The Picture on the Puzzle Box: Why Your Vision is Critical to Your Financial Success as a Couple

I have puzzle box that I covered in white printer paper. It’s filled with hundreds of cardboard puzzle pieces, but nobody knows what those pieces are supposed to look like when they’re put together.  

That’s what it’s like when you sit down to do any sort of goal-based work—like financial coaching—without a vision. I like to show this blank puzzle box to my clients to illustrate how if you can’t picture what you’re building with your money, it’s going to make putting together the puzzle pieces so much more difficult. 

Your financial puzzle pieces are made up of your health, emotions, children, parents, career, and everything else in your life that contributes to building your ideal life. My job is always to help you put the pieces together in the most efficient and effective way to help you build your ideal life. But to do that, you need to know what picture is on the box. If you’re trying to put together the puzzle pieces without a vision.  

The month of love is here. And instead of just splurging on expensive gifts, flowers, chocolates, and things like that, sit down with your partner and give a greater gift: clarity on your values and what the visions of your lives are.  

The Values Discussion  

I recently sat down with a couple in their early 40s. They aren’t struggling anymore, but they aren’t in a spot where they are thriving yet, either.  

I always like to start off my relationships with my clients by asking about their values and vision for their lives. Though this couple had been together for more than a decade, I could tell they hadn’t identified the things that are most important to them. Just by hearing the little that I did, I knew they needed to get aligned on their values and vision for the future.  

So I sent them home with homework: do my Values Compass exercise. Figure out your values, rank them in order of priority, and see if you are on the same page. I like my clients to do this exercise in five steps:  

Step 1: List out your core values. Examples could be family, freedom, legacy, faith, security, money, adventure, service, etc.  

Step 2: Narrow down your top five values. As Latinos, we have so many values, from family to education to working hard, but we have to choose our top five for this exercise.  

Step 3: Define what each value means to you. Security might mean something different to you than it means to your partner. Security for you might mean a steady paycheck from a job, but for your partner it might mean building their own business.  

Step 4: Assess how your values are aligned with your life. You may say family is your top value, but you don’t spend time with them. This part of the exercise will help you realize if how you spend your money, time, and energy aligns with your core values. And if not, then you can adjust.  

Step 5: Identify one value to act on now. You can pick one value you identified as important, but have been neglecting, and make one small effort to improve the situation. For example, if family is your most important but you’ve not been spending time with your family, you can make a plan to spend time with family members who are important to you.  

Download your worksheet here. If you’re struggling to fill it out Here is a sample of what a completed worksheet looks like.  

Identify Your Vision  

Once you’ve mapped out your top most important values, you can focus on identifying your vision for your life that aligns with those values. You and your partner can ask each other questions like:  

• If I were to pass away soon, what is one thing I didn’t get to do in my life that I want to do? What did I not get to have in my life? What did I not get to become?  

• Then close your eyes and visualize: What do I want my/our life to look like in the future? 

Asking yourselves these questions can help you create the picture that will go on the puzzle box and give you the vision you are working toward. 

Final Words of Wisdom  

I have clients in my office all the time closing their eyes and visualizing what they want for their futures. And I want you to do that: picture what you want your ideal life to be like. Then use that to start your work building your financial dignity. You need to start with the end in mind, know your outcome, then you can put the puzzle pieces together. 

Remember this puzzle box and remember your vision. If you don’t know your vision, there’s no way you can build it. If you need help building your ideal life, get in touch with me: info@louisbarajas.com.