Hi Reader,

They say that a checkbook and a calendar never lie. If that's true, and I believe it is, then we should occasionally ask ourselves an important question:

If an impartial observer tallied up how you spend your time and money, what would they say is important to you?

But first,

In this presentation, we covered the adjustments to Social Security and Medicare in 2024, as well as the outlook for these programs under the current political climate. ​ Watch Replay​

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While I'm certainly hopeful they'd say that you spend your time and money in complete alignment with what's most important to you, I'm guessing most of us would feel that we could do a bit better.

To help bring your time, money, and values into more alignment, let's explore how you might spend your resources more intentionally so that you'll look back with more satisfaction. More gratitude. And more awe.

There's a great book titled Die with Zero by Bill Perkins that might help point us in the right direction. While the title may cause trepidation for many of us, the book is filled with great thoughts that offer a helpful framework for living a fulfilling life.

One such thought Perkins shares comes from the show Downtown Abbey. It says,

I like that because when we lose someone we love, what do we do? Of course, we recount our memories with that person. And since memories are often the result of having landmark experiences together, they should motivate us to pursue experiences that provide more memories with our loved ones.

Every landmark experience produces those memories through three distinct and enjoyable phases: the anticipation of the experience, the experience itself, and the lasting memories (and photos) those experiences create.

Perkins calls these "memory dividends" because each experience adds to the memories that have come before, similar to compounding in investing, but applied to life.

What's interesting about these landmark experiences is that the most common regret is "not having done it sooner." Perhaps you've said those words yourself. And yet, we often delay the next one into the distant future. But why?

Based on my experience and observation, people delay for two reasons: fear of squandering their money and/or what I call "someday thinking."

Perkins addresses the first concern by saying that we shouldn't "let opportunities pass us by for fear of squandering our money. Squandering our lives should be a much greater worry." Rarely does anyone talk about that latter part, but we should because none of us are promised tomorrow, which brings us to the second reason.

That is: "someday thinking." We tell ourselves that we'll eventually get around to doing this or that as if our time is infinite. As a clarity exercise, ask yourself,

To be clear, there are occasionally good reasons to delay when the time or money isn't quite right. But to paraphrase Zig Ziglar, "If you wait until all the lights are green to head into town, you'll spend your whole life sitting at home."

I don't want that for you. So, as your wheels start turning, please note that the experiences I'm advocating for don't have to be expensive; they just have to be memorable.

Sure, you may want to travel the world. But you may also find novel ways to spend time with family or help those less fortunate. Or maybe some of each.

There is no one "right way". But as we come to the moment of exploring what's possible, I want to remind you that the very purpose of planning and working together is to help you live your best life, however you define it.

That being the case, I want to leave you with a question today that I'd love for you to respond to whenever the time is right, if this hits home for you. That is,

Ponder that, and let's discuss how we might make it happen!

I look forward to your response!

Then, hit reply to this email with any questions. I read and respond to every message. 😃

Keeping Retirement Simple,

Eric Blake, CFP®

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