One reason financial planning is so easy to put off is that you won’t feel lots of the benefits for a long time.
The benefits of saving for your kids’ education or retirement. The benefits of having life insurance and an estate plan. That’s all years, maybe decades away.
But it’s also true that some of the benefits are almost instant. You can feel them almost as soon as you start going through the process.
Things like:
– Feeling more responsible, more grown up
– Feeling less stressed, less anxious, more calm
– A sense of pride and accomplishment
– A sense of relief
– Greater peace of mind
– And a greater sense of control, like “I’ve got this” rather than “I’m really not sure if I got this”
So sure, saving money, at least to some extent, requires delaying gratification and caring about your far future self. And you won’t feel some of the benefits for a long time.
But other benefits you’ll feel right away and will immediately improve your quality of life. That’s the name of the game.