Flying by the Seat of Your Pants Is it more fun not to plan and take life as it comes, or is it better to develop a plan so as to not be spontaneous? The main reason many people do not develop a plan, or even a budget, is because they claim they cannot then be spontaneous. I disagree. I know exactly how spontaneous my family and I can be each month. I can be as spontaneous as I want each month without having to pay for that spontaneity with a credit card over six months. John Maxwell says that a budget is nothing more than telling your money where to go rather than wondering where it went. One reason many people do not plan is because they are afraid to admit on paper what is actually taking place. A serious problem exists if you are afraid to put in writing where your largest wealth-building tool (your income) is headed each month. Even more serious is if you see the writing on the wall that a problem exists and yet do nothing to fix it. Many retirees subsist on nothing more than a social security check that arrives from the government each month. Social Security is a program that was developed with the intent of helping subsidize retirement, not to be the sole source. My grandparents (and most of their generation) made long-term plans for their future. Compared to my grandfather’s social security check, he makes three times that amount just in interest on his investments each month. He can now spontaneously do whatever he wants whenever he wants, because he decided long ago to develop a plan.
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