They weren't ready in 2019. Will you be ready?

Will you be ready for the future? It’s a complex question because you can come at it from multiple perspectives: intellectually, physically, emotionally, spiritually. My perspective, of course, is financially. Will you be ready, financially, for the future? …for all the events and milestones that lie ahead in life. The first thought that comes to my head is that the only way to be ready is if you think ahead and plan. Let’s talk about planning. A tragedy happened while I was working on my book. Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris burned. I can’t stop thinking about it. I share everyone’s sadness. I feel bad for the loss of a notable monument (in its original form), to Paris, France, the Catholic Church, and humanity. My son studied a semester in Paris. We, like millions of tourists a year, walked through it. It was incredible, of course, as you’d expect for something that took almost 200 years to build. My sadness, however, quickly morphed into genuine frustration. The fire, or the fact that the fire got so out of control, seems totally preventable to me. Maybe I am just being my normal somewhat harsh and outspoken self, the black and white engineer, etc. I can’t help but ask, where was the proactive planning to prevent this catastrophe? Sure, hindsight is 20/20 but it seems to take only about a minute of hindsight to ask some simple yet powerful questions: Why was there such a slow response, with reports many fire trucks took two hours to arrive? Why did they struggle to pump water out of the adjacent river? Why was there no fire suppression system in the wooden attic structure (literally nicknamed the forest because of the 850-year-old timber)? It just seems to me that for such an irreplaceable structure, which housed even more irreplaceable relics, that there would be multiple layers of preventative planning to ensure such a fire could never happen. How about fire stations located on the island right next to the church? How about fire brigades rigorously trained to combat a fire in such a unique structure? How about custom designed equipment to aid in firefighting in the high reaches of a gothic church? How about pre-staged pumping equipment by the river or water tanks to ensure an immediate initial response when any fire is still small? How about extra on-site monitoring during renovation and construction activity? As you can see, I am a bit worked up. Perhaps I am projecting, and I see Notre Dame as representative of a broader problem with governments, businesses, organizations, families, and individuals…we don’t plan and prepare enough, we just mostly react. Let’s circle back to financial literacy. How do we plan and prepare for the future so we can take care of ourselves and our children, give something back to others, and not be dependent on others when we are old? The answer is we save money today! My goal, at Your Sherpa, is to help people save money. I start by creating a sense of urgency over the NEED to save. Then, I motivate people to WANT to save by showing them how money can grow. Third, I help young people avoid obstacles that prevent saving like excessive college debt or being underemployed. And finally, I teach HOW to save with an emphasis on the mindset and daily lifestyle choices needed to succeed. Your Sherpa is Your Guide to Financial Literacy, employing a full platform including a book for parents, audio lessons for kids (at yourfinancialsherpa.com/shop), speaking, and social media.