Maslow’s hierarchy of needs & your financial goals

Your financial goals are basically numerical figures of your purpose of life. We all have a purpose in life and the goals should be a part of that purpose. In fact the goals should make you achieve that purpose of life.

Your financial goal should have a reasonable priority in fact these goals should be in parallel to your life goals.

Understand what motivates you to keep your goals on track. Lot of time it has been seen that people lose hope or lack motivation in between and they start showing signs of back stepping and indulging in some other interest.

Some time back I wrote about “Setting SMART Financial Goals” which talked about setting Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant & Time-bound goals. But what about purpose of life, prioratising goals & motivation to achieve them.

I think Maslow’s hierarch of needs can help you in identifying purpose of your life, prioratising goals & giving enough motivation to achieve them. If you don’t know about Maslow’s hierarchy check Wikipedia page. Must share your views in comment section.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs & your financial goals - Infographics

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Hemant Beniwal is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and his Company Ark Primary Advisors Pvt Ltd is registered as an Investment Adviser with SEBI. Hemant is also a member of the Financial Planning Association, U.S.A and registered as a life planner with Kinder Institute of Life Planning, U.S.A. He started his Financial Planning Practice & TFL Guide Blog in 2009. "The Financial Literates" is a dream & mission to make Indians Financial Literate.

16 COMMENTS

  1. Your analogy is brilliant! Young people should be very clear about what activity gives them true happiness and do their best to earn their living in that area. Not always possible but one must at least try. This is a basic need almost the purpose of life. Unhappiness in ones job will reflect in all other decisions incl. finance.

    Beyond this the purpose of life doesn’t have much clarity to me. If each of my actions are driven by commonsense, civic sense, humility, courtesy and basic respect for fellows human beings I think I have justified my existence as a human being which is either a freakish act of nature or a divine act of god.

    Owning money and wealth is a bit of an illusion. We need the right amount of money at the right state in life which requires careful planning. Nothing more, nothing less. A basic sense of contentment is crucial for intelligent and calm investing.

    • Hi Pattu,
      Well said, it’s really important that one should persue what he enjoy. Your comment must be read by everyone.

  2. great piece of writing !!! enjoyed reading it, would include the “giving need” as a part of self-actualisation — the peace and satisfaction one gets by contributing to charity or to a single unknown child’s education / well-being is way beyond words . giving back to society, in whatever small measure possible, will make us feel happy from inside.

  3. one must learn to enjoy what he has, little or more.

    one must try to figure out that even little things he owns in life can be source of immense pleasure and happiness.

    but at same time one must continue to strive for betterment.

  4. Dear Hemant,
    It is a very nice explanation of the part played by money in our lives. I wish to add one more point with your permission. Giving something back to the society from which we took a lot for our growth by way of charity. The immense happiness you derive by giving is something which can not be expressed in words. In my data sheet I always add this Charity item to create awareness. Thanks lot for a wonderful write up.

  5. Hi, thanks 4 suggesting in financial matters through nice articles. i am 35 yr old working in a govt. project and not in permanent job, i want to know about any good pension plan, can you suggest?

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