Tips
The Rise of Fee Charging Brokers
Over the past two years the number of lenders for tenants has steadily decreased. Currently Black Horse are the only main stream lender that is active in the market and they are mostly lender to homeowners. This has caused some Niche lenders to appear in the market, such as log book lenders, payday lenders and [...]
Tips to Find Good MBA Projects
Masters of Business Administration is truly a fulfilling career. If one has it, then there is a great chance of landing to a high paying job. But before you earn that, you need to accomplish several MBA Projects. Finding these projects can be difficult if one is not equipped with the right information on what [...]
Panhandle: Strange Ways to Make Money
When you think of panhandling, you probably think of the homeless and the desperate. It would never be something that a white collar professional would engage in. Would it? If you think the answer is, “No,” here’s a story for you. There is a man who panhandles near my office and I walk past him [...]
Your Trajectory
Heard this recently and thought that it sounded true. Especially in the area of our finances.
We determine the trajectory of our lives based on the decisions we make when times are tough.
Let's start by considering what a trajectory is. According to the Random House dictionary it's the "curve traced by a projectile object or body in its flight." In other words, for this quote it's the path that we're on. I picture the trajectory of a missile in flight. I don't know it for a fact, but I'd bet that the course corrections are very, very small. Yet, they can make a big difference in where the missle flies and lands.
Why does such a small change make such a dramatic difference in the end? Because the direction has been changed. So the longer we go in that direction the greater the distance between where we are and where we would have been. Think of the missile example. Even a one degree change in course will make a huge difference after the missile goes a thousand miles or more.
OK, so NASA can make a small change and affect the trajectory of a space shuttle, but is it true that we determine the trajectory of our life? We could debate it, but I'd argue that it's true. Our choices make a difference. Perhaps not a noticable difference at first, but one that will change where we end up in the future. It happens the exact same way as the missile. A minor course correction maintained over a long time can make a huge difference in where we end up.
Let's consider a simple (and somewhat silly) example. Suppose that you're a 20 year old coming out of class. Feeling thirsty you search out a vending maching. Sodas (and bottled water) are $1. You reach in your pocket and pull out a single. Into the machine it goes. And, your thirst is quenched. As you walk away from the vending machine you notice a water fountain that you hadn't seen before. Oh, well. It's only a buck.
True, but did you know that if you put that single dollar to work earning interest it would be worth $46 when you were 70 years old and looking for retirement income?
Still not impressed, suppose that you bought that $1 drink every day for 50 years. Had you used the water fountain instead and saved the money you would have accumulated $209,000! Quite a difference in the trajectory.
Obviously, that's a made up story. No one is going to go to a vending machine once a day, every day for 50 years. But, it does give you a feel for what happens when you routinely say "it's only a buck". Say it too often and you'll be adjusting your financial trajectory.
Now let's take a look at the final part of the quote. It talks about the decisions that we make when times are tough. I don't suppose that tough time decisions have any greater impact on our trajectory than any other decision. But they could be more important because we have a smaller margin for error. When you're right on the edge you don't need anything that would push your trajectory to a point where it spirals out of control (I can see them intentionally destroying a missile that's gone off course).
I guess that what I'm saying is that the stakes are higher when you're facing tough times. And, you're already under pressure, which might compromise your ability to make decisions. So it's important to move cautiously. Don't make decisions without thinking about how the choice might affect your future financial trajectory.
What do you think? Do the decisions you make in times of trouble make a difference in your trajectory? Send me an email or add a comment and let me know what you think.
0% Car Finance
Most people in the market for a vehicle have seen a 0% car finance offer at one time or another. The first thought that may come into a person’s head may be how good a deal 0% car financing is, and purely speaking, 0% car financing is a great deal if that truly is the [...]
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