The course Life 101 always contains lots of advice for new graduates and will be forthcoming from lots of older "life teachers," all of which is well intentioned and some of which may even be worthwhile. Best of all, it's free.
After all, we oldsters have pretty much been there and done that. Thus, it's life lessons sharing time again, so bear with us, young folks.
We oldsters know that time flies. And that tomorrow is never today 24 hours later. And that things and circumstances change over time. So 'be prepared' is always good advice, even if it's not often heeded.
In my view, one Life 101 subject matter that doesn't get enough attention is how to handle our finances and expenditures in the early years. Today and tomorrow aren't treated with equal consideration, and that's a big mistake we make. They're linked and they're both critically important.
In other words, we don't take the time to take care of our "future self" in our younger years, and then too often too many of us find that life goes by quickly, ready or not, and we discover that our "today self" has robbed our "tomorrow self."
In simple terms, while working we don't adequately prepare financially for our 'mature,' aka oldster status or elderly years.
Life Advice for the Class of 2014 is subtitled 'Spend Your First Working Years Getting Your Finances in Order:'
Here's advice that one father of a new graduate has to offer, and it's very much worth passing along, so here goes.
"My best shot at parental wisdom:
1. If you aren't careful, you will spend your life pursuing goals that you think will make you endlessly happy but, in fact, will give you the most fleeting of pleasures. You'll hunger after the next promotion and pay raise. But a few months later, it'll be just another paycheck. You'll lust after the bigger house and new car.
But after six months, the house will be just a place to live and the car will be just a way to get around town.
At issue here is a phenomenon known as the hedonic treadmill. We pursue these goals, sure that they'll bring us great happiness. But instead, we quickly become dissatisfied and start hankering after something else.
2. You could live an extraordinarily long time. . . . You're part of a vast experiment, where we have millions of people not only spending unprecedented lengths of time in the workforce, but also an unprecedented number of years in retirement.
3. Twenty years from now, you'll likely be less happy than you are today. Our satisfaction through life tends to be U-shaped, with our reported happiness hitting bottom in our 40s.
It could be that our happiness declines through the first few decades of our adult lives as we come to realize that our youthful ambitions won't be realized. In midlife, we come to terms with this, and that's when our happiness rebounds.
4. You want to design a life for yourself where you can engage in activities that you're passionate about. Often, we're happiest when we're striving after goals that we think are important.
It's OK to want the promotion and pay raise, so you can buy the house and the car. But if the price paid is working at a job you hate, you have set yourself up for misery. It's crucial to do work you're passionate about. The journey is indeed more important than the destination. . . .
And the striving doesn't stop when you quit the workforce. In your 50s and early 60s, you should think hard about what will give a sense of purpose to your retirement.
5. The secret to getting rich is no secret: You need great savings habits. . . . most wealthy Americans get there by saving diligently month after month.
6. Money buys a lot of happiness initially—but, after that, not so much....
7. The reason to accumulate money is so you don't have to worry about money. It's sort of like health. It's only when you're sick that you realize how great it is to feel healthy.
Similarly, it's only when you don't have enough money that you realize how great it is to be on a solid financial footing. More money may not make you happy—but not having money could make you extremely unhappy. You want to get to the point where money isn't something you worry about.
My advice: Spend your first few decades in the workforce getting yourself in great financial shape so you have the freedom to pursue whatever career you want.
That means saving like crazy. And, no, you won't be missing out on much. All those possessions you want will give you so little pleasure. Instead, what will give you pleasure is striving after the things you're passionate about. I would encourage you to manage your financial life so you can do just that."
Summing Up
That's some great advice.
Now here's some advice from me to my fellow oldsters. Do your best to teach the young the "Life 101" lessons, even if the young don't want to hear it, which they don't.
At least, you'll feel better for having done so, and it just may do some ypungsters some real good as they go through life.
Living within our means and making sure that "today's self" is paying enough attention to, and taking good care of, "tomorrow's self" is a critically important life lesson which is well worth the effort, and the sooner the better.
Along those lines, so is acquiring a basic understanding of personal finance, and especially the benefits of saving, investing and the debilitating burdens of onerous debt.
That's my take.
Thanks. Bob.
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