Sometimes It's Good to Change Your Goals

I was going to write a post yesterday on Groundhog's Day Goals*, as one of mine is to post on a more regular basis to this blog.  But I got sidetracked - I found out that someone I know died of colon cancer Monday.  He wasn't really a friend, more an acquaintance.  Barely that, really - my company uses many of his company's products, and we'd emailed a number of times in the past year and I sat with him at breakfast at a conference last fall, but that was about it.  Even though I didn't know him well, from all my interactions with him, and what I heard through colleagues, he was a great guy and for some reason his death really hit me.

Maybe it was the suddenness of it for me.  I had no idea he was sick from any of our communications; seeing him at the conference I never would have guessed.

Maybe it was the suddenness for him.  I found out that he had been diagnosed with the cancer just last April, and it was recently that the diagnosis was deemed terminal.

Maybe it was because he was younger than me and left behind a wife and small children, his kids maybe a bit older than mine but not by much.

Maybe it was because last week my best friend's sister-in-law died, at 54 older than me but still far too young.  She, too, lost her battle with cancer.

Regardless of the reason, I spent the day thinking about what's really important in life and didn't get to the goal I had set for the day.  But I'm not going to end with some trite catch-phrase by telling you to give your kids an extra hug or to call that friend with whom you've been meaning to re-connect.

What I am going to do is relate these thoughts back to financial planning though.  While this post doesn't talk about money, it has everything to do with it.  Remember that money itself is not a goal, it is a tool which gives us the time and ability to do what we love with who we love.  Don't let yourself fall into the trap of reversing those priorities.

OH -- and give your kids an extra hug tonight.



* Yes, I'm serious and it will be coming soon.  And if my impressions of J are anywhere close to true, he'd get a kick out of a post about him including Groundhog's Day Goals!