“What if…….. the dollar crashes?”
“What if……..terrorists hit the US again?”
“What if……..I win the lottery?”
“What if……..they start taxing all the IRA’s?”
“What if……..inflation goes crazy?”
“What if……..my parents never die?”
In the day to day world of money management and financial planning, these are very common questions. I find it interesting that these very unlikely events are so much on people’s minds. If people are really thinking so much about this kind of stuff, how can they be as effective as they need to be with long-term planning?
It reminds me of one of our teaching commandments: There are millions of possibilities, but spend most of your time on the probabilities. Focusing on all the what if’s, which are mostly fear-based by the way, is a very unproductive use of one’s mental capacity.
What do we all say when hackers, very intellectually smart people, use their brains and skills to hurt and steal from others. We say, “Imagine how well off they could be if they would just use their talents in a positive way? What a waste of smarts.”
Well, I would like to challenge all of you to spend more of your time and smarts in positive ways of affecting your financial security. Don’t waste time on all the things that have little chance of occurring (the possibilities)…spend your time on the very likely positive results of a solid, academic-based financial plan ( the probabilities).
“What if……I save more than I have been?”
“What if……I learn about true diversification?”
“What if……I spend more on experiences and less on things?”
“What if……I quit procrastinating?”
And my favorite:
“What if…. I quit watching all the financial TV shows?”
C’mon, I dare you!