I was speaking with one of my children who lives in Cambodia in a very rural area (I won't mention her name because I don't want to embarrass her). Being the concerned father that I am, I asked her if she was taking a good multivitamin. "Sure," she said, usually when she was starting to feel sick. But she didn't think they worked very well because she usually still got sick.
Okay, so let me think about this... private school from Pre-K to 12th grade, four years at an academically sound private college (and yes she graduated, I saw her walk) and this is her takeaway for good health: Take a vitamin when you feel like you're getting sick? Hmmm.
But then, it started to make sense to me, and I realized that she was not alone. No, I am no longer talking about vitamins, but that could also be true. What I am talking about is that Ed and I have often had a client call us about a need to review their financial situation which involved a "sudden" concern. Now the topics of the "sudden" concern range from how to pay for college, having enough money for retirement, is there enough money for my wife and kids if/when I die, how will we pay the bills if I become disabled, will I have enough money if I have to go into a nursing home, etc....
Now, I have to tell you Ed and I always feel a little pleased about this new-found wisdom of our clients, because these are common issues that we alert our clients to quite often. Did I mention "often"? Good, because it is very often. But that warm, satisfied feeling sometimes doesn't last long when the college fund is for Johnny who is starting his senior year at high school, or the retirement funding is for Bill and Marsha who would like to retire in five years, or Francis who is now very concerned about the cost of long-term care because she is having a hip replacement in four weeks, etc..
Just like a multivitamin, which is most effective taken well in advance and as a preventative to getting sick, financial solutions are best developed and implemented well in advance of the time they become "sudden concerns".
Now I am wondering what else I didn't teach my kids. Is there a statute of limitations for parenting?
Disclaimer: The daughter referred to in this blog may or may not have actually said the exact words attributed to her and I may or may not have taken a little literary license.
When to Take a Multivitamin
