Good morning,
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!
As I write this, the morning of Black Friday, I'm reminded of a recent story I read.
And it starts with a question...
Why do you own a car?
To have it just sit in your driveway or garage?
To put gas in it?
To keep things in the trunk, for extra storage?
Or, do have car to take you places?
To help you live your life and experience the world?
To go see friends and family, or take a grandchild to their soccer game, or to the zoo?
In this context, it seems silly to think of a car as something you own just to pump gas into.
Gas is merely the fuel that helps propel your car - and you - out into the world.
It helps you live and enjoy your life.
And money is much the same... (or it should be, if you ask me)
We don't earn, save, & invest money simply to earn, save, & invest more money. Or to have it sit in our bank accounts or investment portfolio.
OK, sure, we need to prepare for the future. And that involves earning, saving, & investing.
But accumulating money isn't the goal, is it?
Money is fuel to help propel you and the people you care about out into the world to live and enjoy your life.
Money is simply a tool.
A vehicle.
A fuel source.
For living your life.
Hopefully living your one and only life the best way possible.
And just like you go to a mechanic to service your car and keep it running and using gasoline efficiently, you also have a financial plan to help keep using money efficiently as it powers your life.
As I write this on Black Friday, and as we rush headlong into the Christmas season, I offer this idea as a gentle reminder of what money is for.
And what it isn't for.
There are many other ideas and analogies that spring out of this simple idea, and perhaps we'll explore them in a future weekly letter.
For now, hit reply and let me know what you think about the concept of money as fuel to power your life.
Links & Things
In the past, I've been dismissive, skeptical, and even critical of reverse mortgages. However, in my recent conversation with Genie McGee on my podcast, she explains how and when a reverse mortgage might play an important role in your retirement plan. She even refers to a reverse mortgage as a "retirement mortgage." Click here to listen and learn why.
I had the pleasure of joining Annie Allen on her Starting Over Stronger podcast to discuss "silver divorce." You can check out our discussion here.
Ready or not, 2022 is almost here... With that in mind, here are some important financial numbers for 2022. These are for your reference, but if you have any questions about any of them, please let me know.
And, based on a suggestion from you, I'm working on a series of content around caregiving. More on that soon...
Thank you, as always, for reading.
And if you have any questions or an idea for a future newsletter, podcast, or blog post topic, I'd love your input.
Just hit reply - I read (and appreciate) every email you send.
Until next Wednesday,
Russ