You may know when you want to retire, whether you want your mortgage paid off, or what you hope to leave your family. But knowing the financial goal doesn’t always explain why it matters to you.

And when retirement, family, security, health, and time compete for the same resources, deciding what matters most can become much harder.

In this episode, Eric Lee and Michael Boyle explore how personal values shape financial decisions. They look beyond goals such as retirement, paying off a mortgage, or buying a second home to examine the motivations underneath them. Eric and Michael also discuss financial trade-offs, changing priorities, differences between spouses, and how the Better Conversations exercise can help you identify what matters most right now.

Key points:

• Why knowing the motivation behind a financial goal can reveal more options for reaching what matters to you
• How priorities around family, health, freedom, and financial resources can change throughout different stages of life
• Why financial planning often requires choosing between two worthwhile priorities rather than a clear right or wrong
• How family experiences with debt and money can continue influencing financial decisions across generations
• Why couples may agree on what they want while assigning very different meaning and priorities to the same financial goal
• And more!

Contact Eric Lee:

• Purple Wealth
• LinkedIn: Eric Lee
• Email: eric.lee@purplewealth.com

Contact Michael Boyle:

• Purple Wealth
• LinkedIn: Michael Boyle

About Our Guest:

Michael Boyle is Eric Lee’s partner at Purple Wealth and a returning contributor to Better Conversations: The Life & Money Podcast. In this conversation, he shares his perspective on looking beyond financial goals to understand the values behind them, recognizing competing priorities, and using those values to make more meaningful financial decisions.