Will You Get Eaten by the Big Bad Wolf?
The story of the Three Little Pigs is an excellent story that can help illustrate the importance of deferred gratification, which if learned, can help carry you far in your life and finances. There will always be storms or wolves that will come our way in life, whether that be literally, financially, medically or anything else that life can and will throw at us. Let’s look at how the different pigs approached their decisions, and how that faired when the big bad wolf came.
When the first little pig set out to build his new life, he didn’t want to spend much time working and was ready to get on with play. The first pig found the easiest and cheapest material, straw, to build his home. Was this being lazy, cheap, or simply that he couldn’t wait to have his house built? Either way, the first pig built his house more quickly using the most fragile material, so when the big bad wolf came, the first little pig’s house had no chance and crumbled quickly.
The second little pig chose sticks as the material to construct his house. Sturdier than straw, but sticks can be just as fragile when it comes to holding up against certain life elements. Again, was this a cheaper way of building his house, or that he simply didn’t want to put the time and effort into using stronger materials? Either way, we all know how it ended for the second pig. When the big bad wolf came, his house didn’t stand a chance, and it crumbled quickly.
Now, the third little pig was able to distinguish the difference between instant gratification (which the first two pigs couldn’t see past) and deferred gratification, so he chose to build his house out of bricks. The third pig knew that if he spent a little more time, money, and effort now, it could pay off bigger for him in the long run. Brick was a more expensive and time-intensive material, and the wolf was not able to make the third pig’s house shake or shutter. It stood tall and strong saving the third pig and everything he worked hard for.
Sometimes life tries to throw all kinds of terrible stuff our way. Just look at the last couple of years. It’s not fun to think about, but it is something we all need to hear and try to prepare for. What steps are you taking to ensure you and everything you’ve worked hard for will not get eaten or blown away when the wolf or storms of life come? Will you be able to withstand a job loss or limited work hours, a stock market crash, banks freezing or closing, another pandemic limiting when and how you can shop and what you can buy, and/or more supply chain issues again limiting what products are available in the stores? Will any of these make your house crumble?
Which pig will you be?
Here are a few tips to consider when making your long-term plan. These could help keep you and your house standing when life sends a wolf or a storm your way.
Have an emergency fund – Just like we buy health, home, and auto insurance, this is insurance for everything else. Think about cash on hand and cash in the bank.
Make sure your money is well diversified – Diversified not only in investment sectors but in types of banks as well.
DO NOT owe money!
Keep at least a small stock up on hand of food, water, medicine, and supplies.
Work on your health – This is your biggest asset.
Work on self-sufficiency – The more self-sufficient you are, the less affected you will be with some of the things life likes to throw at us.
Again, these are just a few ideas to consider. If you would like to learn more about these or get other ideas, please read my Lessons of 2020 page to get a more in-depth look at ways to better prepare, and please let me know if you have any other tips or ideas. I would love to hear them, and I’m sure others would love to learn from them as well.
