So, I had an interesting shall we call it discussion with my mother the other night. During this ‘conversation’, I am quite sure that she accused me of trying to plan out my life. This is frankly ludicrous. I dare say that I have one of the most unplanned lives in the family (however, I dared not say this to my mother). I think that my mother’s challenge and the challenge of many is that they don’t realize there is a difference between planning and being prepared.

Here’s an example. I have an emergency fund which can be used to repair my car in an emergency situation. It’s not that I’m planning on having a vehicular malfunction, it’s just that I am cognizant of the fact that car parts can wear down and need to be fixed or replaced, especially as a car gets older. Hence I am prepared. Personally, I think that trying to plan your life is silly: there are so many factors that you can’t control that this seems to be a big waste of time. However I do see the advantage of financially and emotionally preparing oneself for life’s little surprises. Through my adult life I have made a number of big (and small) decisions that were unplanned, but which I was prepared for. It’s not that I make these decisions flippantly, but I do make them all the same.

 Here’s an example: I had considered going back to the east coast for Christmas, but I hadn’t really planned on it and let it fall aside. After Thanksgiving however I decided to reconsider going back east, and looked at some plane fares. Given then I had a travel voucher from the summer and a travel fund, I was able to find some tickets that would work and purchased them. Now I had by no means planned to go back for Christmas, but I got to thinking that it might be nice. Since I had funds in place to provide for the trip, it wasn’t a big deal for me to alter my original plan. However, if I didn’t have the funds in place that would have been unwise. I don’t think that we can (or should try to) plan everything as there is just so much that isn’t up to us and intense planning can lead to feelings of resentment if things don’t go our way. But personally I see nothing wrong with being prepared to cope with life’s unforeseen opportunities and challenges. Do you think there’s a difference? Do you feel that one is a more worthwhile approach than the other?