Video: Financial Goals Should be Written in Pencil, Not Pen
Our friend Carl Richards of BehaviorGap.com recently posted a video titled, “Do Your Goals Have Too Much Power,” which you can view via the link below. He makes a point similar to a recommendation of one of my favorite radio personalities, Colin Cowherd, makes:
When outlining your life, use a pencil, not a pen.
I find this to be great advice for many different aspects of life, because life will happen, and not always according to our original plan or design. Therefore, we need to have the flexibility to adjust our expectations and goals to the new information and situations we are presented. This flexibility also needs to be applied to financial goals. I have spoken with numerous people that had goals for their retirement, college savings, etc., but based on market dynamics and/or life events, they were not going to be able to meet them. This is where the pencil comes in, as sometimes we have to adjust our goals based on the unforeseeable events of life. Goals are great and can be very helpful, but I think it’s important to find a balance between achieving goals while also enjoying our lives on a day-to-day basis.