This question is from Caleb. Caleb says, "How do you overcome the feeling that you aren't doing enough? I have a little girl on the way—congratulations. We're saving 23% of our income. Any pointers from you parents on self-assurance strategies?" I think financial mutants always fall into this trap. We always think, "Man, I could do more, I could do better. I'm behind, I'm not doing enough." Achievers have that problem. So, what are some things, Brian, being a high achiever, that you figured out early on that helped you say, Hey, you know what, it's okay, I'm going to be all right?
Yeah, I think this is definitely a financial mutant skill or characteristic. We're hard-charging. A lot of people... I picked on Bo. I said, 'Bo, sometimes slow down, enjoy the season of life you're in because it moves fast.' All phases of your life—your 20s, when you don't have a lot of money and you're getting your start, your 30s, the messy middle when you've got the family... every decade or season of your life is going to have a different flavor, a different experience, memories, and scars, but it will also have a sweetness to it. So, you've got to make sure you slow down to enjoy it because that's a risk that us Achievers struggle with.
How do you do that? That's really the question Caleb's asking because it's easy to say that to enjoy the moment, but how do you actually do that? Because us Financial Mutants, we're analytical beasts. We need to kind of know. And that's one of the reasons that if you go to
learn.money.com, we have the '
know your number.' I have people all the time that, you know, Caleb gave his age, he didn't give it, he just said, 'I'm just... I had somebody else reach out to me, and we had a good dialogue. They were in their early 40s, and they're like, 'My family's like, 'Why are we doing vacation this way? Why are we being so cheap on all this other stuff?' I was like, 'Man, you know, if you're in this position of abundance where you made all the sacrifices in your 20s and 30s and did it the right way, there is a moment where you need to start questioning yourself. Are you a miser with the way you're treating your resources, or are you a money maximizer or a financial mutant? Because there is a balance there in between. That's what I love about the 'know your number' course. It's actually going to let you put in your assets, your investment assets. Let you play around with all the variables, like inflation rates of returns, as well as your goals of when you want to retire or have financial independence or at least the option to retire. Then you can start running the three plans: the dream plan, the down-to plan, and then even the 'doooom' plan if things go really horribly for you. So, Caleb, do that homework, and then once you figure out, 'Hey, I'm in a really great situation,' embrace that to be your freedom to start enjoying life.
I agree with that, Bo. If you're struggling with feeling like you're not doing enough, one thing to consider is once you've made the decision to save 25% of your income or you're working toward that, you've done the hard part. You're already ahead of the curve. That gives you the peace of mind that you're moving in the right direction. You don't have to stress about doing everything perfectly right. Nobody has life figured out, and it's okay to be in the stage you're in. If you're saving 23% of your income, that's great. You're moving in the right direction. So, breathe, relax, and understand that we're all on this journey together, doing the best we can with what we've got. For more information, check out our
free resources.
