When we think about investing for our future, we make the assumption that there is actually money available to be invested in the first place. Where does this money come from, and how much money can you allocate to your investments? Do you try to invest money that is left over at the end of the week, month, quarter, or year? Rather than end each month investing what is left over-if anything- why not start your month (financial playbook in hand) saving for your future?
In fact, what if we save first, invest second, and then spend? What would that kind of plan look like? Does that make you uncomfortable just thinking about it? Consider, for a moment, if you will, how and what you plan to eat, on any given day. Do you eat dessert, first? Probably not. Don’t you attempt to eat the foods that provide energy first, then eat the foods that help produce long-term good health, second, then, and only then, do you eat dessert? If not, we’ll save that topic for another day….
When we plan for our long-term goals, more often than not, our short-term necessities and desires get in the way. “Why do I want to wait so long to enjoy life?” we ask ourselves. In reality, if we focus, consistently, on planning for our future needs, we will be able to greet our future self with a big congratulatory pat on the back, and maybe, just maybe, a big hug! If we fail to stay focused, we might resent and grumble at our future self, because we have failed to plan. To arrive, in style, to greet our future self, we might just consider revising our financial playbook from “invest whatever is left,” to: save first, then invest, then spend.
We’ll explore these three principles, in detail, over the course of the next week. Hopefully, we’ll even make the process fun.
Happy Tuesday!
Lori