Listen on the Pgh Dreamer’s Pod: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/meghan-greenwood/episodes/Whats-It-All-For-e29fiaa

Maybe you’re working a 60 hour week? Maybe you continue ditching friends when they ask you about getting together? Maybe you consistently put off til tomorrow what can and should be done today?

As you all know by now, I’m all for planning. It provides stability and control to an otherwise chaotic world. However, when the planning and the working becomes overwhelming to the point of not living your life, it’s important to re-evaluate our priorities.

I recently had a conversation with an older colleague. He has worked for the last 25 years to ensure that his family has a large investment strategy. He has now put his children through college and isn’t 100% happy with his job, although he shows up and does his best daily. We talk about retirement as a situation that is not too far off, but consistently, the topic shifts back to investing. Does he have enough money saved? Is enough of his money in the stock market? Is too much invested in a risky economy? It’s an all-consuming thought.

While I firmly believe in saving money and ensuring that you are financially secure in the later years of life (aka don’t frivolously spend), there also comes a point of diminishing return. Spending all of this time and energy in saving… but for what exactly? Instead of living life for the past 25 years, he has let the stock market cloud any sort of pleasure. He has held himself back from enjoying the little (and big) things with this elusive goal of “eventually”.

Balance is hard, but it is invaluable. There is value in putting money away for potentially harder health years ahead, but there is also value in spending a little to enjoy life while you are living. For example, my colleague expressed an interest in adventures – exploring new places, doing new things, experiencing what his town has to offer. This doesn’t have to cost big money or eat up major time, but instead, it is a mindset shift of living while you are present on this earth. See friends, venture to a new region of your city, eat the unique cuisine, try it out.

There are always ways to make more money. But we can’t make more time.