Everything in Balance
Avoid extremes, financially and elsewhere...
Happy Wednesday,
I’ve shared this quote before:
“There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.”
―Thomas Sowell
And this is especially true when you’re planning for your retirement.
And your life.
The trick is to keep these trade-offs in balance as best you can.
Which is often easier said than done.
Just a couple of weeks ago I wrote about rebalancing your portfolio:
And keeping your portfolio in balance is just one of many examples of pursuing balance in your financial plan.
I’ve also written about trade-offs (and balance) before here:
Balance and trade-offs came back in to focus for me just a week or so ago when I was reading How To Live by Derek Sivers.
The next-to-last chapter in his book is called “Balance Everything.”
With Derek’s permission, I wanted to share part of this chapter with you:
All bad things in life come from extremes.
Too much of this.
Too little of that.
When we lack balance, we’re upset.
Over-worked, under-loved, over-eating, under-sleeping.
Focused on wealth, but ignoring health.
Focused on the present, but ignoring the future.
Even positive traits, when taken too far, become negative.
Like when someone is generous to a fault, or amusing to a fault.
Too much of a specific strength is a weakness.
If you rise to great heights in only one area, you’re a one-legged giant: easily toppled.
Notice the similarities in the physical and emotional definitions.
Physical upset: to knock something over.
Emotional upset: to be disturbed.
Physically unstable: likely to fall.
Emotionally unstable: prone to dangerous, impulsive behavior.
All related to a lack of balance.
When you’re balanced, you’re unlikely to get stressed.
You’ve got a stronger foundation and a resilient structure.
You can handle surprises, and make time for what’s needed.
Virtue is in the balance between extremes.
Between the insecure and the egomaniac: confidence.
Between the uptight and the clown: grace.
Between the coward and the daredevil: courage.
Between selfishness and sacrifice: generosity.
So, the way to live is to balance everything...
He shares more of his thoughts on balance in this chapter which you might want to check out by getting a copy of How To Live.
I’ve enjoyed reading it along with Derek’s other books Hell Yeah Or No and Anything You Want.
Those first 3 lines from his chapter on balance could just as easily read:
All bad things in your financial plan come from extremes.
Too much of this.
Too little of that.
Too much spending. Not enough saving.
Or too much saving. Not enough spending.
I could go on…
The entire passage above is a great prescription for financial planning done right.
And a life well lived.
What do you think?
How balanced are your finances?
Your retirement planning?
Your life?
Hit reply or leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Links & Things
Here’s a recent article from Nick Lincoln, a UK-based financial advisor and writer I follow:
I’ve often used postage stamps over the years as a relatable example of how inflation can impact the cost of your lifestyle over the decades of your retirement.
So Nick’s article really struck a chord with me.
One more I’ll share with you this week is the latest annual update from advisor David Hulstrom where he shows the U.S. Federal Income, Spending, and Debt broken down on a per-family basis.
As he writes,
I think this breakdown is useful because when numbers get into the billions or trillions, perspective is difficult. We simply can’t comprehend such large figures so below I will show federal taxes, spending, and debt broken down per family to make them more comprehensible.
Read the whole breakdown here, and make sure you’re sitting down for the debt numbers (yikes!):
Have any suggestions?
I love hearing from readers, and I’m always looking for feedback.
Hit reply and say hello - I’d love to hear from you.
And as always, thanks for reading.
Until next Wednesday,
Russ