The Utility of Money

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/4jJ3yGu

On the Thoughts on Money (TOM) podcast, host Blaine Carver with Brett Bonecutter and guest Joel Pietila (Associate Director of Planning) discuss Joel’s article, “The Utility of Money,” exploring how financial planning should account for personal values beyond maximizing wealth. Yoel shares a pumpkin patch story to illustrate choosing meaningful “kairos” moments over quantitative “chronos” measures, and the group applies this to retirement decisions where clients often struggle to shift from saving to spending. They cover diminishing marginal utility, noting that the same dollar amount matters far more to someone with little than to someone with substantial assets, and discuss “moving the inheritance forward” via annual gifts, trusts, matching savings, intra-family loans, and charitable giving to see impact during life. They also highlight peace-of-mind choices like paying off a mortgage and encourage clients with plan flexibility to spend more in their “go-go” years.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

00:31 Utility of Money Story

04:07 Chronos Versus Kairos

06:42 Switching From Saving

09:59 Diminishing Marginal Utility

14:49 Gifting and Legacy Planning

19:28 Moving Inheritance Forward

23:51 Teaching Money Values

27:34 Give While Living

30:49 Spending and Peace of Mind

34:00 Wrap Up and Takeaways

Links mentioned in this episode:

• http://thoughtsonmoney.com
• http://thebahnsengroup.com