I know there is debate, and some remind us the new decade doesn’t start until next year, but I’m excited to be heading into the 5th decade of my career. And Scott is heading into his 3rd.
As I looked back over the last decades, I realized as we've helped families live through these times, we’ve helped families through lots of headlines and lots of life. We’ve seen so much. The 80s, the 90s, the 00s, the 10s, and now the exciting roaring 20s.
For the Fergusons, the Financial Concepts families, and the world, there have been lots of stories. As I walked down memory lane, I realized the planning was more about life, milestones and dreams than headlines.
In the 80s we had the banking crisis. And Wall Street, “Greed is Good.” But like my family, our clients graduated, married, had their first child, and began their careers. They combined finances, built or bought homes. They began saving and investing for their futures.
In the 90s, the big story was boom days! New ideas. New investments. And what went up never seemed to go down. Families grew. They bought vehicles. They educated children. They lost loved ones. Their careers or business grew. They saved or invested more.
In the 00s, the big stories were Y2K, September 11, and the mortgage crisis. Graduations, college expenses, new homes, and big purchases. Grandchildren!
In the 10s, we had the strongest recovery imaginable. Retirements and new stages of life. New careers, new jobs, new employers. Health issues. Wellness issues. Lots of life.
What this trip down memory lane reminds us is that financial planning is much more about life than headlines. Plans, investments, money are tools to accomplish all this living. And likely we cannot imagine either the headlines in the 20s, nor the life!
