Plan for future?
Should Singaporeans plan for their future? As a matter of personal policy, I feel it is not worth the effort and time to write an article to counter the work of other bloggers because I don’t wish to be seen as being cocky or aggressive.
But after reading one of the blog posts written by Teenage Investing, I am prompted to write this article. In his article on 12 September, the blogger felt indignant that one of his readers commented that his advice was a piece of joke and that he would rather not waste time planning for his future. The blogger went on to sign off his article and encouraged his readers to plan for his future.
Life is unpredictable and it is difficult to foresee what the future holds for us. If there are two things that I want to impart to my young daughter, they would be character resilience and the ability to learn transferable skills.
In today’s context, there are just too many obstacles that life would throw at you and having a plan would not help you to navigate through these challenges. I have seen people crumbled after failing to meet their targets and subsequently lost their self confidence to carry on with their lives. So I would not advise my daughter to plan for her future. What is the point of telling her that when I don’t even practice it?
Life is meant to be explored and we should have fun when we are young. But of course, there will be low points in our lives and it is important that we pick ourselves up and not to give up easily. It is having the will to succeed that differentiates the winners from the losers.
The blogger went on to claim that he would not want a grand affair wedding and don’t care a hoot about his relatives’ opinions. In Singapore, parents and parents-in-law have the final say on the customary wedding ceremony. Yeah, you wanted a simple wedding affair because you have planned or budgeted for the whole process. But it is only your wishful thinking.
What if your parents-in-law wanted a grand wedding and expensive dowry from you? Are you going to cancel the wedding just because your budget was over-blown? Money is important but communication is even more important. You can save like hell right now but you never know the demands of your future parents-in-law. So instead of managing the wedding cost from a one-sided perspective, a better approach would be to have honest heart-to-heart talks with your partner on the kind of wedding you are able to afford.
You should also moderate and manage your future parents-in-law expectations through your spouse if you think you have no money for the kind of wedding they expected.
To succeed in your career, you must acquire transferable skills, no matter which industry you work in. Having a plan will not help you succeed in life. In fact, it will only impede your progress. Because if you do not meet your targets, you would likely roll down the slippery slope and could even fall over the cliff.
In life, don’t follow the wrong person. Don’t be mislead. Follow your heart and go with the flow. In my next article, I will touch on how having transferable skills can transform your life.
Magically yours,
SG Wealth Builder
I would say some things can plan… esp if they are short term and immediate…i.e. picking up a new skill, degree etc..
But some things which have more variables that are not within your control cannot be planned e.g. market crash, when certain things happen, other’s people’s perception
The more important thing is how you handle it when it happens 😉
You didn’t plan to marry your wife,then? What did you say to her in discussing marriage – ” Next week see how lah, maybe we go ROM, maybe not.” ?
Aiyoh, Bro, of course you got plan.