Friday 29 June 2007

How will you live 15 years from now?

I did a quick experiment the other day. I imagine myself 15 years in the future. I guess that this is a typical thing that all of us do, especially planning for our future. Well, my experiment is little bit different. My five rules for the experiment are
  1. 15 years in the future
  2. no more additions to your family (pets included)
  3. same house
  4. same job
  5. same networth
So the point of the experiment is how my lifestyle would be like given the five rules.

First off, I would imagine that the environment around would have keep moving along. The cost of living would continue to rise, my children would have reached high school age and is a teen-angel and will need more money to live on. From the experiment, the 3 most significant conclusions that I came across are
  1. significant impact on the quality of life for the family - With the cost of living increasing, especially with a teens in the family, the quality of life for the family would be impacted. Things that we took are able to purchase currently would probably be out of our reach in 15 years time. We would not be to go on holidays and visit family in far distance places.
  2. education for children - whether you like it or not, quality education cost money. With less disposable income, we may not be able to send the kids to the best school possible and give them the best possible opportunities. I would really hate myself if I made them suffer for my lack of planning.
  3. health would suffer - my wife and I would be 15 years older, and would be in our middle ages. Unless we are super fit and really looked after ourselves now, our health would probably require higher maintenance. The cost of health insurance would also increase so the choice of where we maintained our health would be limited.
To tell your the truth, I would be really scare if I am really in that situation in 15 years time. I think that by doing this experiment, I am more focus in getting our family financial situation on track and moving along. It has certainly open my eyes up.

If you do the same experiment, what conclusions do you draw?

No comments: