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3 Numbers To Change Your Financial Life

Do you have the financial know-how that it takes to be truly wealthy? I’m not talking about how much money you’ve got in your bank account here. I mean wealthy in the original sense of the word, where wealthy is the condition of being truly well in yourself. 

Some people can’t quite work toward that yet, and that’s ok. I see you out there and I know that you’re struggling to make your ends meet. And if you’re in that space, this advice isn’t for you yet. But learning it now will help you to keep the company of the people in the place where you want to be. So keep reading and keep building out your pillar mindset for when you’re ready. 

See, a problem that most of us have is that when we talk about money, we just look at our credit score and our bank balance. Then we say we’ll be happy when we have $X in the bank, but when we get there, we’re still not happy. And I should know that more than anyone else! I’ve built and lost a seven-figure business and gone from government assistance to making millions, so I know firsthand that it’s not money that makes you happy. It’s the mindset that you build around the money.  

Today I want to share the three key numbers that have completely changed how I make financial decisions to align with what matters most to me. Instead of chasing random income goals at the expense of everything else, I’ve learned to design financial freedom into the fabric of my whole life.

It all starts with this one number. 

My Lifestyle Design Number.

Years ago, I’d set these huge income goals thinking “If I make X amount per year doing what I love, I’ll finally feel good enough and my problems will disappear.” First it was $40k, then $100k, up to $1 million – I just needed that money and then I’d be ok. 

But the problem with those numbers is just that – they’re numbers. They don’t have any reason or logic behind them. Why would $40k make you happy but not $39.5k? It’s probably because someone has told you that $40k is the number to aim for and you believed them. Then you hit that number and you felt exactly the same as you did before. 

That’s why you need to think about the lifestyle that comes with the number.

Now before I make myself another financial target, I look at my pillars – all six of them. I look at how much my dream lifestyle would cost for each of those pillars. 

Let’s look at my fit pillar, for example.

My fitness and health are really important to me, because if my body’s not working, I’m not working. So I invest in this area so that I can sustain myself.

So what does that look like, exactly? I spend money on a virtual fitness coach who designs my workouts and I also have a trainer in the gym who keeps an eye on my form. I use a meal prep service so that I can eat healthily even if I’m busy and I subscribe to HelloFresh too so that I can cook healthy meals with my daughter. I’ve also got a therapist and a life coach to keep my mind sharp.

When I’m calculating my Lifestyle Design Number, I look at all the expenses that I generate in this fit pillar. And then – and this is important – I add a 20% margin of error because you never know what the future holds. Then I total up all these expenses on a monthly basis, including the 20% margin, and times it by 12 to find out how much it’s costing me per year. 

I go through that process, pillar by pillar, and I end up with my Lifestyle Design Number. That’s not an empty number that doesn’t mean anything. It’s a number that reflects my lifestyle and my values. When I have that number, I’m living an authentically wealthy life.  

But that’s not the only number you need to start thinking about. 

Because being wealthy is also about having an abundant mindset. 

That’s why you also need to have a Blessed to Be a Blessing Fund.

Giving some of your wealth away to others is a cornerstone of living well. 

Your Blessed To Be A Blessing Fund needs to come up high on your list of financial priorities. It’s a percentage of your wealth that you allocate to give to others. 

The percentage that you give away can be small. It could even just be 1%. 

But giving that money away will make you richer. 

I firmly believe that generous, intentional giving is one of the most powerful wealth-building (and health-promoting!) habits out there. It cultivates an abundant, prosperous mindset when you emancipate your financial assets freely.

And planning out who you give your money to and when is the best way to give. You don’t need to “feel led” to give – that’s following your heart, not your head. Have a strategic number set aside to give patiently, cheerfully, consistently. There are always people and organizations that need your support far beyond yourself. Setting this “Blessed To Be A Blessing” baseline number keeps me focused outward, celebrating my ability to help and care for others. 

My question to you is, what number can you attach to your Blessed To Be A Blessing Fund in 2024? What can you commit to today that you’ll give next year? 

And finally, there’s one last number that you’ve gotta keep in your mind. 

My Freedom Number.

My friend Jason Vitug put me on to this. He’s a financial advisor and an author and he asks you to look at your purchases in terms of the number of hours they cost you. 

Suppose a new TV costs $600. And say you make $10/hr at your job. That means the TV carries a “time cost” of 60 hours of work invested. That’s a lot!

The question Jason asks before any substantial purchase is – are you willing to trade those hours of your precious time for this item? Because that’s the real cost – the freedom hours given away you can’t get back. Does that trade-off of hours of your life align with your values? 

If you say that family is your priority, but you work 70 hours a week for “stuff”, that’s not freedom. If you can buy a TV but those hours you work mean that you skip your kid’s baseball game every week, are you really living up to your values? 

This is why thinking about our money means that we have to get radically honest with ourselves. More honest than if we’re just looking at our credit score and our debt-to-income ratio. We need to look at the life that that money is being used to support. 

If you’ve got a question for me about designing your lifestyle, building your abundance mindset, or anything I discussed, reach out to me in my Instagram DMs or drop me a comment on YouTube. Because I want you to reach your state of being wealthy without ever having to chase money.  

Talk to you soon – 

Patrice.

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