bluntmoney.com

A new article is posted each day on Blunt Money, where you get plain talk about money and personal finance. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence and educational advantages; the question is what he will do with the things he has.
- Hamilton Wright Mabie

I think this quote makes an important point. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we’re “going” to do, that we forget to focus on what we’re doing right now.

Sure, things like going back to school, getting a better job, or saving up for a down payment on a house can lead to some major changes in your life, but the present counts too.

It can be easy to think “Oh, I’ll be making more money when I graduate, so it won’t be a problem” when making a financial decision. But basing a decision on how you think the future might play out is often a mistake. After all, what happens if you don’t graduate? What happens if it turns out there’s a glut of people in your field, and salaries are low? What if you end up hating the field?

Thinking too much about what life might be like once certain circumstances have come to pass can also rob you of the opportunities that are happening right now. It’s the things we have and do right this very moment that really make the difference, both short and long-term. See what you can do with what you already have.