While the Sun Is Shining

Here's a little game we play in our financial coaching meetings. For whatever topics we're discussing (whether debt payoff, saving, giving, or investing), we run the numbers and determine, "If you do $x every month for y months, you'll meet your goal by _____ date."

This math is straightforward......and linear. One problem, though. Life isn't straightforward or linear. It's anything but either of those. Today's reality could disappear in a heartbeat, only to be replaced with a drastically different set of circumstances.

This is where it gets murky. Oftentimes, people want to know how little they can do each month to accomplish a goal by a certain date. In other words, if everything goes perfectly and life doesn't alter a bit, what is the least sacrificial path to achieve the desired goal? I think this is a recipe for disaster. After all, nothing goes perfectly, and whether we acknowledge it or not, our lives will be altered multiple times in the months and years to come.

Instead of taking this approach, I encourage people to make hay while the sun is shining, as the saying goes. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, so why not maximize the impact of today's reality? If you have extra money to throw at your debt over the next several months, throw it. If you have increased resources to contribute to your investments, harness them. If you're able to make more progress on your savings in the near term, embrace it. We don't know what will happen tomorrow!

A natural question spawns from this idea: "Well, what happens if we get too far ahead of our desired goal?"

This is a fantastic problem to have. It does NOT mean that we get greedy or selfish and turn ourselves into a hoarder. Instead, it gives us freedom and flexibility. If we make hay while the sun is shining (i.e., get more aggressive in the near term), we will inevitably have less pressure on us in the future. In other words, getting quicker momentum in the near term allows us the ability to downshift our intensity in the longer term. This could mean different career decisions, more money for generosity, and less financial pressure. This is a beautiful byproduct of making hay while the sun is shining.

There's no reason to arbitrarily put more pressure on our future selves. That's one reason not to go into debt or saddle ourselves with undo expenses. On the flip side, making hay while the sun is shining is also a tremendous way to combat the inevitable pressure our future selves will face. My clients who embrace this opportunity report significantly higher levels of satisfaction, peace, and freedom. It changes EVERYTHING.

I'll share some real-life examples in a future post (including from my own life), but in the meantime, I encourage you to ask yourself what area of your life you need to make hay while the sun is shining. Instead of doing as little as possible to eventually meet your goal, what can you do today to lighten the load for future you?

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