Three Wishes: Why Wishing is No Substitute for Financial Planning

“Once upon a time...”

Do those words call up an image for you? ...A fantasy, perhaps, of a fairy tale princess who ends up with a handsome prince? If so, you’re not alone. Most of us as children heard fairy tales from our parents. We saw the movies. We read the books. Those stories all had lessons, some more obvious, and some quite subtle. As children, we had our own unique ways of interpreting what these lessons meant to us.

Well, we’re adults now, and it’s our turn to read the stories to our kids. Have you ever stopped to think about what the lessons mean to you now? Many of the teachings still apply, but in more complex ways than we may have previously considered.

Nowhere is this truer than in your financial life. Take for instance, the story of the Three Wishes.