My youngest son, a budding entrepreneur much smarter than me, recently asked me what was the best financial decision I’ve made.
Well, in a career filled with questionable, hazardous, and just plain dumb financial decisions, it wasn’t that hard.
“Started putting the maximum allowed in my 401k from the moment I started working.”
OK, I cringed a bit when I said it because that’s not a sexy answer. A part of me knew he’d be disappointed in stodgy old dad because he’s got friends whose parents did this smart thing or made out on that opportunity over there.
And in this day of YOLO, instant access, and systemic distrust, good ol’ fashioned long-term savings is out of favor. I get it.
But for me, it’s still my best financial decision.
Why?
Compounding interest.
Compounding interest is a snowball rolling downhill. It starts small, but if you keep feeding it, the longer you give it, the more it picks up and the faster it grows. Bigger and bigger as it takes on a life of its own.
And compounding interest applies to many things in your life besides finances.
Your relationships. Your health and fitness. Your knowledge. Your career or business. Your worldview.
You always have a choice, and you should always be on the lookout for opportunities. But even though it ain’t sexy, taking the long view is sometimes the best decision you can make.
