If you asked me what my main life goal was 15 years ago, I would mention having a child and a newlywed wife, one day owning a house, and working on data mining at the time, which boosted my career.

Ten years ago, I would mention that I was a good father and husband, and later developed The Simple Dollar as a business and eventually owned a large house somewhere in the country.

Even if you asked 5 years ago, I would say that I want to be a good father and husband, retire as best I can, and write powerful things that affect people.

If you ask me what my main life goal is today, I would still say, be a good father and husband, and retire after my children are financially independent, write something influential that can reach people, and give me Your longest and healthiest life. were able.

This is the fact: the goal changes. Over time, the big things we want in our lives will gradually change. We find ourselves deviating from our big goals and moving towards other big goals. Our lives are changing, and who we are is changing. Of course, some threads may still be the same, because people usually have constant core values, but the actual goal itself is often determined by life changes.

This puts financial goals in an interesting place.

First, if you are working on your financial goals now, will you still be working on it in five years? I mean, ten years ago, I really thought I would now live in a country house, and we saved for that. At this point … I really don’t want it, I don’t want it at all. Five years ago, Sarah and I talked about ensuring the financial independence of children before going out, but now we are more interested in ensuring that they go out as stably as possible and get on the right track to success, living independently. At that time our goal was not our goal. Within five to ten years, we may have different goals. Maybe we even start to oppose any form of early retirement.

If so, is it a mistake to spend all your money on a specific goal? For example, suppose you insist on retiring early at the age of 35 and deposit every dime you can save into a 401 (k) and IRA. Then, at the age of 40, you fell in love and got married, and decided to buy a house and have children, because you were dumped in an unexpected way. However, the money is locked into these accounts, so you basically start with another goal entirely.

I have been thinking about this recently because of my own economic twists and turns, and I have come to some strong conclusions.

Saving for a goal is definitely not a mistake.
For whatever reason, you won’t make mistakes to set aside money in the future. Even if your goals change, that money will be waiting for you when you need it.

This is not to say that you can currently do something better with money. If you are trying to pay off a 30% credit card while saving for the future, there is a good argument that paying off that credit card is a top priority. However, putting money aside is not wrong; you just choose between two good choices, and even if there is good reason for the other choice, neither is truly “wrong.”