The Path to Infinite Wealth Part 3: Create Your Lasting Legacy
Wealth Transfer isn’t Just About the Money
Dealing with money is never just about the amount. The path to amassing wealth is the same one regardless of the amount, whether it’s $50,000 or $500,000.
Wealth, at its heart, is about:
- Spending less than you make
- Investing that extra money wisely
That’s what the first two posts in this series were about: Living within your means and Investing. Properly utilized throughout a lifetime, these two skills will amass you wealth, and help fund a comfortable retirement– and even more.
But what is that ‘and even more’? It’s passing on your wealth to your children, and to your children’s children. This wealth is not the actual numbers in your bank account, or at least not only that. This lasting wealth is the system you’ve created following the principles above.
It’s not just about your will (though a will, along with estate planning is a very important part of the succession of wealth) it’s about passing on critical financial strategies you’ve learned building your wealth – like the Infinite Wealth System. By teaching the Infinite Wealth System to the next generation, you give your children and grandchildren the tools to be good stewards of their wealth in the face of a culture that encourages reckless spending.
Passing on Infinite Wealth
Saving and investing wisely brought you this far, and now it’s up to you to pass this knowledge on to the next generation. Far too often, we view money as a dirty topic, allowing our kids to make their minds up for themselves when it comes to their finances. That may seem like the smart thing to do, but in the end, it’s only hurting them.
The culture around us will teach your children to spend, and spend a lot. Without any counterbalance, the consequences of this mindset leads into a deep pit of debt – the same debt most Canadians are struggling under.
You are in the best position to teach your kids about making and keeping money. Give your kids and grandkids the gift of knowing the path towards creating infinite wealth, explain the process and how it works. Once they understand the diagram, their path towards wealth is lit and ready for them to walk – what they do with it is up to them.
Where to begin:
- Live within your means – and model it for your children. The rules don’t change when you’re wealthy – they're the same for everyone. The first step we’ve talked about, but you have to do more than just live it, you have to model it. That means talking to your kids about money and about living within their means.
- Invest wisely – and teach your children to do the same. Wise Investing is more than just buying random investments, and your kids need to understand that. You have reasons for every investment you’ve made, so share that with your children. You may, however, want to wait until they’re out of diapers before you get deep into your investment strategies.
- Know what you own and why you own it– and encourage your children to get involved. Your money is your money, and it is important for you to know what it’s doing if you’re serious about generating wealth. When you know what your money is doing and how it’s invested, it’s easier for you to understand your cashflow. The more you know, the less arcane money will seem, and that gives you control over your wealth. This is something you can pass on to the next generation.
Your Financial Story
Nothing grows in the dark, and neither will your family’s wealth, no matter how much money you do (or do not) have. Keep your family’s financial story an open book. Tell your kids how you made your money, and about the mistakes made along the way and the lessons you learned from your trials. If you make your family history a story, with lessons learned along the way, you can pass your financial wisdom on to your kids, leaving them to write the next chapter of the story of the legacy you started.
Choose the Right Professionals
At Bayview Financial, we are passionate about these principles of wealth-building because we live them out every day. We would never recommend that you invest in something that we ourselves would not invest in.
When we are talking about your financial future, we are all in this together. Most of our clients report that speaking with a Bayview Financial advisor has been a pivotal point in their journey. We are passionate about helping our clients create financial freedom for their families. The initial consultation is always complimentary – and time well invested.