How to Plan Right Now
Stop for a moment and think about all of the change that has occurred since we entered this decade less than 2 years ago.
Who would have thought the world would be set back on its heels? Several times in the past week I have had conversations about how busy it is for everyone. Everyone seems to be moving at mach speed in some way or another. The irony is that in March of 2020, I recall conversations about the silver lining in this Pandemic – that surely, if will force us to slow down. We will finally stop and smell the roses, focus on the most important things in life, breathe… Not so much.
The world has changed a lot. And is continuing to change a lot. And there is more change coming.
Change can be good, but when it comes so hard and so fast; it can be paralyzing. How many times has Congress changed their tax proposals in regard to the 3.5 trillion-dollar bill? Accordingly, how many times have you thrown your hands up at what is happening. We think it is out of our control, so there is nothing we can do about it. This paralysis creates its own ‘wait and see’ plan.
Truth be told, this could be very dangerous. There is A LOT of change potentially coming down the pike for business owners, farmers and ranchers, successful wage earners, and those that have built a financial legacy. Truth be told, this ‘wait and see’ plan may actually mean you will lose your ability to plan.
There is a significant amount of the proposed tax legislation that would take away tools to help you accomplish the goals for yourself, your family, and your business. If you wait, who knows?
Yes. It is hard to plan when the pendulum in D.C. swings so hard back and forth. Yes. It is hard to plan when you aren’t even certain what you want. But yes. It will only get harder.
The House Ways and Means Committee proposal is out. As I am writing this, a vote may or may not happen today. In it are significant changes from President Biden’s initial proposal. Some are favorable to the parties mentioned earlier and some are not. Some would be effective as of September 2021 if they are written into law. The devil, as they say, is in the details.
The problem with waiting is two-fold, but the enemy of both is the same—Time! Waiting may eliminate opportunities that currently exist and may cost you more in the end.
We wrote a piece a few weeks ago Don’t Begin with the End in Mind. We think the “End in Mind” is the here and now—whatever we are dealing with today. Maybe you are selling a business or piece of real estate. Maybe you are retiring. Maybe you are focused on how to pass your business or legacy to children tax efficiently. A good result is the “End in Mind,” but in reality, it isn’t.
Are you stopping to look at your life in its entirety? If you put a jigsaw puzzle together, what is the most important part? The box!
Every piece of your life and every piece of your success is merely a part of this picture. How can you put a lifetime of puzzle pieces together overnight? When you wait until the last hour, you will have three choices:
#1…Pull an all-nighter and hope you get the puzzle right.
#2… Put together only the parts of the puzzle that are foremost in your mind.
#3…Use a cookie-cutter puzzle instead of your own.
Or – you start now! Start with what is most important to you. If this is your last day on earth and you are looking back at your life, what needs to have happened for you to feel good about it? What regrets do you not want to have? What needs to change? Then spend your time piecing together all these pieces of your life and success.
To build your plan, you have to start with where you are. You don’t need Congress or any other external influences for this. Yet it takes time. Sometimes, it takes the most time. The funny thing is that if you get this in order, the rest falls into place. Your plan is just a tool. It’s what is most important to you that matters most.
The bottom line is that you have a lot you can plan for now, but you may not have as much to plan for if you wait!