I believe that one of the most critical components of financial planning is the delicate, ongoing balance of living in Today while planning for Tomorrow.
A few years ago, I was on a seesaw with two of my young sons – them on one side, me on the other (go ahead and judge my lack of parental safety).
Obviously, things weren’t balanced. My side would come crashing down onto the half-buried truck tire, until I’d push up with my legs to swing things to the other side, where the boys would laugh hysterically at the hard bounce they would then receive. Eventually I’d find the proper amount to push off with, and keep the plank somewhat balanced, before I’d need to make some more adjustments.
During this playtime, it dawned on me this is how real financial planning works – finding the balance between Today and Tomorrow.
On one side, you have people who only live for Today. Not thinking of Tomorrow, they allocate almost all of their income and resources for the present.
On the other side, you have those who only live for Tomorrow. Not thinking of Today, they allocate almost all of their income and resources for the future.
A right balance is somewhere in between – enjoying Today while planning for Tomorrow. And there’s no magical, universal formula, spreadsheet, or ratio to figure this out. It’s entirely subjective to each person and family.
And although income and savings come immediately to mind, this balance includes more than just what we do with our money. It’s also what we do with our other life currencies of time, energy, and abilities.
I can’t offer that magical and universal trick to calculate the optimal balance, but I can offer three examples that came to mind to perhaps shape our thinking on how it can relate to us.
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CASE #1 – A CLIENT
The saddest example I can recall with this was in my first year or so in the profession. A man engaged with our firm with a pretty substantial amount of savings. He told us his story, how he voluntarily worked the graveyard shift at his company to increase his earnings, so that – at some point in Tomorrowland – he could have more time to spend with his wife and his kids.
But.
His plan only partially worked. Tomorrow became Today, and because of his hours (with, admittedly, some other probable factors), his relationship with his wife and kids deteriorated to the point of not existing. His wife left him and he hadn’t spoken with his children in years. He reached his financial goal of relatively early retirement, but without his family to enjoy it with.
That happened probably 13 years ago, and I think about it regularly.
CASE #2 – MYSELF
I’m guilty of spending too much time in Tomorowland. I regularly log long hours Today with Fident in the pursuit of a better Tomorrow. And there’s nothing wrong with that in itself, within limits.
But.
The other day I heard two of my kids (coincidentally, the same two from the seesaw) whispering in the hallway outside my home office in the middle of the day:
“You ask him.”
“No, you ask him!”
“No, you!”
“You know he’s going to say no. He always says no.”
Asking for ice cream in the middle of the day?
Asking for an advance on their pay?
Asking to do something their Mom already said no to?
Nope. They were asking me to play with them.
My heart got tight again as I typed those lines, just as it did right after they asked me. Yes, they need to realize the value of hard work that I can model for them, and that I’m not going to be available 100% of the time to play – but to come to expect me to say No every time they ask me to play? Man, that hurt.
I’ve been working a lot the past three years, probably more than I’ve worked in the rest of my career – working to get Fident to a place where I can take off more time, where I can play with them. But to what extent? At what point will Today become Tomorrow?
They’re not always going to want to play with their Dad. I was (am?) wasting Today moments thinking I was (am?) banking them for Tomorrow moments.
CASE #3 – A FRIEND
A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with ALS. At 34 years old. Doctors are saying a best case scenario for him is 10 years, with a more probable 3-5 years, with a pretty steep decline in quality of living. Barring a miracle, it’s a bleak situation. Him and his wife are having conversations that bring tears to my eyes – do they spend down their money and take family trips while they can? What are the plans for the kids? Does he want her to get remarried? What memories can they create so their kids remember their dad?
And last week a friend of a friend, similar age, was killed by a freak accident at a beach playing with his kids. A regular wave hit him, hard, and broke his neck. Our family leaves for the Outer Banks in a few weeks. Unreal.
Tomorrow’s not promised to us. And this was a reminder to me, again, of that.
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So whether it’s our time or our money, our abilities or our skills, we have to be intentional in balancing the short term probabilities of Today compared to the long term possibilities of Tomorrow. And the reality is that it’s an ongoing balancing act. Just like the seesaw, things will get unbalanced at times, and we’ll need to reassess. An outside perspective can help. A spouse, a mentor, a close friend, our kids. A real financial advisor who knows your values and goals.
Should we save and invest some of our money for Tomorrow? Of course.
Should we look forward to how we spend our time Tomorrow? Certainly.
Should we make plans and goals and strategies for Tomorrow? Without doubt.
Just make sure it doesn’t deprive you of enjoying and being present Today.
The financial advice-giving industry borderline obsesses over planning for Tomorrow. But Tomorrowland can be a dangerous place to spend all your time, energy, and money if you’re neglecting Today.
/ Update: at the end of 2020 we as a family defined Enough and I stopped taking on new clients in an effort to spend even more time living in Today.