Purposeful Planning For Real Estate Investors Must Be Flexible ‘Cuz Life Happens

Posted @ 12:04 am - Filed under Purposeful Planning, Sominex Account, Investment Lessons, RE Investment Practice

Trying always to keep Grandma’s wisdom at my beck and call, a client reminded me today of one of her favorite nuggets. She said, “Man plans, God laughs.” In other words, plans are wise, but it’s important to understand, we’re not in charge. Setting your agenda in concrete, without the flexibility to go with the flow, can be your undoing.

To paraphrase one of the most often seen bumper stickers, ‘Life Happens’.

Flexibility with your Purposeful Plan is a state of mind. Sure, we can install a degree of flexibility in most Plans, but it almost always comes down to mindset — the client’s attitude when faced with outside forces affecting the direction of their Plan.

Things come up with family, jobs cause moves, divorce rears its ugly head, and all the other scenarios causing us to change or even abandon the best of Plans. When this happens, once the surprise wears off and relentless reality remains at your door, implementing what your flexible Plan allows is imperative. As life teaches us at an early age, changes from the outside usually proceed using the timing of everything and everyone but us.

Sound familiar?

Here’s what I tell clients, whether they’re new or have been with us forever.

It’s my job to be brutally objective when constructing your Purposeful Plan. It’s your job to bring subjectivity and your own comfort zone to the table. Once we’ve established ground supporting both a solid plan while remaining solidly in your comfort zone — we’re good to go.

The final arbiter of any collisions of my objectivity and your comfort zone is your comfort zone. I do reserve the privilege to make the case for my approach once — but only once. If you’re still feeling squeamish, your train is the one we’re boarding. This assumes of course, that your way isn’t harmful in any way. (Which hardly ever happens.)

We never forget — it’s your money.

Sometimes it’s my comfort zone coming into play. Most of the time it concerns the size of your Sominex Account. (Ambien for those under 40) Those here for the first time — that’s my name for a client’s cash reserves. You know, something allowing you to sleep well at night, even in relatively stressful times. Some folks are braver than is safe. I’ve had new clients disagree with me over the size of their Sominex Account. You’re not the only one having to feel good about the amount of your cash reserves. I have to sleep too.

Our policy is to error on the side of too large rather than too small when it comes to cash reserves. Will the congregation help me out with a heartfelt Duh?!

Murphy knows where everyone lives, even you. Hard experience has taught me — it’ll be your turn in his barrel sooner or later. If the sun keeps setting in the west, Murphy will some day knock on your door, and it won’t be a social visit. We’re Old School about this — and don’t compromise — ever. Many times we’ve refused to work with folks ‘cuz they insisted on either eschewing cash reserves altogether (What!?) or setting aside a woefully insufficient amount to satisfy my sleep requirements. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens.

Still, remember our main point here — flexibility. When life zigs instead of zags, sometimes your Purposeful Plan is the answer. Changing course in midstream isn’t usually on our A-List of things to do today. But when Life Happens, and it does to all of us, having the luxury of having already mentally prepared yourself will help big time. Again, it’s a state of mind. Cash reserves are helpful, but aren’t designed to handle everything.

Flexibility. No Plan is sacrosanct.

Just about everything else in life is more valuable than riches. I wish I could relate to you what inspired this post, but discretion dictates otherwise. Suffice to say, in the next couple days I’ll be undoing, in the bottom of the ninth inning, a gorgeous Purposeful Plan. Why? ‘Cuz a client has made the value judgment that family holds sway over their future net worth. I support their decision enthusiastically and without reservation.

So tomorrow and Friday I’ll be moving Heaven and Earth to make things happen their way. The other side will simply have to understand, and I’m almost sure they will.

Family trumps net worth every time. I’ll sleep like a baby tonight.

Life Happens.

Man plans, God laughs. Flexibility.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 12:04 am and is filed under Purposeful Planning, Sominex Account, Investment Lessons, RE Investment Practice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.