People inherently want to be prepared before they tackle something new or difficult. We want to get ourselves ready and organized. Throughout my career in guiding people with their finances I’ve heard many people say things like, “we’d love to get a financial plan, but we’re not ready yet,” “it will take me a few weeks to get ready”, or “I don’t even have a job, how can I make a financial plan?”
The two biggest killers to personal finance are ego and procrastination. Both may be involved when we say or feel that “we’re not ready.”
It’s often our ego that gets in the way of us wanting to open up and talk to someone about something so personal as our finances. I don’t know what everyone’s idea of what “ready” looks like, but in my experience people don’t want to reveal mistakes, a lack of knowledge, or bad planning choices that were made in the past. People may have fear of being judged or embarrassed. This puts them in a conundrum-struggling with their current financial situation, wanting help, but fearful of revealing their current situation. Hiding something out of sight will never fix the problem.
Often, this also tends to be a procrastination issue. Unfortunately, procrastination has a real financial cost. Securing tomorrow starts with planning today. Your financial future is not something that can be put off. The sooner you begin the more money you can save, and the easier the process can be.
Sometimes, life throws a curveball and there’s just no getting ready. Your Boss wouldn’t come into your office Monday morning and say, “Hey, I’m going to fire you Friday, make sure you’re ready.” Instead, it’s usually abrupt - “there’s the door” and you exit the workplace. It’s always better to tackle it head on, as soon as possible. You can do this!
It is the process of doing that actually gets us ready. Planning your secure tomorrow is never a cookie cutter blueprint. Everyone starts at a different point, which means it doesn’t matter where you are at right now. What matters is you take that first step.
“You can’t pick cherries with your back to the tree.” -J.P. Morgan