Everything did not turn out great and there were horror stories all along the way. Some we can even laugh at now. For the most part it has worked out very well and we are still at it.
We just completed a project and it came in over budget, which my CPA wife informed me could cause us to make some cuts in our current plans. The good news was the value had also gone over budget, coming in considerably higher than we expected. My solution is to take out some of the profit we will make on this project now and balance the budget.
We will confer and reach a compromise, most likely doing a little of both.
My emails tell me that most people have the same problems as my wife and I. The difference is their inability to release themselves from their conscious or unconscious goals (have some dessert) or their continuance down the wrong path (have nothing but dessert). This is one of the biggest problems that I see on a daily basis. Its roots generally come from one thing: lack of a good plan. (See my column August 5th "The Plan"). If you don't know where you are going, you are going to end up where you are heading.
The problems with not having a plan are many, but ultimately the real downfall is not knowing the feeling of success. You can't possibly know when you succeed if you can't measure it against something. If you don't keep score, you will never know who wins. If you don't have a plan and you hit an unexpected soft spot, you won't know how or what to adjust to get through the problem, mainly because you won't know you are having a problem. Last but certainly not least, without a plan, you can't deviate (have a fruit tart) and then get back to accomplishing what you hoped to accomplish: getting on the road to financial freedom.
Life is a journey that allows us to go wherever we wish if we put out the effort.
Some seem to have an easier trip than others, but don't bet on it. My mother-in-law would often say "You can't judge another person’s life until you walk a mile in their shoes". If you put out the effort, you have a good chance of getting the reward. Your journey on the road to financial freedom, which to me describes your life's trip from an economic point of view, should be an exciting, sometimes difficult, but always eventful, adventure. The secret is that the road never ends, but the journey should get better and better.
Enjoy your trip, have some dessert now and then. Adjust your headings when necessary, but keep going forward. You will have an eternity to rest. Prove to yourself that despite all the setbacks you have had to endure, you are as good as anyone, and better than most. Whether you travel by motorcycle or tour bus, your map will take you as far as you wish to go. Drop me a line and let me know how it is going. Tally ho!