What the heck does Robert Frost have to do with your money?
We’ve all heard some variation of Robert Frost’s iconic poem, The Road Not Taken. And I often find myself hearing it recited incorrectly and not wanting to be that person, I usually refrain from offering my correction.
And so here is the part that one typically hears:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
But this is the end of the poem. Not the beginning nor the dilemma he faced that morning. It can be inferred that Mr. Frost came upon a fork in the path he was walking on. And so he had to choose which path he wanted to travel down. Was it the one that curved down by the “undergrowth?” Or does he choose the one that was overgrown and clearly not taken that often? He decides to choose the latter “because it was grassy and wanted wear.” But this didn’t cause him to think about taking the former path another day…yet he knew that one path typically leads to another and then another and that going back to the original path is unlikely.
Don’t we all face similar dilemmas with our lives? We make hundreds of decisions every single day. And do we typically choose the option that is the quickest and usually the safest route? Think about Mr. Frost’s options that morning. Does he choose the path that’s been travelled before? Is that path safer since others have chosen that path before? Is that path chosen because it’s quicker? We can’t be certain; all we know is that Mr. Frost did not choose it.
What about our decisions with money? Are there also many paths to choose on our financial journey? I would argue that there are an unlimited number of paths with which to choose from. And not all are the paths you want to take.
We each approach our wallets differently. We work for a paycheck that allows us to pay bills and finance a lifestyle that fits who we are as individuals. Some lifestyles more expensive than others; neither right or wrong. Just different. And so too should your decisions about money be different. What worked for your parents may or may not work for you. What makes financial sense for your neighbor may or may not work for you. Keep this in mind – you are going to go somewhere with your money. But will it be where you want to go?
If you choose to travel down a different financial path – perhaps “one that is less traveled by,” you can find a financial partner to help you along the way. That’s what we do at Coastal Wealth Advisors. We work with unique individuals like yourself in helping them choose the journey that makes the most sense for them. Our goal is simply for you to believe that your decision to hire us is one “that has made all the difference.”
Image Credit: Simon G