When you hear the word legacy, what do you think about?

For a lot of people, the first thing that comes to mind is money. Your retirement accounts. Your home. Investments. Maybe an inheritance you hope to leave your children or grandchildren.

And certainly, all of those things matter.

But the older I get—and the more families we work with at Legacy Retirement Group—the more I realize that some of the most valuable things we leave behind have very little to do with money.

Sometimes it's an old camera.

Sometimes it's a cast-iron skillet.

Sometimes it's a Bible with a worn leather cover.

And sometimes it's simply a memory.

The Things We Keep Tell a Story

We were talking recently about the keepsakes we've held onto from people we love.

Kristin has an old rotary phone from her maternal grandmother. It's gold, ornate, and about as old-fashioned looking as you can imagine. I remember actually using that kind of phone as a kid!

And then there's one of my dad's Bibles.

It's brown, with a light-brown leather cover. I can picture it with the brown suit he used to wear—the one my mother wasn't particularly fond of!

That Bible means a lot to me.

None of these things would necessarily jump off the page of a financial statement. But they're part of my family. They remind me where I came from and of the people who helped shape who I am.

That's a different kind of value.

Your Family Probably Doesn't Want Everything You Own

Here's where this conversation gets interesting from a retirement and estate planning standpoint.

According to a survey from 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, 51% of Americans said they'd rather inherit a select few items from a loved one than everything they own. The other 49% said they'd rather inherit nothing than have to deal with all those belongings.

I can believe it.

We've seen this with families over the years.

People collect things. Watches. Baskets. Furniture. Jewelry. Tools. Dishes. You name it. We hang onto things because they mean something to us, and sometimes we naturally assume they'll mean the same thing to our children.

That's not always the case.

One family we work with recently lost their mother. They had spent months going back and forth to help care for her, and understandably, their focus was on Mom—not all the stuff surrounding her.

After she passed, they suddenly realized how much there was to deal with. In addition to her home, there were two other properties, some in disrepair, and years of accumulated possessions.

They ended up needing two 40-foot dumpsters.

Think about that for a minute.

None of us wants our final gift to our children to be two dumpsters and months of sorting through stuff.

Maybe It's Better to Give Some Things Away Now

I've always liked the idea of giving meaningful things to your children and grandchildren while you're still living.

And as we get older and begin thinking about downsizing, why not ask our children and grandchildren what they actually want?

You might be surprised.

The thing they treasure may not be the expensive china or antique furniture you've been protecting for 30 years. It might be Grandpa's fishing pole. Grandma's skillet. An old Christmas decoration. A recipe card.

And when you give those things away while you're living, you get something pretty valuable in return:

You get to see what they mean to the person receiving them.

Organization May Be One of the Greatest Gifts You Leave

If you've listened to us for very long, you know we're big believers in having a plan.

That applies to your belongings, too.

One of the best things you can do for your family is simply get organized.

We had a client who kept track of her jewelry on a spreadsheet and listed who she wanted to receive each piece. You don't necessarily have to go that far, but I love the thinking behind it.

Make it easy for your family to understand what you have, where important things are located and what you want to happen to them.

This becomes especially important when we're talking about items that may have financial value.

We've seen situations where something valuable was almost donated because nobody realized what it was. An old necklace might look like costume jewelry when it's actually 18-karat gold. Watches, coins, artwork, antiques and collectibles may have value that isn't obvious to the person cleaning out the house.

So part of legacy planning is knowing the difference between what's sentimental and what's financial—and making sure your family knows, too.

Legacy Planning Is Also About Your Financial Life

Of course, the same organization should apply to your finances.

Do the right people know where your important documents are?

Are your beneficiaries up to date?

Does your spouse know who to call if something happens to you?

Do your children or executor know where to find your estate documents?

Are there accounts, insurance policies or other assets somebody could easily overlook?

These aren't the most exciting conversations in the world. But I've sat across the conference room table from enough families to know how valuable that preparation can be.

When someone passes away, their family is already dealing with enough.

Organization can be one final act of love.

Your Real Legacy Isn't Sitting in Your Investment Accounts

Obviously, I believe financial legacy planning matters.

We help people every day figure out how to retire and live well, create reliable income, become more tax-efficient, prepare for healthcare expenses and, when it's important to them, leave assets to the people they love.

After all, our name is Legacy Retirement Group.

But your legacy is so much bigger than your money.

It's the values you instill.

It's the lessons you teach.

It's the memories you create.

It's how you treat people.

I think about pictures that pop up from years ago—our boys when they were little, family moments around the house, watching football together. Those pictures take you right back to a moment you probably didn't realize was going to become a treasured memory when it was happening.

That's life.

We spend so much time preparing for tomorrow that sometimes we forget we're creating our legacy today.

Make the Plans. Create the Memories.

I tell people this all the time in our conference room:

Make plans.

Take the trip.

Have dinner with the kids.

Spend time with the grandkids.

Take the pictures.

Tell your family the stories behind those old possessions.

Part of the fun is looking forward to something. Part of the fun is doing it. But so much of the joy comes afterward, when those experiences become memories.

Life goes quickly.

And someday, the people we love aren't going to remember the balance of our IRA on a random Tuesday.

They're going to remember how we made them feel.

They're going to remember what we taught them.

They're going to remember the traditions, the laughter, the stories and those seemingly ordinary moments that turned out not to be ordinary at all.

That's why I believe your legacy isn't just what you leave to people. It's what you leave inside of them.

Make sure you're planning for both.