Winter is here

It has become evident that burning excess energy unnecessarily is a no-no (in my world anyway). I’ve hung up my running shoes and have given my gym ensembles a break for now because winter is here. And yes, I am well aware that summer bodies are made in winter 😊

I’m looking to buy a few good books over the next couple of weeks to keep me occupied while sitting snuggly near the heater. And I’m also waiting with bated breath every week to catch up on the latest episode of Game of Thrones. You see, in my household, once the children are asleep the dragons come alive!

Yes, it is pure fiction and adults really have no business getting excited about fire-breathing dragons, but I feel that it contains many valuable lessons. For those who don’t care much for the show, I promise not to bore with all the gory detail (maybe one or two more articles about this topic in the future and I’ll stop!) but would like to leave you with one of my favourite quotes from one of the most cunning of characters, Lord Petyr Bailesh.

“Don’t fight in the north or the south. Fight every battle, everywhere, always, in your mind. Everyone is your enemy, everyone is your friend, every possible series of events is happening, all at once. Live that way, and nothing will surprise you. Everything that happens will be something that you’ve seen before”

I try to apply to this to my life in general but to my finances in particular. Here are my top 3 lessons:

• Don’t choose your battles when it comes to your finances. Fight all of them! Unfortunately, very few people have the luxury of choosing one investment strategy over another. You must consider all of them if you are to reach your financial goals. You need an emergency fund for rainy days (short term). You need retirement savings for your latter years (long term). Life happens in between the short-term emergencies and the long-term planning so you need to consider how to account for that as well. And that’s just scratching the surface.

• Plan for the divorce right at the beginning, because life happens. A friend today could be a foe tomorrow, so you must structure your life and your finances in a way that all parties to the union are taken care of. A one-sided union is bound to be a disaster in the future. This applies whether you’re a spouse, business partner or an employer/employee.

• Play out every possible scenario in your mind and plan for each one accordingly. A considered and predictable outcome, whatever it may be, is the best outcome because you will have a plan for it. What would you do, if you reached your financial day-zero today? Do you have a plan B? How will you execute this alternative plan? If your life turned out well, what would it look like? How will you manage your finances then?

It sounds tedious but necessary if you are to triumph over the many disappointments that life will throw at you.