6 • MARTIN H. RUBY
Outside-the-Box Thinking I have one request as we embark on this book’s journey together: open your mind and think outside the box. I’m going to give you a different lens through which to view your finances. It’s going to feel different from what you’ve done before. That’s good! Because we’re here to perform a savings check-up: to make sure conflicts aren’t standing in the way of your happy retirement. When people ask me what I mean by “thinking outside the box,” I’m reminded of a story from the early 1900s, where the automobile was just being introduced. A spokesman for Daimler Benz was asked about the future of cars: just how scalable was this new invention? The spokesman thought inside the box. Here was his answer: “There will never be a mass market for motorcars, because there is a limit on the number of chauffeurs available.” He was stuck in the box where every car needed a chauffeur. He couldn’t see outside the box, where individuals would enjoy driving themselves. He couldn’t see the personal automobile. The same is true with saving today. Too many of us are saying, “I accept the limitations of these strategies, because these strategies are the way people save. It’s just the reality of saving.” But, as you’ve probably guessed by now, we’re not going to approach your future inside the box. We’re going to take a step back, evaluate where you are today, determine where you want to be, and build a path from one to the other. Let’s get started. A quick note: Throughout this book, you’ll see me using the terms “401(k),” “IRA,” “qualified account” and “tax-deferred account” somewhat interchangeably. Regardless of the term, what we’re discussing is retirement savings accounts where your funds and earnings grow tax- deferred. So, call them what you like — now you’ll know what we’re talking about in the pages ahead.
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