I remember the mixed blessing I felt as a kid outgrowing my hockey skates.
Why mixed?
New is always exciting, and growing out of my skates meant a trip to Al Anderson’s for a new pair of skates. The right size always feels better than having your toes squeezed into the end. But I had to break them in. That meant blisters and sore feet until everything was broken in just right.
I recently got a new pair of skates from Al’s, except this time, they had a new process. They found a pair that fit, then baked the skates to custom mold them to my feet. There was no painful process of blisters or breaking them in.
The same holds true for our financial planning process. We are all unique and we all have different expectations for our retirement, so our plans for the future should reflect that, just like the skates molded to our feet. Your plan should be custom fit for you with no need to ‘break it in’… and there should definitely not be any blisters!
This reminds of a wise proverb: For every minute of preparation, you save four minutes in execution.
“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” — Wayne Gretzky
