What If You Lose?

A recent conversation brings this topic to focus. While flying, two men, we’ll name them Don and Jeff, engaged conversation and as is common these days the conversation turned to money.

Jeff mentioned, almost bragging, that he had socked away $1.6 million dollars for retirement.

“Wow,” Don exclaimed, “that’s a lot of money, you are to be commended.”

“It took a lot of work to make it happen,” Jeff smiled.

Don asked, “Jeff, what if you accumulated the $1,600,000 but lost $1,000,000 that you didn’t need to along the way, would you be happy?’

“Certainly not,” Jeff almost cried. “Why would you ask that?”

“Well it’s been my experience that most Americans are unknowingly and unnecessarily transferring money away from themselves,” Don answered, “and I suspect you are not so different.”

We may not recognize this conversation, but perhaps we should. Our numbers may be different but as mentioned in other articles, life is full of money transfers. They suck the life out of financial plans and life’s savings.

An analogy needs to be introduced here. Picture in your mind a bucket with holes all over, and you need to fill it with water and keep it full. You have two choices. You can dump large amounts of water into the bucket at first and then keep pouring more and more in the bucket to overcome the leaks. Or … you can patch the leeks and then introduce even a slow drip of water into the bucket and soon it will be full. It will also remain full.

Maybe Jeff had holes in his finance plan that needed patching. If he was happy with $1,600,000 just think how $2,600,000 would feel.

We ask ourselves, “What can we do?” The answer may not be popular but it is full of wisdom. Think, study, ask questions, read, compare, and act. Look for leaks. We’ve described them as “Transfers.” It’s Your money and Your life, be actively controlling the outcome.