The Only Thing Constant is Change, and What we can DO About it
by Stacey Mann
I am a control freak. I admit it. My personality is such that I like to fix things. And to fix things, I often need to have control.
Lack of control frustrates me. I feel it prevents me from accomplishing my goals (of fixing things).
So, you might imagine that 2020 has been a hard year for me. It has been for many of us.
When my husband retired in February, who knew that a pandemic would hit the next month causing changes in our freedoms, finances, and everyday life? Who knew there would be a toilet paper shortage when dealing with a respiratory disease? Who knew that many people of the world would be quarantined, wearing face masks, and changing our everyday habits? Who knew the ups and downs this year would bring?
No one knew.
It is out of our control.
So how do we get through this uncertainty?
For me, it helps to have a plan in place for the “what ifs” in life. We did not know to prepare for a pandemic, but we do know that there will be storms in life. An illness. An accident. A job loss. These things happen to most of us at some time during our lives and we need to be prepared.
My husband and I have prepared for his retirement by paying off debt, by saving for emergencies, by having diversified investments, and by meeting regularly with our financial advisor. We have developed a plan of how we are going to pay our bills when he stops working, how we are going to invest our money, how we are going to cover healthcare costs, how we are going to minimize our tax burden, and the legacy we want to leave our family.
So while we have had some unexpected bumps in our journey this year, we are going to be okay.
You can be too. The time to start making a plan is now. It is never too late.
We would love for you to use this questionnaire our team has created to help you organize your thoughts and needs. Then reach out to us via email so we can come alongside you with potential solutions and a plan that fits YOUR needs. Take care of this now and you can feel less anxiety the next time the unexpected happens.
We can’t control a disease, but we can control how we react and how we get through tough times.
Sometimes giving up control leads to change, which can lead to a brighter future.
Let’s use this pandemic as an impetus, a wake up call, to take charge of the things we can and should be in control of, including our finances. We would love to help you out.
