11 | From Linchpin to Bottleneck

In a recent conversation with a friend, we discussed the strain on cash flow that often comes in the season of life with young children.

The strain can come from increased living expenses, reduced household income, or some combination of both.

For this particular friend, increased living expenses had impacted their particular situation and had led to a conversation around reducing their ongoing 401k contribution from 15% of their salary to 13% to provide a little cash flow relief.

The 15% rate was sound advice the friend had received right out of college and had lived into for nearly 10 years. Job well done!

In this current season, the savings rate had become an anchor that felt arbitrary, a little out of touch, but also untouchable.

Was a change "allowed"? Would a change knock them off track for saving for the future? Was a change the biggest "mistake" they could make?

A tactic that had once been the linchpin of financial freedom had slowly morphed into a constricting bottleneck in a different season.

I think behind these feelings sits the implied assumption that "more" saving is always better. The challenge is that sometimes "more" isn't possible and life circumstances demand something else.

Some seasons require "more" of other things - more time at home, more spending on things that are important, or more flexibility in where your savings land.

Your financial well being is not tied to the precise percentage that is saved into your retirement account for 30 consecutive years.

Your financial well being is more closely tied to your ability to slowly build resilience instead of grasping for certainty.