Today vs. Tomorrow

Let me preface this post by saying that I don't mean to sound negative. Remember, these are just some of my thoughts.
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We're told from an early age to save our money. At a minimum 10% they say. With time, we're told, that money will grow and will be there for us later in life when we need it.

Some of us have also been told about the power of interest. Obviously related to savings, but when explained and really understood, underscores the power of saving your money. It makes it easier and more justifiable to save your money.

I remember a presentation I attended during orientation at my first job that offered a retirement account. I was told at the time that every dollar I socked away in the account would turn into $128 dollars by the time I retired. Wow! I'd be a fool not to save, right?

So, armed with this invaluable knowledge, I busily started working to save so that I could get that interest working for me. I've lived this paradigm now for quite a few years and have definitely started to see the machine work for me and my wife. We work and work, and save and save. Lofty ambitions it seems require stressful jobs so there is a lot of stress in our life. We have to work long hours and that's hardly any fun, but as I said, we see the machine working for us so all is good, right?

Or is it?

As I mentioned, we work and work and stress and stress. Often times, we have trouble separating work from our personal life. We miss parties, we miss events, we miss friends, we miss family, we miss each other. I guess we justify it by saying that it'll all be worth it someday.

... someday...

What if someday never comes? What if we wake up one day and realize we're 50 and haven't lived? I guess the thought is that by then we'll able to start living. We shouldn't have to work anymore (assuming we can walk away from it). But what life will we have to start living at that point? Worse still, what if we aren't around to enjoy those times we're working so hard towards? Who knows what the future holds...

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Mental note to self... stop working, go home, live a little... have a beer or two... don't worry so much damn it!

P.S. It's merely a coincidence that this post was today, Valentine's Day. There is no deeper reason.