Be honest. No judgment here. What is the first thing you did when you opened this email? Did you immediately start reading this paragraph…or did you, first, scroll to the end to see how long the email is and, upon realizing that the email wasn’t insanely long, you then began reading?
I am a scroll-to-the-end-first reader. It’s an involuntary reflex for me at this point. I want to know what I’m committing to before I start. If I start after knowing where the end lies, I’m committed to the end, short or long. If I start reading without first seeing the end, I’m likely to bail as soon as my interest starts to fade.
This behavioral tendency applies to savings and investing habits too. There’s a subset of people out there who are inherent savers (I like to call them, “Forrest Gump-ers”) that will save and invest without hesitation or reservation for an undetermined amount of time and with no particular end goal in mind (“They just felt like saving”). Then, there’s the rest of us, the majority. We need help, a push, a nudge to get started and we sure as heck want to know how and when we’ll get a benefit from it (the “Couch to $5k-ers”)…because, with no plan or end goal in mind, we’ll take the path of least resistance, plant ourselves right back on that couch and stop saving when given the chance.
Knowing where you are today + Knowing you where you want to go = Increased likelihood of getting the outcome you desire
Most people have a solid understanding of where they stand today. Fewer have an idea of where they want to go.
Give yourself a nudge. Take a peek at the end and know where you’re going before you start.
With that, here are the stories that caught my eye this week:
MONEY: 10 Money Revelations From Being a Parent (A Wealth of Common Sense)
Being a parent is tough. It’s a fast-paced, on-the-job training in prioritization and a constant battle of trying to find the right balance. The balance between providing support without spoiling; planning for the future but still living in the now; giving an inch without giving a mile. This article is a good reminder for all fellow parents out there that the struggle is real. We’re all trying to find the balance that works for us today, and learning how to adapt when it the balance shifts tomorrow.