Everyone hopes to
be able to have a little more than they have now. It is human nature. Having
reasonable expectations for your stage of life, for your retirement and your
children’s education can get a big influence on how content you feel with what
you have.
Consider the following examples:
1.
Your home: If your parents live
in a 6,000 square foot homes on a half-acre lot in a gated community and you
think that you should be in a position to start out the same thing, you are
likely to be disappointed and frustrated. Figure out where your parents had
their first home. Go sees it if you can. Set expectations for what a primary
home should be. If your parents were both MDs and you’re a school teacher
married to an artist just launching a career, you may need further adjustment
to your expectations. Take some time to really understand what lifestyle you
can afford and work to align your expectations with what’s real.
2.
Your car: Cars are crazy. Some
people would rather own a nice car and live in a tent than drive an old clunker
and have a home with a garage to park (or hide) it in. That means that you can
find some unusual reference points, like the kid delivering pizzas in a BMW.
You have a duty to set your expectations for your car in the context of your
personal priorities. If you want to do a home and that’s a stretch, you’ll
probably be driving a modest car for the next several years. Own your choices
and don’t be ashamed to drive an affordable car.
3.
Your kids''s college: You may
want to send your kids to college at Cornell. But Ivy League tuition isn’t
cheap. Even if you get an above average household income, tuition, books, room
and board at an Ivy League school may be now a man with no reach—at least
without piling on the debt. On the other hand, attending a state school near
home may provide a much more affordable education and one that still open doors
of opportunity. Many people have found that an undergraduate degree from a good
state school can still qualify students for elite graduate school programs.
4.
Your retirement: You may want
to retire at 50 and live between the beach and the golf course in Hawaii, but
unless you have extraordinary good fortune, retirement will come closer to 70
and you’ll find it wise to move to a smaller home or condominium when you do.
If you plan and prepare well for the equitable retirement plan, you’ll be the
most likely to take advantage of it when it comes. If you have dreams of
extraordinary luxury and an early retirement, you might coax yourself into
taking investment risks that not only don’t achieve the goal of providing for
an early retirement, they could instead leave you without the resources to have
the reasonable retirement you deserve.
As you get a little look at your circumstances, it is advantageous
to aspire to have a little more, to work and save and plan for the future. You
may doom yourself to a perpetual state of disappointment if you expect things
to obtain much better than you can reasonably expect. If fortune smiles on you,
it will be not difficult to adjust to having more money; plan and prepare for
less and you’ll enjoy life more.
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