able to live on 70% of their cash flow while investing, saving and giving the remaining 30%.
Narratives - As investors we must understand the impact of what we call, The 5 Meta Narratives: Global Economics, US Finance, Politics, Civil Rights and Media/Technology
Mapping - When working with individuals and businesses our hope is to outline a constellation of goals, action points, gaps and relationships that will need attention and stewardship.
Values - the discovery and discussion of values can hone your current risk narrative while adding efficiency and congruency to your families/business goals. Values are sewn deep into us and drive the 'why versus what conversation'. When I know what I value most in life then I can work the narrative backwards to outline action points and investment strategy.
Additional notes:
What shapes our progress through these steps is the idea of operating out of faith instead of fear. In our worldview, we are stewarding things that are not ours to keep and so it allows us the freedom to invest without the fear of loss.
Our hope is to produce value to honor God, bless our families and to invest in our friends and communities.