At Legacy Planning Group, we believe the only value of money is in its use. Our mission continues to be to empower our clients to create and achieve purposeful legacies of wealth beyond mere riches. We have labored to think of ways in which we might best serve you in this regard and have developed a few planning and goal-setting tools some clients are finding helpful.  I was very impacted by the movie, “Schindler’s List”, and how it dramatically illustrates the point that money is of no value unless it is used well:

Oskar Schindler was a German businessman who lived in Poland. There he ran two manufacturing companies and made money using cheap labor; Jews from the ghetto in Krakow. When he witnessed the Germans taking and killing Jews, Oskar was moved to transfer the Jewish workers from his factory to a safer place. Using the factory as cover, he saved nearly 1,200 Jews, putting his own life in danger. Consider the following excerpts:

Oskar Schindler: I could have got more out. I could have got more. I don't know. If I'd just... I could have got more.

Itzhak Stern: Oskar, there are eleven hundred people who are alive because of you. Look at them.

Oskar Schindler: If I'd made more money... I threw away so much money. You have no idea. If I'd just...

Itzhak Stern: There will be generations because of what you did.

Oskar Schindler: I didn't do enough!

Itzhak Stern: You did so much.

Oskar Schindler (looking at his car): This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people.

Oskar Schindler (removing Nazi lapel pin): This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this.

Oskar Schindler (sobbing): I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't! And I... I didn't!

With all the injustice in the world today, you have to ask yourself these questions: If the only value of money is in its use, how should I use it? How much is enough? If legacies are a matter of choice – what’s mine?

These and other powerful questions are worthy of consideration. These questions and others can lead us to set goals that transform our families, community, nation, and world. At our next meeting, let’s consider your goals and how the wealth that has been entrusted to you can be used to create a lasting legacy.