Just The Basics
And welcome to 2024! As we do each year, we will start 2024 with a review of the basics.
The basics aren’t fancy, require no special knowledge, and generally don’t make for exciting party conversation. Then why discuss and review? Simple. They work. And these basics apply equally to your personal and business life. What are those basics?
Spend less than you make. What’s required? To have a good understanding of both what you make and what you spend.
Always have a reserve. How much? Some consumer finance types suggest three to six months of expenses. The actual answer is specific to the facts and circumstances of your particular situation and comfort level.
Avoid debt. Yes, be extremely careful with debt. To my knowledge, there have been few bankruptcies among those businesses or individuals who are debt-free.
Make and implement long-term plans. It’s easy to find articles and essays about the value of committing your plans and goals to writing. And regular review. The implementation? It takes work and intent.
Choose to be generous with your time, your talent, and your treasure. Approaching life as a go-giver yields a quality to life, and a robustness to the spirit, that is unparalleled in human existence.
Our opinion about the ideal allocation of a dollar?
Give away the first ten cents. In a manner which yields no financial benefit to you. It helps free each of us from the tyranny of ownership.
Set aside the next dime for long-term wealth building. Not for the new house, car, or next business you plan to buy. Long-term wealth building.
The next twenty cents? Taxes.
The final sixty cents? Everything else you want to do in life.
Our commitment as a business is to long-term sustainability and viability. To be here to serve families across generations for decades to come. To that end, we have chosen to live what we teach. We operate without debt. And in fact, have a corporate resolution on the books which says we will not borrow money. We maintain a healthy and growing operating reserve. And we are intentional about identifying and developing future generations of firm leadership.
That’s enough for now. Enjoy 2024. And remember, the best is always yet to come.