I have been a father for a little over 3 years now. I love my son and daughter to a level I didn’t think was possible. Every day I am amazed by the things they do and say. But as a parent I do stress about teaching them right from wrong and in the future, how to navigate this crazy world. As a financial planner, I want to show them how to manage their money properly and what it takes to reach financial success. But that is many years from now.
Today, it’s more about protecting them from getting hurt and watching everything they put in their mouth.
In the future I know I am going to write a post about the money management skills I hope my kids develop, but today I want to do something different. I want to share with you the life lessons my kids have taught me…things that I realize I don’t spend enough time focusing on. With their help, I hope to become more mindful and go back to doing these things more often.
Be in the moment
As a financial planner I spend most of my time thinking about the future. I talk about the future all day, every day. Saving for the future, preparing for the future…or how the markets performed in the past which can affect your future. My kids have showed me once again how to live in the moment. For them, whatever they are doing is the only thing that matters. It can be jumping in the pool or watching an episode of Curious George. They do everything with eyes wide open, all 5 senses engaged. It’s truly awesome to watch.
I am always thinking about what I have to do next instead of being in the moment. With financial planning it’s possible we don’t discuss TODAY enough. Happiness shouldn’t just be sometime in the future when we have buckets of money saved, we have to learn to be happy throughout the journey. Financial Planning can be used to maximize today and tomorrow.
Don’t hold grudges
We can reprimand our kids and 5 mins later it’s hugs and kisses. They move on. They don’t dwell or over think. Something happens, there are good or bad consequences and that’s it. Since becoming a father not once has either kid ever brought up something bad that happened in the past. If something bothers them they tell us immediately. It does not fester, it does not grow. And most importantly they move on.
In a portfolio it’s very easy to hold grudges against bad investments and allow it to affect our future investments. Stocks that are losers that need to be sold or ones that were bought and sold at the wrong time. They sometimes leave a bad taste in our mouths for awhile. My kids are great at moving on. That’s a huge lesson to remember in investing. What happened yesterday has no bearing on tomorrow. Nothing is gained by holding grudges against bad investments.
Pancakes are great for dinner
My kids love pancakes. Blueberry, chocolate chip, and banana. They can’t get enough. If I ask my son what he wants to eat (at any meal) he will most likely say PANCAKES. Pancakes for breakfast,lunch, or dinner. It’s a great a reminder to not be so rigid in life. In Financial Planning, it reminds me that the “Plan” is a guide and not written in stone. Life will throw many curve balls and ones’ plan needs to be flexible at all times.
Overall, life is about balance. It’s amazing that a three year old and a one year old taught me the importance of that. I can assure you that their futures are being planned for, but when they are reaping the benefits of all the planning, I also hope they can look back and have fond memories of how much fun they had with their old man all the way.
