Thinking about the future and whether you will be prepared financially can be painful.

When it becomes painful we can respond in two ways:

1- Stop thinking about it. Ignore it. Go on with your life. In fact, go buy something to make the pain go away. You’ll feel better. After all, you only live once, and today is what matters.

OR

2- Do something about it. Think about it, feel a little pain, and then do something about it.

Maybe it is painful because for most of us it involves change and sacrifice. Preparing for the future often involves saying “no” to some very fun and important things today so you can start saying “YES” to something in the future.

This pain might be why the average American family spends more time planning their annual trip to Disneyland than they do thinking about their financial future.

Ignoring the pain can work for years. In fact, if you get really good at it, you can delay thinking about it until it is actually too late. The problem is that some day, it will be too late, and in the meantime, the pain is always there. It might be under the surface, but we all know what it feels like to wake up in the night and wonder if we will have enough to send kids to college or to be secure in our retirement.

SO, if you have been thinking about it, if you have been feeling the pain, NOW is a great time to do something about it. After all, now it is actually cool to be frugal, to save, to plan. So at least the pain of being labeled a “tightwad” is gone.