Your Money Tree

I want you to close your eyes (but, not for long or you won’t be able to read my column) and imagine what life would be like if you had a money tree that grew in your back yard.  Any time you needed to buy something you could just go out and pick a few bills off the branches.  Now if this was true, how would you take care of it?  I know I would water it everyday, I would put up a fence around it to keep out harmful risks, I would make sure the soil was full of nutrients, I would prune it in order to maximize the amount of fruit, or money in this case, that it would bear and I would do everything in my power to protect it from disease, death or harmful parasites.

You may think this is a joke but in fact we all have a money tree. It called “You”.  Over your lifetime you will continue to bear fruit (Money) by working.  Now you just said if you had a money tree you would take very good care of it.  You would do anything it takes to ensure it continues to bear fruit or Money in this case.  Are you doing that with yourself?  Are you eating right, exercising, pruning, protecting…??

What happens if you are sick or injured or even die?  What do you think happens to your fruit?  It stops coming in…doesn’t it?  Unless you have taken the proper steps to protect yourself against the risk of death, illness or injury you will have a fruitless tree.  There are many ways to protect yourself against these risks.  First, take care of yourself, eat properly, exercise and put a good financial plan in place that can protect you and your family in case you stop bearing fruit.  There are many products on the market today such as life insurance, disability insurance and critical illness insurance that could be put into place at a very reasonable cost when compared to the alternative.  A dead or debilitated tree!

Remember at the start, how you felt when you imagined what it would be like to have a money tree and how you would nurture and take care of it?  Well, you do and it’s time for you to do everything in your power to protect, nurture and prolong the life of your money tree.  If you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for your family and anyone else who relies on the fruit from your money tree.  It Makes cents to me!