Because it puts you more in control of things and lessens the impact of outside influences.
Decisions and actions you take in your 20’s and 30’s will have a direct bearing on what your life will look like in your late 40’s, early 50’s and on into retirement. It also applies to business planning, but in this instance, I’m speaking from a personal perspective.
Ever since I moved to my current school two years ago, I’ve experienced a shift in priorities. It’s no longer about making money, but rather where can I add value and make a difference in the world around me. Yes, money is needed to buy the things we all need to live (housing, clothing, food, medical care) but the quantity of money is no longer my primary focus. My free time outside of school hours is simply more valuable. I turn down more extra curricular teaching activities than I accept. I have also turned away some quilt for hire opportunities so I can focus on developing my kid’s sewing club and summer camp curricula. I have also increased our therapy dog visits, averaging 1 visit per week.
I am also starting to wonder if I can press the retirement button a few years early, or at least scale back to part-time without messing up the master plan. I never thought I would see the day hubs would start talking about life after HD, but the unthinkable has happened. Hubs and I are currently working with a financial planner to see what’s possible (many employers offer this service as an employee benefit). Who knows what the future might hold? Regardless, we would have never made it to this point had we not consistently lived beneath our means and paid ourselves first over the years. Thank you to Clark Howard, Dave Ramsey and more recently, The Minimalists, for keeping grandma’s common sense wisdom at/near the forefront of my mind.
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