How are you going to prepare for the next season?
The first day of autumn is around the corner already, and the weather is cooling down (thankfully!). It now feels like the summer wasn’t that brutal after all here in Las Vegas?!
The shorter days and refreshing nights have me thinking of change, becoming more of a homebody and feeling introspective.
I had to question why and instead of just sitting quietly with my thoughts and figuring it out I of course asked Google.
Autumn reminds us of the transience of everything. We have experienced the budding of life in spring and the flowerings and profusions of summer. Now the leaves fall, and bare branches remind us of the fleeting nature of all things.
Our lives really do follow the natural flow of the seasons and as sure as one season follows the next, so too will our lives and we will have to be reminded of our life’s relative brevity. With this in mind, it’s a great time to check in with yourself and reset.
As Benjamin Franklin famously said, ““If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
The first recommendation from us at Phillips Ballenger is to check in with your finances.
The summer may have found you extending yourself to give the kids that extra bit of fun; or maybe that dream vacation you took wasn’t actually ‘all-inclusive’. Now is the time to hunker down, take a break, and perhaps cut back a bit on those extravagant dinners and focus on saving, to ‘prepare for the winter’. And, of course by ‘winter’, we mean that hard-hitting week of holiday spending in December!
Secondly, if you have an existing Estate Plan, pull it out and review the details. A lot can change over a year or even just a season. Sit down with your estate planning attorney and discuss any updates that you may need. Remember, small tweaks and changes are necessary as time goes by, and what seems like a small update could greatly help your loved ones.
If you don’t have an Estate Plan in place, get one! There are many options available these days so there is no excuse not to plan for your Legacy!
Lastly, the Fall may have you feeling like letting go and releasing anything that has become burdensome. One of the best ways to do so is by giving.
"Generosity has such power because it is characterized by the inner quality of letting go or relinquishing. Being able to let go, to give up, to renounce, to give generously — these capacities spring from the same source within us. When we practice generosity, we open to all of these liberating qualities simultaneously. They carry us to a profound knowing of freedom, and they also are the loving expression of that same state of freedom."
Fall, then, is the perfect season to give generously of your time and talents to others.
In Estate Planning terms, this could be fulfilled by going through your Trust or forming a Trust that clearly delineates how and to whom you would want to leave your estate to.
We urge you to not let this season go by without some purposeful action on your behalf. Call us today for ideas on how you can create the perfect plan ‘to let go’ this season with purpose and meaning. Call Tiffany Ballenger Floyd Esq. today to schedule an in-depth consultation at Phillips Ballenger, 702-997-5701
Winter will indeed come, so prepare to be warm, satisfied and joyful after the seasons of relinquishing.
- By Jodie Sacco, © 2019, Phillips Ballenger, PLLC
Photo by Maddy Baker on Unsplash