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A Bad Deal


Deal with the Devil. 50 Stock Footage Video (100% Royalty-free ...
My job can take many different forms on a given day and include various roles. I am a coach, a planner, a confidant, an advisor, a counselor, a sounding board, a dry shoulder, and sometimes even a marital referee. But if I were to boil it all down, I could summarize much of what I do into a single objective: Protecting individuals from trading away an enduring benefit for a fleeting comfort or convenience.

Unfortunately, this trade is common in our financial lives. We spend money on something trivial in the moment that could have been used for something far more valuable in the future. We dismantle a long-term investment strategy because of temporary uncertainty. We burden ourselves with debt, slowing our progress towards our financial goals. We put a one-week vacation on a credit card but take months after it’s over to finally pay for it. We neglect budgeting, so instead of telling our money where to go at the beginning of the month, we scratch our heads at the end of the month wondering where it all went.

But it’s not just in the realm of personal finance that this trade is made. In many areas of our lives, we neglect our future for a short-lived pleasure in the moment. It can happen in our jobs, our relationships, our health, and in almost every facet of our lives. And worst of all, we can make it a habit and find ourselves with a mortgaged future ahead and a trail of frivolous payouts behind us.

Don’t make that trade.

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