I managed to spend more than a weeks salary over the weekend, on five dress shirts, a pair of shorts, Birkenstocks, a beanie, two ties, a tie bar, a tie rack, a vest, Four Swords Adventures, and beer. It wasn’t very difficult; I’m meeting with a financial planner today, so I saw at my purchases as the last of my guilt-free spending before I look into investment options and budget considerations. Unfortunately, he’ll be giving me advice based on how I risky I want to be, the age I want to stop working, and the lifestyle I’d like to have at retirement. The problem is that I haven’t decided yet. I never really considered the fact that I might live past 30. On top of that, I never planned to retire. I don’t think I’d mind working past 60, although the requirement for this to happen is that I enjoy my job then as much as I enjoy my job now.
Most people start to invest when they start a family, and need to consider the cost of raising kids, including tuition fees, an extra mouths to feed, etc. I don’t plan on having a family, so I figure I should just start now. Of course, as Pat says, ones life can change in a single day, even with the best laid plans, and I really couldn’t agree more. I simply see investments as a sort of financial safety net.