Month: March 2025

Bows all day, every day.

They also have some famous BFFs.

Safe to say, I’ll be purchasing more.

One of the common misconceptions about savings I hear bandied around a lot is that you have to have a LOT of it to have a safe, secure future. This belief often leads to financial paralysis, where people either feel overwhelmed and don’t start saving at all, or they stash money away without a clear purpose, leading to inefficient financial management.

What Is Your Savings for?

This issue stems largely from how we label our savings. Simply calling it “savings,” or even more specifically “emergency fund” or “rainy day savings,” doesn’t provide enough and will make things harder on you in the future, and isn’t at all customized to your life. When an unexpected expense arises, how do you determine if this is an emergency? Without clear, personalized boundaries, we either end up using savings too soon, or not using it at all.

Read more here: How and When to Use Your Emergency Fund.

For this reason, I encourage my financial coaching clients to carefully name their savings and assign each dollar a job – just as they do with their spending.

For example, it’s much easier to decide when to use a savings fund labeled “20% Drop in Income” than one simply called “emergency fund.” A financial downturn is NOT the time to be debating what constitutes an emergency. Naming your savings with specific purposes in mind allows you to make swift, confident financial decisions in times of need.

Finances Create Stress

This practice is especially beneficial for couples. Financial hardship is one of the biggest sources of stress in relationships, and vague or undefined savings can add to the tension, conflicts, and disagreement. By proactively assigning names and purposes to savings accounts, couples can reduce conflict and increase confidence in their financial security. Knowing exactly when to tap into savings and when to leave it untouched means you often don’t need to save as much overall to feel secure.

Think of it this way: You wouldn’t pile all your money together and call it “spending money.” Instead, you likely allocate portions to mortgage, groceries, transportation, and entertainment. Savings should be managed in the same way – by giving each dollar a designated job.

Savings vs. Investments: Understanding the Difference

Another major misconception is the conflation between savings and investments. While we need both to have a healthy financial life, they serve distinct purposes. Savings exist to be used when needed, and it needs to be liquid for that reason. On the other hand, investments exist to grow wealth over time and provide us with choices in the future. The problem arises when people try to make their savings do double duty – both as a safety net and as a means of earning returns.

The issue with this mindset is that when the time comes to use the money, people hesitate because it’s earning returns. This creates an internal conflict: Do I handle this emergency, or do I keep my money growing? It’s a no-win situation. If you pull from an investment-based savings fund during a downturn, you may be putting your future at risk, further compounding the financial stress.

Instead, I encourage my clients to keep savings and investments separate. Let your investments focus on long-term growth, and let your savings be there to cover expenses such as vacations, income loss, or major purchases. This way, when financial needs arise, you can shore up the ship in the moment while still ensuring your future needs will be met.

Further read, Do You Know How to Start Investing in a Way that Lines Up with Your Values?

The Key Takeaway

To build a secure financial future, we don’t need to emotionally hoard massive amounts of savings – we need well-structured savings. By carefully and intentionally naming savings accounts and distinguishing savings from investments, we create financial clarity, reduce stress, and ultimately make smarter financial choices. It’s not just about how much you save, but how effectively you manage those savings.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What do you use your savings for? Have you labeled separate accounts/pockets for different purposes? Do you use your savings for investing?

I can’t believe it, just as no one can
believe it: the famous 50th high school reunion has cropped up on me. The
sentiments have long been expressed: it went so fast. It seems like a cliché,
the 50th… are we really that old?

And then there’s the big sigh. And the
big question we each ask the one or two friends we’ve stayed in touch with all
these years. “Are you going to go?” And, “What’s the point?”

Read What Do You Look for in Friends After 60?

The Ladder

This sigh is different from the ones
you may have had in response to earlier reunions. The 10th reunion is about
competition left over from high school – seeing who’s still hot, who got fat,
who has the better job, who is married, who has kids.

High school rivalries, insecurities,
and cliques are still in play. There’s still the possibility of connecting with
a former love – or finding a new love.

Well, that’s a possibility at every
reunion, isn’t it? Rekindling.

The 20th reunion is when we’re well on
our way in life, though still comparing careers, children, marriages made,
divorces, money earned or not.

At the 30th, we’re in our primes, and
people are on second careers, divorced, starting over, moving. Life has been
“felt.” You are who you are and where you are in your life, and for the most
part, people have stopped comparing.

The 40th rolls around and you can’t
believe you’re – OMG! – 60! We quietly compare the wear and tear on our bodies.
It’s a very relaxed reunion.

Which is why when you get to the 50th,
you think, what’s the point? To see how old we’ve become? To see who looks
older or “worse” than you do? (“Who are all these old people?”)

Now it’s the grandchildren game –
who’s got some, who’s got none. Who’s living the happiest retirement, who’s
still proud to be working, and who’s not happy to be working.

The 50th is the reunion many people
opt out of, thinking, “I don’t need to do this again. We won’t ever see each
other again. What do we have in common really, anyway?”

Read Ageless Bonds: An Exploration of the Vital Importance of Friendships as We Grow Older.

It’s a Privilege to Go to Your 50th Reunion

When I was on the fence about going, I
asked our reunion coordinator (bless his heart!!!) to send me a list of deceased
classmates. Shock. Dismay.

That did it. They couldn’t go to the
reunion, but I could.

You should go to your 50th reunion for
the simple fact and joy that you’re still alive. It’s an honor and a privilege
to be able to attend. Being alive is the point: it’s everything. If your class
decides to hold a reunion after the 50th, an even higher percentage will be
gone.

Read Can Long-Term Friendships Endure in Later Life?

Don’t Live with Regret

I didn’t particularly want to go to my
50th, but when I asked myself the question I always ask myself when I’m waffling
about something, “Would you regret it if you didn’t go?” my answer was yes.

Yes, I would regret not going. I would
always wonder. I would say to myself: why were you being so silly? I booked the
plane and the hotel immediately and rallied my friends to join me.

Read The Bonds of Women’s Friendships: A Testament to Strength, Support, and Lifelong Evolution.

Talking About the Present, Not the Past

The 50th reunion is not about
comparing anymore. Nor is it time to talk about the past as we did at other
reunions. Rather, it’s about meeting as adults with long, rich lives behind us.

We meet each other anew, fresh, like
new people at a great cocktail party. We meet with compassion and love, peace
and goodwill. Now it’s time to talk about the present, how the world got to be
the way it is, politics, cultural events, and how we plan to live our old age.

Read Lasting Relationships with Family, Friends, Acquaintances, and Colleagues.

Like It or Not, It’s Your Tribe

Your high school class is a group of
people like no other. Many of your high school classmates you’ve known since
kindergarten! That’s pretty amazing.

And for better or worse, you spent the
formative years of your crucial, memorable, tortured adolescence together. You
are bound together by a collective consciousness that is precious and rare.

Read “Want to Be Friends?” We Don’t Say That Anymore, but Maybe We Should

Tips for Attending a Reunion  

Feeling nervous about your 50th reunion? These simple tips can help:  

Reconnect Ahead of Time  

Join your class’s Facebook group or email chain to break the ice and reconnect before the event.  

Be Open-Minded  

People change. Approach conversations with curiosity and kindness, focusing on the present rather than the past.  

Bring Memorabilia 

Yearbooks or old photos make great icebreakers and spark nostalgic conversations.  

Dress for Comfort  

Choose an outfit that’s comfortable and reflects your style.

Plan Conversations  

Have a few easy questions ready, like “What’s been keeping you busy these days?” or “Do you remember when…?”  

Take Care of Yourself  

Relax before the event, and allow time afterward to reflect and unwind. 

Read 10 Techniques to Help You Prepare for Your Big High School Reunion or Family Gathering.

Hey, It’s Iconic!

Go, if for no other reason then just
because it’s an iconic thing to do — “to go to your 50th high school reunion.”
Join the club, join the conversation.

As I navigate in my present day world,
I meet people and tell them I’m going to my 50th, and many of them say, “Oh,
it’s great, I went to mine!”

Join the party! Adolescence is iconic,
it never changes its stripes no matter how much tech is in the picture. Well,
so is a 50th high school reunion an iconic thing to do.

If I have made one person, who reads
this article, decide to go to their 50th reunion, I will consider my job well
done! Next up: a report on what happened at that memorable event!

Read Staying Social After 60: How to Make Someone’s Day by Watching for Opportunities to Connect.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What is your reasoning for going (or not going) to your 50^th high school reunion? If you already went, any thoughts to share? Let’s hear details from the frontlines!