10 Financial Statements to Live By
The world is changing. I acknowledge the evergreen nature of the statement, Such a claim could be made any time and be spot on correct, but it feels more real to me now. I don't now what is changing but it is happening. Right. Now.
For some this change is maddening. There are those who pine for the past. Those who live their lives always looking over their shoulder, missing the joy of the present. The future is at best suspicious for these folk. The past has been nostalgically whitewashed leaving only a historical fiction to which they cling and make false comparison.
For some this change is not only embraced but cheered. For these technocratic optimists, history has no lesson to offer. Their unfettered belief is science gets it right all the time. They bull rush the proverbial china shop assuming their robotic vacuums will clean up the mess with no regard of the damage inflicted. Like their counterparts, the present is of little value.
I do not count myself as party to either of those groups. I am conservative in that I value the past. We can not know ourselves apart from knowing from which we came. But I have no interest in conserving the status quo. We have erred. I have erred. We can do better. We must do better. The past holds no sentiment for me.
I am progressive in that I want to improve. I have a persistent and mostly constructive spirit of discontent that wants the world to be better not only for my kids and their kids should they have them, but for me as well.
“I am not young enough to know everything.”
I want progress for all. I don't, however, believe that progress is inevitable. It must be worked for and more importantly, we must be defined.
I feel, at times as a man without a home, without a group, without an identity. As Oscar Wilde wrote once, "I am not young enough to know everything." To Wilde, I would say, "yeah, but I am not old enough to be called wise." So where does that leave me? It leaves me in the here and now. It leaves me in the only thing that I know is guaranteed me, the present.
I am rambling for sure and most of you have no interest in the philosophical musings of someone not young enough to know it all nor old enough to know much of anything. This is, after all a financial planning newsletter. Everyone wants a "take away", a quick answer, an immediate result. Contemplation is left wanting in a world where we are only a few clicks in a search bar away from "the answers." So left me leave you with a few evergreen nuggets of advice.
Many of you have heard them from me personally, but I have found them to be simple truths that should accommodate you however things might change. I am confident, if you did nothing else, should you apply these simple statements to your personal finance, you will be okay.
With every dollar you get, save some, give some, spend the rest.
Your investment returns will never overcome your unwillingness to save.
Pay your bills, on time, every time, all the time.
Focus only on those things you can control.
Intentionality is the most important thing in personal finance and in life.
Your expenses expand to the income allowed. Your work expands to the time allowed. Your stuff expands to the space allowed.
With regard to retirement planning you have 4 choices: Spend less, Save more, Work longer or Die earlier.
Little and often fills the pot. (It can also drain it).
Work hard, Be Kind and Make Good Choices.
Live in the moment, Plan for a future.
And finally, always keep pressing on!.