When I look back, nothing would prepare me for the life demands and financial commitments these demands have. Life gets more complicated and more expensive. Are you prepared for that? Are you financially ready for it?

Throughout your career and your personal life, if you have goals and aspirations you’re probably not going to be in the same life status 10 years from now. You may be thinking about getting married, having children, buying a home, moving to a bigger home, climbing the career ladder, and anything that you want from your life. In other words, you want more. If you’re satisfied with your life today, it may be great for the time being. I’ll say the 40’s are tough because of certain events, timing, and the state of mind you’re in (aka mid-life crisis).

As you hit certain milestones in your life, it comes with a cost. For example, let’s say you’re engaged to get married and are planning your wedding. Next you’re thinking about where to live, rent or own. If you’re renting you might be thinking when you’ll be able to own your home. Next you’ll be thinking about having kids. Is this home big enough for you and the kids? You might be in the market to buy a bigger home. Throughout all this, you still want to go up in your career, make more money, take on more responsibilities, and get promoted because you want to be able to afford all of this.

Not many healthy young folks will be thinking about their health status 20 years from now. I had the same mentality. I was healthy, no chronic issues, and I focused all my attention to my career. As they say, time flies and 20 years later I’m diagnosed with heart disease and other health issues. Not what I was planning for 20 years ago.

Everything I just listed out has a cost to it. Some are huge expenses like paying for a wedding, buying a home, having kids, paying for college, funerals, or paying for major surgery. As you trek on the journey called life, you start to feel the demands to needing more money. It’s not that you intentionally brought this on; the demands from life and responsibilities just accumulates.

What can you do about this? Consciously remember that you have years of your life ahead and as you get older, it will come with challenges and financial impacts. Don’t think that your life today will be the life 10 years from now.

Talk to those who have gone through this thing called life. You might think that the older generation won’t understand your generation but I would disagree. Yes, they might not know the latest trending terms like digital marketing or content creator. What they do know is this thing called life and money. Everyone goes through life cycle. Regardless of which generation you are, you will live through life. You will experience the same thoughts, feelings, challenges, happiness, etc. that your parents and other previous generations experienced. It’s no different. Trends and technology may change but life experience won’t.

Have realistic goals. Do your homework. Talk to others with experience. Find a mentor. Join a network. Start preparing not just for the next 1 to 3 years from now. Start thinking what 10 or 20 years from now could look like. Are you doing everything now to help you prepare financially for future challenges and experiences? I can’t tell you how much the one best advice I received over 20 years ago has changed my life. That was to invest in my retirement 401K and I would give the same advice to anyone starting their career. While thinking of this, remind yourself that the demands from life gets more and more complicated and expensive.

What advice can you take away from talking to others, receiving their advice, and learning from them about this thing called life? The one thing I can say is that life will get complicated and with that comes with increased costs. The demands from life gets more and more complicated and expensive. Are you positioning yourself to tackle the challenges when they arise? Be prepared for the financial impacts and obligations because everyone goes through life. If you are interested in following my journey, email subscribe to get alerts of latest posts or follow me on Facebook and Instagram.