Financial Lessons for Father’s Day
Gone are the days of Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best. In fact, statistics indicate that there are some 1.4 million stay-at-home dads, a number that has doubled over the last 10 years. That’s not to say that in a lot of households in America, patriarchal traditions still remain, but the social landscape certainly has taken on a different look.
We celebrate dads of all roles this Father’s Day, whether it’s dad who disappears in the early hours of the morning to work a long day and bring home the bacon to support a family, or the doting father who gets up in the middle of the night to see if baby is still breathing.
Here is some Father’s Day financial wisdom that we learned from our dads:
Be disciplined
Self-discipline is a virtue that takes some time to grow into as a child, especially when it comes to not eating that extra piece of cake or wanting that toy that you can’t afford. The same applies to finances.
Fathers teach their children that even within the settings of a recreational activity, we need boundaries. Baseball is a great example. Three strikes and you’re out. In order to succeed at a game, you need to know what the rules are and how to win within the boundaries of that game.
In the financial sphere, the wisdom is that investors should follow a disciplined, rules-based path toward building wealth.
Reach for your goals
There’s something timeless and nostalgic about playing sports with dad. Throwing the ball back and forth on the front lawn or in the park. These are the moments that stick with us as children. And in sport we can glean an important lesson for financial wisdom.
Work hard, overcome obstacles, stay focused on your goals.
The surest path to wealth comes from setting achievable goals and investing regularly.
Get Back Up
Fall down three times, get up four times. As children we learn that when we take a tumble and get a scrape on the elbow, dad will be there to help us up and dust us off. The lesson is that we’re stronger than we think, even when we take a risk and fail.
Financial markets can cause a “scraped elbow” once in a while. But when faced with these setbacks, the important thing is to get back up, readjust, and keep shooting for our financial goals.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.
To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law.
Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances.
These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable– we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.
David Lerner Associates does not provide tax or legal advice. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. Member FINRA & SIPC