New Millionaires and the Wealth Life Cycle
Wealth creation has become a way of life in the world today. A record number of Americans are joining the millionaire’s club. As of 2017, there were 15.3 million people worth $1 million or more in the United States, and 36 million millionaires worldwide. In fact, three thousand new millionaires were minted every day in the United States in 2016–201716.—that’s more than two millionaires every minute.
Who are these new wealth creators? (Note that wherever the term “wealth creator” is used, I’m referring not only to those who have already secured material wealth, but also aspiring wealth creators, who strive to achieve wealth in the future.)
Wealth creators generally don’t come from a life of privilege. They are usually the first generation in their families to have achieved wealth. Their parents may not have been poor, and many describe their upbringing as middle class and sometimes upper middle class, but just as often, they were raised in a house just outside the boundary of a nice neighborhood.
Their parents didn’t achieve significant wealth, even though they may have been successful in their own right as teachers, professionals, or tradespeople. Many wealth creators had to work hard to get what they wanted in life, from a young age, and had the drive to make something of themselves. They are usually highly educated and driven to do very interesting, stimulating, or “cool” work with others like themselves. Achieving wealth isn’t always their career aim, but money is definitely a motivator.
Wealth creators are “new money,” as opposed to “old money.” Old money is multigenerational, has the trappings of family offices, history, and patriarchal and matriarchal figures who provide financial leadership to younger generations. New money is first-generational, without clear role models or experience with rising wealth levels, and its members have a grounding in frugality from their past.
Wealth creators may have received wealth that’s disproportionate to their input into a business or activity, and they know they are lucky. They may be so-called “accidental millionaires.” Many who have achieved wealth through entrepreneurship, successful start-ups, or a fortuitous business sale face the reality that they were really lucky to be in the right place at the right time in history.
This was clearly the case at Microsoft, where the specific years of employment had huge, widely varying impacts on individual net worth. For example, employees in the 1990s saw great expansion in stock prices and brokerage accounts, while mediocre stock performance at Microsoft during the 2000s did not produce the same employee payoffs (with the exception of the past three years). For employees paid in stock options or other stock-based compensation, timing truly is everything. Being at, or starting, the right high-growth company is the key to realizing immense financial rewards for a huge investment of mental and emotional energy.
Wealth creators want to work on important and interesting projects, in high-achieving roles. They gravitate to companies where outsized financial rewards are associated with achieving success. Many wealth creators are concentrated in cities where start-up capital is flowing and entrepreneurs thrive, such as Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston, Atlanta, Austin, and Los Angeles.
They want to work with others who are highly intelligent and who will challenge them, where youth isn’t viewed as a liability and innovation is rewarded. They seek fast-paced environments with movement toward a mission and a culture of meritocracy; however, the stress and intensity of their focus on achieving their goals can wreak havoc on their personal lives.
Wealth creators may have experienced a “sudden wealth” event. This category includes those who work at companies that launch an initial public offering (IPO) and all of the options and stock earned became liquid and real overnight. Other sudden wealth events include receiving an inheritance, selling a business, receiving an insurance settlement, or winning the lottery. I include those who experience these other sudden wealth events as wealth creators because the emotional and financial realities they experience are very consistent with other new wealth creators.
Whether they work all their lives to achieve wealth or it happens suddenly through an IPO or an unexpected windfall, wealth creators all have one thing in common: they are new to big money and they have no idea how it will change their lives.
Two Sides of the Wealth Coin
Of course, wealth creators understand and appreciate the upside of wealth. Who wouldn’t enjoy the freedom to choose whether or not to work, and having time to spend on projects and causes you care about—not to mention time to spend with the people you love, in places you’ve dreamed of visiting, enjoying a lifestyle of comfort and even luxury? Wealth truly is a gift.
But wealth also comes with many unrecognized pitfalls and risk factors. Wealth can increase isolation: Wealth creators tend to play alone, work alone, be alone, and have a higher susceptibility to depression and anxiety. Suniya S. Luthar, professor of psychology at Arizona State University, writes: “Wealthy communities can, paradoxically, be among those most likely to engender feelings of friendlessness and isolation in their inhabitants. Physical characteristics of wealthy suburban communities may contribute to feelings of isolation. Houses in these communities are often set far apart with privacy of all ensured by long driveways, high hedges, and sprawling lawns.”17. In other words, the wealthy are physically isolated from interaction with others.
As wealth increases, so does the ability to buy services that have traditionally been taken care of through family, neighbors, or community efforts. Luthar notes, “Affluent individuals are amply able to purchase various services such as psychotherapy for depression, medical care for physical illness, and professional caregivers for children, and in not having to rely on friends for such assistance, they rarely obtain direct ‘proof’ of others’ authentic concern. In essence, therefore, the rich are the least likely to experience the security of deep social connectedness that is routinely enjoyed by people in communities where mutual dependence is often unavoidable.”18.
Affluence leads to a lack of dependent relationships, which can leave the wealthy feeling socially disconnected and lacking a sense of community. Part of this relational isolation stems from the endless choices available to wealth creators: they can choose to be part of any number of churches, clubs, and social groups, and leave them whenever they want. Ironically, too much freedom to choose actually dilutes our sense of belonging and connection to a particular group.
I believe there is a tight correlation between levels of wealth and the isolation that wealth creators experience. Those new to wealth may find that there are fewer and fewer people who can relate to their situation. They may have trouble finding friends who can appreciate what they are wrestling with—both the positive and negative impacts of wealth. They often confront jealousy among old friends and family members, hearing statements like “You’re so lucky” from envious onlookers who see lifestyle changes happening.
For those new to wealth, guilt is often a factor, both that they have more than those around them, and that they cannot openly express any negative feelings they may be experiencing around the challenges that come with wealth. Psychotherapists report that affluent individuals commonly struggle with confusion and guilt about their distress. One therapist reported: “I cannot begin to count the number of times that an expensively dressed, immaculately groomed woman drove her luxury car into my parking area, walked gracefully into my office, sat down, and announced, ‘My life is perfect. I have everything I could ask for,’ and then, bursting into tears, ‘Why am I so unhappy? This makes no sense at all—I must get over this!’ ”19.
Another risk factor for wealth creators: Several studies show that the higher you rise on the socioeconomic ladder, the less ethical, more selfish, and more self-centered you may become. You only have to look at the news to see a regular stream of celebrities and successful business leaders who act like they are the center of the universe and believe that laws don’t apply to them.
In a series of seven studies conducted by social scientist Paul K. Piff and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), upper-class participants behaved more unethically than lower-class participants, including being more likely to break the law while driving, take valued goods from others, exhibit unethical decision-making, lie in a negotiation, cheat to increase their chances of winning, and endorse unethical behavior at work. “While having money doesn’t necessarily make anybody anything,” Piff says, “the rich are way more likely to prioritize their own self-interests above the interests of other people. It makes them more likely to exhibit characteristics that we would stereotypically associate with, say, assholes.”20.
Why do upper-class individuals appear to be more prone to these behaviors? The authors of this study suggest: “Upper-class individuals’ relative independence from others and increased privacy in their professions may provide fewer structural constraints and decreased perceptions of risk associated with committing unethical acts. The availability of resources to deal with the downstream costs of unethical behavior may increase the likelihood of such acts among the upper class.” They also suggest that the self-perception of upper-class individuals may lead them to feel entitled and to disregard the consequences of their actions on others.21. Again, isolation appears to be a contributing factor to these behaviors.
In many ways, wealth has the potential to change people for the worse: We’ve already discussed the potential for increased isolation, unethical behavior, selfishness, and depression, but wealth also can reduce impulses toward generosity, empathy, and compassion. In studies conducted at UC Berkeley in 2011, psychologist Jennifer Steller’s research demonstrated that students from upper-middle-class and wealthy backgrounds scored much lower on compassionate behaviors than their lower-income classmates.
Students were asked to self-report on compassionate behaviors in one study, and in another, the participants were hooked up to heart-rate monitors while watching a compassion-inducing video. “We have found that, during compassion, the heart rate lowers as if the body is calming itself to take care of another person,” Stellar says. The lower-income students experienced a measurable slowing of heart rate, a physiological marker of the experience of compassion, during the video. Stellar notes that higher-income students may have just as much capacity to feel compassion, but they may simply lack experience observing and tending to the hardships of others.22. Again, the isolating effects of wealth can limit opportunities to experience firsthand what suffering looks like and to know how to respond appropriately.
I regularly review tax returns with millions of dollars in income listed (and with assets even greater), only to see a minimal amount, or sometimes nothing at all, on the line for charitable contributions. For example, someone worth $20 million, with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $1 million for the year, might have charitable giving of only $25,000. In and of itself, that is a big number, but relative to this person’s level of affluence, it is quite small—only a small percentage of overall assets.
I see this tendency often as I consult with those who are new to wealth: Their first impulse is to focus on building more wealth before engaging in any significant philanthropy. In fact, this is true for a majority of higher-income households: As income level rises, a higher percentage of households make charitable contributions, but donations level off at around 2 percent to 3 percent of income. While fewer very-low-income households give anything to charity, those who do donate give an average of 12 percent of their income (for households earning $25,000 or less).23.
Considering the potential emotional and psychological downsides to attaining wealth, you may be asking yourself: Why would anyone want to become a millionaire? The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. But is wealth really all bad? I don’t think there is anything innately wrong with making money and enjoying the fruits of our labor. The evil is in what we have turned money into: from a gift and blessing into a form of control, power, and unhealthy self-sufficiency.
Wealth can be like gravity, pushing us inward and insulating us from life, driving us to achieve a sick version of independence where we don’t need anyone or anything. We believe we are in charge and the ultimate arbitrator of what happens: a god of sorts. Many embrace the false belief that storing up a larger and larger pile of resources will protect us from difficulties and pain in life, or that joy can come only through the continual acquisition of more. What is clear from research and my own experience is that those who drive into palatial homes each night, protected in their castles of the twenty-first century, feel the same pangs of loneliness and desire for greater connection, fulfillment, and purpose as everyone else on the other side of the moat.
The Wealth Life Cycle
Having the tools to embrace the benefits of wealth and dodge the pitfalls begins with an understanding of what I call the “Wealth Life Cycle.” The practical ramifications of wealth don’t develop at the same time as the emotional impacts, and both categories can be greatly influenced by which stage of wealth creation you are experiencing. After many years of working with successful wealth creators, I have seen certain patterns emerge as their level of wealth increases and time elapses. The Wealth Life Cycle generally moves through three phases: Creating, Managing, and Relating.
Phase 1 of the Wealth Life Cycle is the “Creating Wealth” stage, and the goal is amassing enough money to buy time freedom and expanded choices. Often, the end goal is the ability to retire (or at least stop working at your current job) and focus on other projects and passions. In this phase, wealth creators want to feel financially safe—knowing that they will have enough money to sustain their lifestyle and pay the bills when they are no longer working for a living. In Phase 1, you may be asking yourself:
You begin to experience some of the emotional stresses around wealth during this phase, such as worrying about how much is enough and how wealth will affect your career trajectory and sense of purpose associated with your work life. You also may experience regret, confusion, and even jealousy if you haven’t met your target for building assets on the timeline you expected. You are busy creating wealth and may not have the time, inclination, or knowledge to feel confident managing your assets, while simultaneously feeling insecure about seeking help from outside sources. At this point, you don’t know what you don’t know.
Figure 2.1 Wealth Life Cycle
Phase 1 Example
Steve is a senior engineer at a venture-backed start-up, and his wife, Angie, is a stay-at-home mother. They are in their late twenties, with a growing family, and they are currently focused on building their financial nest egg. Managing their financial life by themselves to this point, they have accumulated bank savings and various retirement accounts of $500,000, and $2 million of vested and unvested stock options. They recently purchased a $600,000 home in a suburb of Boston and enjoy a modest but comfortable lifestyle.
On a typical day, Steve is busy with work demands and Angie is maxed out with two young children underfoot and the house to manage. These obligations leave them with little time to think about their growing cash balance and its impact on their life, other than experiencing less day-to-day stress about having enough money to pay the bills.
Steve and Angie sense that they are on the right trajectory to achieve financial security, but they have a nagging feeling that what they don’t know about managing their own money could derail their goals. In fact, they have a real fear of doing something stupid that will create problems. Both attended prestigious universities, and they feel that they should be able to manage their financial life independently given their intellect, education, and the valuable information and services available on the Internet. If they were being honest with themselves and each other, they don’t have the time, inclination, or knowledge to think much about finances. Their plate is full right now, with both Steve and Angie working hard and finding time for their family.
As relative newbies to wealth, Steve and Angie have lingering questions that continue to surface in discussions after the kids go to bed, but never seem to get resolved. What’s their number for retirement? How much life insurance do they need? Can they afford to purchase that bigger house down the street? When is the best time to start diversifying their options, restricted stock units, or both?
They have considered seeking help from a financial advisor, but there is an inherent fear that they will just be sold products. Even if they wanted to hire an advisor to help, they don’t know how to pick one, what to expect, or how much it would cost. It seems that all of their friends who have financial advisors have more money than they do. If only they could find inexpensive help—someone they could trust to educate them on building a financial base.
In Phase 1, your focus should be on educating yourself, becoming aware of common pitfalls and basic financial management needs, and begin the process of vetting a few key advisors you can grow with. Do not overpay or overcommit to advisory services beyond those that will provide more clarity and confidence in your financial life. You are at the stage where your basic financial management needs can be addressed simply and efficiently.
This is the time to find a financial advisor, preferably one with an advanced certification such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). These individuals might be working independently or at a wealth management or stock brokerage firm. (For more information about the differences between various advisory roles, see Chapter 3; for links to further information about these designations, see the Appendix.)
Phase 2 of the Wealth Life Cycle involves “Managing Wealth” and all of the decisions, terminology, and strategies that go into overseeing a growing asset base. This can be an overwhelming new task. Wealth creators have plenty of opportunities and choices but often don’t have a framework to evaluate the trade-offs, risks, and long-term sustainability of their lifestyle and budget choices. You may wonder:
Wealth creators in Phase 2 don’t want to miss out on an opportunity or make a misstep that will cost them or make them look foolish. They have many people giving them advice, including family and friends, to say nothing of the myriad retail financial services firms seeking their business and offering a bewildering range of products. But they don’t know who to trust. And they desperately want and need someone in their life they can trust.
Often, this is a time of great uncertainty, when money starts to have a bigger emotional impact. There is confusion about how to manage the increased complexity of life, and as lifestyle rises to match increased wealth, stress also can increase about whether this is sustainable for the long term. Wealth creators can become hypercontrolling over financial details in this stage because they are fearful of losing the money and sliding backward in terms of lifestyle.
The goal during Phase 2 is to make managing your money as streamlined and seamless as possible, to reduce stress and gain confidence about decision-making, and to start enjoying the benefits of wealth. Engaging help from financial advisors and building a relationship of trust is often a critical step for wealth creators at this stage. During this phase, wealth creators begin pondering the question, “What’s the money for?”
Phase 2 Example
Rachael is in her mid-thirties, divorced with two young kids, living in the San Francisco area, and an executive at Apple. She is a high-profile and influential leader managing complex home and work pursuits, with heavy travel, very limited time availability, and a highly scheduled and fast-paced life.
Rachael’s net worth, including liquid investments, stock options, and her house, is approximately $10 million, and her annual cash compensation is more than sufficient to cover her lifestyle costs of $300,000 per year, while still materially growing her retirement savings.
Her assets and their associated complexity have grown rapidly over the past several years, and Rachael no longer feels comfortable managing it alone. A broad list of wealth management needs has developed for her, including financial planning, stock option timing and diversification, estate and tax planning, and portfolio management. Rachael recognizes the need to find, manage, and pay for a new team of professional advisors, which she hopes will help her feel more confident and in control of her financial life with limited time, energy, and emotional commitment required from her.
To Rachael, money equals freedom, expanded choices, a mindful focus on interests and passions, and the ability to spend with liberal abandon on experiences and close relationships. However, her lifestyle costs have been creeping higher the past several years, and she doesn’t know if her spending is sustainable or how it compares to others in similar circumstances. The volatility of the stock market feels like a rigged game, making her nervous because she doesn’t want to go backward and have to earn everything all over again. Does the financial equation of her life work over the long term?
As her affluence has increased, so has Rachael’s worry about the entitlement of her kids and the impact that her wealth will have on family and friends. She wants to be viewed by her friends the same way as when she didn’t have money. Isolation is building in Rachael’s life because there are fewer people in her circle of relationships who can understand the issues and concerns she faces. And, if anything unforeseen happens to her, she doesn’t want her kids and family to be burdened or overwhelmed by her money.
This stage of the Wealth Life Cycle is where the management and caretaking of money and the enjoyment of money collide. Just as in business, wealth management can either be done well, creating confidence and clarity toward positive outcomes, or it can be done poorly, creating anxiety, uncertainty, and frustration. The skill and experience of the advisory team you hire will have a huge impact as you navigate through Phase 2, and now is the time to upgrade and expand the advisors you rely on.
Look for a wealth manager to fill the role of “personal chief financial officer” in your life, who understands the scope of your financial picture holistically, assists with communication and coordination of your advisory team, and translates your specific needs into proactive actions that will simplify your life. Typically, you’ll find this kind of advisor at a firm that is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). (For more information about RIAs, please see Chapter 3.)
Keep in mind that becoming comfortable managing your wealth is a process, so continue to educate yourself and ask questions as you scale this learning curve.
Phase 3 takes the wealth creator on an inner journey of purpose, generosity, and “Relating to Wealth.” Truly connecting your values to your wealth is the goal of this phase. When wealth creators feel financially secure and know they can enjoy a certain lifestyle without fear of running out of money, and they have the systems and people in place to manage their money effectively, focus can shift from managing the gift of wealth to maximizing it. Wealth creators want to understand how to have a healthy relationship with their money. They may ask:
In Phase 3, wealth creators begin to ask, “What is my life for?” and “How does my money align with and contribute to that outcome?”
How you relate to your money affects all the other relationships in your life. Areas where you and your spouse or partner are not aligned quickly become apparent when addressing the question “What’s the money for?” Friendships and family relationships can become strained or uncomfortable when your lifestyle changes and others feel left out, “less than,” or jealous.
Some wealth creators feel deeply uncomfortable about their newfound financial freedom because of money lessons ingrained from childhood, and they may even hide their wealth. Your children will feel the effects of your money, and their emotional and developmental well-being is a big concern. We’ll examine how the money affects relationships for wealth creators in Chapters 4 and 5.
Many wealth creators want to be proactive in influencing the world around them and the causes they care about through their generosity. They may want to use their money to build a new company or venture that is aligned with something they care deeply about. They also worry about how to leave a legacy, connect their investments to their values, and understand what success looks like—in other words, what is my highest contribution, and why do I exist? We’ll examine these questions in depth in Chapters 7, 8, and 9.
When wealth creators can discover the answers to their questions about money and meaning in Phase 3, they are much more likely to avoid the pitfalls of wealth described earlier in this chapter. Their relationships are healthier and they can enjoy the benefits of wealth, while having a higher sense of purpose and connection. In the next chapter, we’ll examine the emotional intelligence factors that contribute to or diminish one’s ability to be happily wealthy.
Phase 3 Examples
Michael and Amy are a couple in their early forties living in Palo Alto with twin teenage boys. Amy has built a very successful career at Google, and Michael is a partner at a law firm. In addition to having a wide network of friends and family, they are both active in various political and charitable causes.
With a net worth in excess of $20 million, Amy and Michael are confident in the sustainability of their finances and lifestyle. They have become more comfortable anticipating the ebb and flow of rapidly expanding wealth, and they appreciate the opportunities that their wealth presents, both now and in the future. Time freedom is gaining in importance over the pursuit of more money—Michael and Amy want to spend their time exploring their passions and interests more fully, learning how to increase their philanthropic impact, and connecting their investments to social and environment issues they value.
Over the past decade, they’ve been so busy building and managing their money, as well as the daily details of life, that they haven’t made time to think deeply about ideal future outcomes. A few conversations about their long-term goals have surfaced while on vacation, but there hasn’t been much incentive to deeply explore and plan for the impact of their wealth.
Michael and Amy have particular concerns about raising their children within the affluence bubble of Silicon Valley, and they worry that their kids will become entitled, or unmotivated to lead a productive life. Tactically, they have thought about setting up trusts and estate plans that limit the flow of assets to their kids, but they are unsure how much of their wealth should go to their sons and when, not to mention other family members.
Amy has toyed with quitting her job and can imagine other careers and adventures that might be invigorating to her life and for her family. She wants to minimize the impact of what she refers to as “the wealth umbilical cord,” and instead mindfully design a life oriented toward passions and purpose.
She struggles with making the leap to this passion-driven future because of her own money history: Her father retired early and then floundered, without experiencing much joy. Seeing this negative experience with a close family member has left lingering emotional impacts that Amy must address if she is to find happiness and significance in choosing a different path than the one she is currently on.
Michael really enjoys his work and clients, and the billable hours he generates create a very nice income. However, his financial contribution is dwarfed by the wealth creation from Amy’s stock compensation. They have enough money that Michael could easily retire from his law practice, but he has concerns about how this would affect his sons’ development. He wants to be a role model for them and help them develop a good work ethic. One the big challenges of Phase 3 for wealth creators is finding meaning and purpose once they’ve “hit their number” and money is no longer a factor in career decision-making.
Another client experiencing the challenges of Phase 3 of the wealth life cycle is Brady, who sold the profitable entertainment company he was running. He can do anything he wants thanks to this financial windfall, but the money created a scenario where anything was possible and nothing really excited him. Brady has struggled for the past three years with psychological issues around his identity, now that he isn’t a well-known producer in Los Angeles anymore.
Pursuing his passion for long-distance running and biking has filled up some of his time, along with short stints mentoring and coaching small business friends, but he still doesn’t feel that his life has a real purpose. Brady wants that spark to reignite in his life, but he also doesn’t want to go back to the high-pressure and all-consuming time commitment required to build another company. He is still looking for another way to contribute something meaningful.
Megan, the wife of a successful executive, is also struggling to find meaning and purpose in Phase 3 of the Wealth Life Cycle. The size of her and her husband’s net worth has mushroomed from single-digit millions to over 20 million in less than five years. Their house and cars are paid for and the kids have gone off to college, with more than ample college savings to go the distance. Vacations are wonderful, dinner out and fun excursions are not a problem, and her husband still works many hours because he loves what he is doing.
Megan, on the other hand, is looking for what to do next, now that the kids have left the nest. She had put her career on hold fifteen years ago to focus entirely on managing the household and raising their children. She now has what she always wanted: time freedom and the health to enjoy it. The question is: Where should she apply her life energy?
Megan tells me that many of her close friends are going through the same life transition, and there is confusion about what to do next, when anything was possible. It is a wake-up call for her to realize that once our wildest financial dreams are met and even surpassed, the need for a new goal emerges. You don’t need to focus on building up your savings account because that goal has been checked off, and in many cases, wealth continues to rise materially. What is left are much tougher decisions: Where can I contribute, and how do I find significance?
Wealth creators in Phase 3 of the Wealth Life Cycle often find themselves feeling isolated and unable to confide in others about the complex financial and personal issues they are facing. There are very few people who can really relate to what they are going through. In fact, financial advisors in key positions of trust often don’t possess the skill, training, and experience to help them work through these very personal reflections. In Phase 3, there are unexpected blind spots and emotional roadblocks where wealth creators can get stuck.
A wealth coach or other counselor may be needed to help you explore your options and begin to create a life of deeper contribution. Seeking help of this kind isn’t a sign of weakness—in fact, many high achievers turn to coaching to give them an edge in various aspects of their lives. The information and assessments in Chapters 7, 8, and 9 of this book will also help you recognize your core values, discover your highest calling, and build the kind of life that many Phase 3 wealth creators are seeking.
What the Wealth Life Cycle Means for You
As we begin our careers, we often have a simplistic view of wealth creation: We will work hard, save and invest wisely, and amass the biggest pile of money we can so we can start enjoying life. The reality is that wealth comes with a great deal of complexity, both practically speaking and in its psychological impacts. Fortunately, the impact and influence that money has on your life evolves in a predictable pattern. Understanding which phase of the Wealth Life Cycle you are in has several benefits:
The speed at which you move through the phases of the Wealth Life Cycle is unique to each person and circumstance, and it’s not uncommon to have the phases overlap as your knowledge and comfort level with money increases over time. For example, you may be in Phase 1 wealth creation while beginning to grapple with many of the Phase 2 issues of managing your wealth. Likewise, you can become more astute at managing wealth (Phase 2) and simultaneously begin pondering the purposes for your wealth and what kind of legacy impact you want your money to have (Phase 3).
As your wealth grows, understanding and managing its impacts can be overwhelming. The Wealth Life Cycle provides “hand-holds” to move your money and your life forward in a healthy and productive way. In the next chapter, we will review the complications that wealth creates and learn how to traverse this new landscape with confidence.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER AS YOU EXPLORE YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE WEALTH LIFE CYCLE: