Flickr! photo by karynsig
A popular forum that I frequent has some of its forummers throwing around this phrase that has stuck to me in my journey towards financial freedom.
The saying is simple and yet profound:
Expect the unexpected
The potholes of life
Life’s journey is never completely smooth. Life throws you some potholes and you have to learn to ride out the bumps they present. My life has gone through a number of potholes in the past year. The birth of my daughter has allowed my spouse and I to fully experience the joys and pains of taking care of a baby girl.
The joy is there surely, when my daughter laughs and gurgles when I hold her and kiss her. The pain is there too, dealing with a sick child and worried spouse and don’t let people fool you that having a child is all milk and honey!
It’s tough tough tough for first-time parents especially if you have been more career focussed for the first 10+ years of your life. Looking back at the past year, I’m glad to have survived the initial 3 to 6 months which were the toughest I’ve faced compared to my national service in the Singapore Armed Forces and compared to job assignments. Nothing prepares you for parenthood!
I’ve learnt from my 1st year of parenthood, to “expect the unexpected.”
How to navigate the potholes
The key in navigating the potfholes in life is to be prepared for the unexpected. To set plans in place but be flexible enough to know that things happen outside of your plan and you need to adapt and do the best that you can do.
I have encountered this many times as my daughter is growing up. From confinement nannies to maids to infantcare to managing inter-personal group dynamics between spouse, mother/mother-in-law, maid, myself etc. It left me at times gasping for air and yearning for freedom.
What did I learn from the past one year?
Expect the unexpected.
Learn to let go. Letting go doesn’t mean getting out of your responsibilities and running away from the problem. Letting go means to accept that I am human and I can make mistakes. So long as the mistake is not catastrophic and wipes everything out, I can survive and continue to thrive.
Learn from the mistakes and go forward.
How does that apply to our financial freedom journey? Plenty! In investments, I’ve learnt through the current recession and paper losses in my equity portfolio on maintaining the discipline of not being 100% invested in any one asset class. In this case is to avoid 100% in equities (stocks and shares).
This recession keeps me grounded to live within my means because the only way to plan for unexpected expenditures, mini-financial situations, drastic illiquidity of investment assets is to have a buffer: 3 to 6 month emergency fund as well as other more liquid assets to tap on.
The more I see the uncertainty in the markets, the more determined I am to be frugal and thrify and to focus on health. Because the unexpected typically comes not from the income side of things but the expenses. As a parent, I realise that my daughter now depends on my spouse and I for her every need.
My health is no longer my own concern but rather than of the entire family. No more excuses to let my body deteriorate. Fruits + veggies and home cooked meals are in. I need to exercise more and to keep myself healthy for my daughter’s sake.
Learning to prioritise health and wealth accumulation over spending and lifestyle consumption better prepares me for the unexpected going forward. I have more room to move to get my own finances back on track towards my target in financial freedom. The simple things like a good night’s rest and a good book are better ways to enjoy life rather than to consume, consume and consume.
How do you expect the unexpected in your journey towards financial freedom?
Share with Panzer by leaving a comment.
Be well and prosper.
P.S. True story– not long after this post was written, I almost got drenched by a leaky styrofoam cup while buying self-service coffee from the cafeteria. First time it has happened to me getting a leaky styrofoam cup! Expect the unexpected! hahaha…
saVings says:
Hi Panzer, Hope that hot cup of coffee didn’t hurt you too badly. Thanks for reminding all that life can be unpredictable.
Kathryn Wee says:
Hi Panzer,
I have a rather note to share with you but I do not want to share it publicly. Is there an email which I can email you?
Regards
Kathryn
panzer says:
Dear Kathryn
Yes, you can reach me at rod.loh [at] gmail.com
Be well and prosper.
panzer says:
Dear saVings
No worries, luckily the coffee was not boiling hot….
After reading “The Black Swan” by Nicholas Nassim Taleb, I believe the world is much more random that we think it is.
Dancerene says:
“So long as the mistake is not catastrophic and wipes everything out, I can survive and continue to thrive.”
You must survive and continue to thrive even if the mistake is catastrophic and wipes everything out! Your daughter depends on you for her every need.
“How do you expect the unexpected in your journey towards financial freedom?”
If one can expect the unexpected, then the unexpected will no longer be unexpected, right?
We can only, as much as we can, given the currently available resources, be prepared for events that we don’t wish will happen but have enough reasons to believe could happen.
Celes | EmbraceLiving.Net says:
Hey Panzer!
Great article. This reminds me of the adage “The only thing constant is change”. That’s all the more true in our very dynamic world today. I really love change because it’s from these changes that we grow and learn 
Celes | EmbraceLiving.Net’s last blog post..How To Increase Your Self-Confidence
panzer says:
Dancerene
Thanks for the timely reminder that my daughter depends on me (and my spouse too!). Catastrophic events are mitigated to some extent by insurance.
Hahah… you are quite right to point out that if we can expect the unexpected then it becomes expected. I am thinking more along the lines of investing in preparedness, in the ability to make decisions that allow us to move closer to financial freedom.
Be well and prosper.
panzer says:
Celes
Thanks for your feedback. Yes, “Change is the only certainty!”
I’m impressed at your enthusiasm towards change. As my daughter grows older, I realise I prefer less change than more change. But I accept the reality that change is inevitable. Thus, I am open to building up mechanisms to cope with change and to be able to adapt as things pan out in ways we could never have predicted.
If you have time, you may want to read Nicholas Nassim Taleb’s “The Black Swan” or “Fooled by Randomness”. His writing is somewhat idiosyncratic but packed with lots of real life intellectual rigour coupled with his sardonic wit.
Be well and prosper.