Financial planning

Q: I’ve made a big mess of my financial life and I wonder if I’ll ever get over it. This is the first Christmas I’ve had since falling on hard times and it’s not exactly merry. Do people as deep in the hole as I am ever get out?

A: Yes they do. But only if they learn.

Since it’s Christmas morning, let me borrow from Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol and say that in order to move beyond your past failures and present difficulties into a bright future, you’re going to have to learn…from the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come.

Q: I am single with no children or dependents. Just me and my dog. I will probably work five more years. I have no one in particular I am trying to leave money to, so how do I make the most of my money? One thing I want to make sure of is that I don’t run out of money before I die because there is no one else to take care of me.

A: The fact that you are single both simplifies and complicates your choices.

Question: I just got told everyone at my work with my job description is being let go. I have worked at this place for a very long time and looking for work elsewhere scares the you-know-what out of me. But I can’t retire yet. I have to work. What do you suggest?

Answer: There is no security in security.

In my work I regularly meet people who have discovered (to their great surprise) that the big corporation they thought would see them through to the end…didn’t.

Question: So much of what goes on in financial matters is outside of my control. Sometimes it seems like all the planning in the world can be undone by some unforeseen circumstance. Am I wasting my time doing financial planning?

Answer: Don’t let the absence of perfection cause you to abort the process of progress. The fact that you cannot make your financial life absolutely air tight is hardly any reason to abandon making it better.

Question: My wife and I are approaching our 40s. What is the most important thing for us to be thinking about to get ready for our retirement?

Answer: Tonight, neighborhood children will transform into sheet wearing ghosts and miniature pirates toting plastic swords. They’ll ring your doorbell and squeal, “Trick or treat!”