The Both-And Proposition of Living Your Rich Life: Prioritizing Now and Planning for Later

Why You Should Live Intentionally, Protect Your Future, and Embrace a Both-And Approach to Achieving Your Life Goals

"I'll do that when I retire."

How many people who say this end up not getting the chance to (a) retire or (b) retire and actually do that thing?

You have to live your life now AND plan to live it later, too. This is a both-and proposition, not an either-or one.

Rachel Feintzeig @RachelFeintzeig

It might seem like a fantasy. It might seem like something people only do in Europe. But three weeks off can be yours, too. My column this week is about how to take that dream vacation from work:

wsj.comA Three-Week Vacation in 2023? Yes, You CanHere’s how to strategize and ask your boss for the time to take that dream break.

Of course this is not an excuse to be careless with your present. Nor with your future. You can be responsible to both your current self and your future self. Both-and.

This is not about having it all, either. “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” author Ramit Sethi discusses the concept of living your “rich life” in his book, on his podcast, and on social media. The idea being that you just need to be intentional when it comes to deciding what matters most to you in life — it cannot be everything, you have to choose, you have to prioritize! — and then surgical in cutting out the things that do not make the cut.

For example, if travel and adventure are your rich life priorities, then you spend your money on those things. In this scenario, status symbols like cars and houses might not be rich life priorities, so you spend less on those things so that you can spend more on travel.

Maybe your rich life is chasing these kinds of waterfalls.

So for some, it might be traveling or fine dining or designer clothing. For others it is starting a family, sending your children to great schools, or supporting your aging parents. All the while you also are contributing to savings and investing as well, taking care of future versions of you.

It matters not what you decide your rich life is because there are so many ways to live a rich life. What matters is being intentional and purposeful with your money and spending it toward living your rich life.

Live now while also protecting future you so that, should you be fortunate enough to enjoy a long, healthy, and wealthy retirement, you can live later too. And if you end up not being that fortunate, you still lived a life worth living while you could.