Money is juggling act

Ecosystem is buffeted by variables we may control.

- Dawn Ridler

Life seems to happen along a nice, neat timeline, but we all know it is never that simple. Life happens along the way, sometimes pushing us forward - in our career, relationships, health and wealth - but sometimes setting us back years.

This is why wealth is an ecosystem; it is buffeted on all sides by variables that may or may not be in our control, and we all must build some resilience, pick up the pennies left on the floor and soldier on. Part of building that resilience is anticipating what is coming - standing on the shoulders of giants to help you with that.

In every ecosystem, some things are more resilient than others (cockroaches, for example - and that's usually because they hustle and persevere until they fatten up again, find a spouse, and fill the world with more pests.

The one thing that is always true about the timeline we live in is that we get old, less able to fend for ourselves, and have less energy to persevere or hustle.

Unfortunately, that is also the time when there is no more room for mistakes. Mistakes that you make later in life have much harsher consequences.

I always thought it would become easier in time to prioritise where I distribute my wealth, but I never accounted for the aspects of life that invariably throw a spanner in the works. It is a big ask to expect someone in their 20s or 30s to realistically look 35 years into the future toward a “retirement”, especially if you have a mortgage or children, which seem to suck every last cent out of your income every month.