Money and garden mastery
April 28th, 2010 by kara
Money mastery like garden mastery takes a commitment. Your financial garden takes planning, focus, resources, research and patience.
Think of the person who sets out to plant a garden:
- They carve out a space in their yard (choose their cash and investment accounts carefully).
- They study growth rates of plants given the time available (when cash will be needed).
- They optimize the watering system (add money to achieve the goals).
- They weed regularly (build and refine their budget).
- They move plants when the location is not the best (move funds when the market changes).
- They enjoy the fruits of their labor (spend money on what they save for).
- They plant a variety (diversify their funds).
If you've tried year after year to grow a garden and are overwhelmed by the skill and work involved, hire help. Hire a one-time garden expert to help you choose what to plant, where to plant, and when to plant. You can maintain the system they set up, asking your expert for occasional feedback.
You can also hire a full-service gardener to choose, maintain, weed, water and fertilize until you are ready for the commitment to do it yourself. The service will pay for itself. Be sure to discuss with your financial master gardener what you want. If you don't, you will get what they want. They may plant stocks (zucchini), which you have no use for. They may invest in real estate (1/4 acre garden) while you were hoping for a no-real estate portfolio (container garden). They may implement an automatic payment system (sprinkler system) yet you prefer the manual and precise check-writing payment system (hand-watering).
If you throw seeds on the ground without planning, tending or watering, a cornucopia of fantastic finances will not magically appear. The longer you ignore, the longer you wait, the weeds will take over and stake deeper and harder roots. Focusing on aesthetic maintenance—chopping weeds off at the stem—the issues will come back repeatedly, stronger each time.
Get dirty and dig deep to make lasting improvements on your financial garden. You can do this. You can be a master money gardener.
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