“The Essence of Finance Is Time Travel”

Balancing your budget seems like an easy task. Just spend less than you earn , right? If you’ve ever wondered why such a simple task can become so difficult, it is because optimizing your financial life requires significant time travel.

There are a couple of scenes in Back to the Future III where Doc has to explain to Marty why thinking in the fourth dimension is important to their plan. Of course, in 1885, the bridge they are aiming for does not exist, but when they get to 1985it will be there and they can pass it safely . Marty saw the world as it was, but Doc saw the world as it would be .

As personal finance writer Matt Levin explains, many of the principles of personal finance boil down to the same basic idea of ​​time travel. Being able to view your money, not only in terms of how much you have now, but in terms of how much you will have in the future, is critical to balancing your budget:

The essence of finance is time travel. Saving is moving resources from the present to the future; financing is the movement of resources from the future to the present.

When you save money from your current paycheck, you are building a metaphorical bridge that your future DeLorean can cross. By borrowing money with a credit card, you are taking money out of the pocket of your future. Sometimes real life makes decisions difficult , but if you start thinking about your money in the fourth dimension, you canmake your future good .

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