Wednesday 14 September 2016

Originally posted on Facebook as "Financial Planning Tip April 23, 2016-003 ~ Scenario Planning"

"For some persons there is a plan for today's living, there is the worst case scenario and there is the "absolutely worst case scenario"

In some instances the "absolutely worst case scenario" may be living on retirement income (read T&T NIS retirement benefit) for an absolutely long time, (which some persons have committed to at this time).

For an optimist, living on that amount of income may not be much of a challenge as there may be things that they learnt that  will come back "naturally" into play and which may have a positive impact on their life financially.

Perhaps it may be  because they may work by instinct in lots of ways and there is the creation of a flow to things that makes everything seem effortless to others. 

On the other hand perhaps when they retire, things may have changed in the country and their skills at the time of retirement may take them into retirement effortlessly.

For them, during the "absolutely worst case scenario time" they may take the "bull by the horns" and try to make the "retirement life" work at this time and spend time on resolving some of their current costs (read outflows).

This evaluation may make allow persons able to  face the next phase of their actual retirement in a better position!!!  They may take the opportunity to learn new skills, such as gardening, planting stuff which they can learn to eat or which they like to eat, balance their long term harvests with short term growth items (develop planning skills on a small scale.)  For example cassava is a root crop which can take 6-9 months to harvest, the risk being that  the yield on the crop may be uncertain... One of the good things about growing cassava is that you may try to put the plant  back in the soil if you are not happy with the harvest and see if  it (the plant) will re start growing or perhaps you can check discretely or growth of produce from time to time prior to harvesting...

Melongene, beans and tomatoes are good short term crops, each with their own challenges.... One of the challenges of growing melongene to eat as a means of saving funds  might be  that  the  cost of the complementary items being exorbitant and may remove any savings which you may have earmarked for putting away.  For example, the prices of cheeses may rise over time or imports may make items in a recipe a bit pricey which may impact on the use of this item as a frequent meal item.

Tomatoes may require skills and equipment for a bountiful crop. This  may make it a second year investment, especially if you are evaluating the quality of the soil where you live, the weather and  your choices for the next year. 

Thus beans may be a better choice for you  in the first year as it may be fairly effortless to manage for some persons, can be sold and may have as much if not more dining options than tomatoes, that is on  a cost savings basis... One of the challenges of beans is that it may require a bit of permanent structure tor the vines to spread. This may impact on the expected yield. These requirements  may make the cost and cash outflows  of beans higher than those involved in growing tomatoes.

Of course the optimist  may have fun along the way as they enjoy challenges and creating solutions!!!! The trick may be to determine when you are willing to try something new and having someone to tell you, ok, let's try something else!!!

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