What follows is the work of friend and colleague Jack Falvey–who many will recognize as the author of the “blurb” on the back cover of my book, Small People–Big Brains. Jack’s authoring this online investor program for Saint Anselm College… a free daily investor brief. See the bottom for additional information… try ‘em! The price is right and I think you’ll enjoy Jack’s style. As a bonus you’ll learn a lot! Subscribe here.
The best things in life are priceless. Few are free!
There is a balance to the universe that theoretical physicists attempt to codify as a theory of everything. They may be in a bit over their heads, but they are far enough along in their quest to indicate that actions have consequences and, while sometimes difficult to see at first glance, that there is an order to things which may appear to be unconnected or random.
As we seek financial stability in our economic lives, it becomes obvious that our efforts are somehow related to our results. We do not have to study physics to see cause-and-effect relationships between hard work and return on that investment. We know that goals and focus pay off. We accept the discipline of economic life without fully understanding everything involved.
There are, however, other aspects of our lives that produce a different kind of return on investment. Our challenge is to attempt to gain the rewards of economic prosperity at a price that does not blot out the sunshine of a healthy existence.
Our culture dictates that we divide our lives chronologically into play, education and work. It has been suggested that things may work better by mixing all three all the time. Our income producing years do require focus and dedication, but the priceless parts of life should not be the price we pay for financial progress and security, such as it is. We mix play and learning naturally as children. Education leads us to our work life. Those who learn to work hard at continuing to mix the three aspects of life seem to do better at all three. Intellectual curiosity should always be with us. Physical health does not require organized athletics, but it does require dedicated time and some discipline. Work discipline is better defined as knowing how to stop! So financial planning requires life planning. See if you can get all the aspects of life working together. Perfect balance is not the objective. Try for the mix. That’s a reasonable goal.
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Investor Education Briefs is an online investor education program provided by the Institute for Politics at Saint Anselm College. It goes out each business day of the year at no charge. The editorial opinions of Jack Falvey, a Fellow of the Institute and a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, are provided for investor education only and are not offered as financial advice. Anyone may enter or exit the program at any time. There are no tests or academic credits involved. It is designed as a free program which will recycle and be updated every twelve months. Subscribe here.