“What does our future hold?” This is not an uncommon question, but it is certainly a daunting one. After all, on one hand, “the future” seems so far away; yet, it also tends to arrive much sooner than we thought it would.
However, if you are like most new couples, you are operating with several handicaps and none of them have anything to do with golf!
According to the Center for Marriage and Family, the number one problem for new [couples] is debt brought into the relationship. Since debt significantly hinders a couple’s ability to save, the first order of business is to develop a debt reduction or elimination plan. The plan ought to be executed alongside your savings plan! I call this a “both/and” strategy. (Please don’t adopt the belief that you must postpone saving until you are completely debt-free!)
The next challenge is to make the future less abstract. One way to do this is to break the “future” down into three chunks of time. View what you want to be, do, and have – individually and together - through the prism of a) less than five years, b) less than ten years, and c) more than ten years. This step helps you “see” more clearly the life you have and want, and it gives you the information you need to come up with a savings target for each goal and for each timeframe.
Finally, whatever dollar amount you decide needs to be saved, make it automatic. If the money is swept from your checking account to one (or several) savings accounts, you increase the likelihood that you’ll a) actually follow-thru on your commitment to save, b) resist the temptation to tap into your savings for anything but dire emergencies.
Whatever the future holds, saving is its best friend. The practice of saving is a way of protecting your hopes, dreams and goals.
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