Saving for retirement …

Setting money aside for your children’s college …

Paying off student loans …

Having a fully funded emergency fund …

Paying down your mortgage …

Living your life today …

Do you sometimes feel like you’re in some kind of “financial vortex?” That’s a term used by Goldman Sachs Asset Management to describe our long-term, competing financial priorities. The impact, according to their research, is that all of these distractions may cause you to have as much as 37 percent less in total retirement savings.

From a medical perspective, the more worrisome part of this financial vortex phenomenon is the manifestation of the real damage it can bring about in your body. It’s been demonstrated that financial stress can directly cause unwanted physical symptoms such as stomachaches or headaches. It can also take a mental toll causing anxiety, depression, and withdrawal from social activities.

So how do we exit this vortex? By reflecting on your priorities. You can’t do everything all at once, no matter how hard you work or how much money you earn. You also can’t control inflation or where the economy is heading next.

All you can do is set your own bar and reach for it. Over the years I’ve made plenty of goals for myself and then sought to achieve them. However, this was never with the unrealistic expectation that I could take them all on at once. 

My advice to anyone in this situation is to focus on what matters the most to you and your spouse. Make a list and then pour your effort into your top three or four priorities. And most importantly, don’t forget to find your balance between the life you want in the future and now.