All Things Financial Planning Blog

Okay, so my nine year old daughter Janae is competing in her first Science Olympiad. Teams from all across Dekalb County, Georgia, come together to compete in events like Picture This, Pastamobile, Circuit Wizardry and the like. After Janae went into her second competition, Animal, Vegetable or Mineral, the proctor closed the door and my wife and I decided to go to the gym to sit down until that competition was over.

As it turns out we picked a seat that gave us a terrific view of the Egg Drop Contest. The goal of this contest is for the kids to design a device that can contain an egg in such a fashion that it can be dropped from a height of 20 feet and not break when it hits the ground. After talking to one of the team coaches, I discovered that this event was the most popular. I’m still not sure if it was so popular because the kids were more interested in protecting their eggs or because they were hopeful of witnessing the inevitable cracked egg.

I couldn’t stop myself from thinking “It would be great if we could start teaching lessons about protecting what will be the most important egg in their lives. Their nest egg.” The kids had the benefit of practicing prior to the event. If the egg did not make it during an attempt, no big deal. Reach into the carton and grab another egg. When it comes to protecting our nest egg we don’t have that luxury. That makes it that much more important that we are very careful to make wise decisions at the very beginning.

When it comes to your investment portfolio, are all of your eggs in one basket? Or did you protect your nest egg by diversifying? Are you properly insured against the unexpected hiccups in life? The bank required you to get insurance on your home before giving you a mortgage. The state requires you to have insurance before driving your car on public roads. But according to any number of studies, most of us do not have enough life or disability insurance. Have you gotten a will or executed medical directives? None of this is fun stuff to think about but it is very much needed.

Take the time to evaluate your personal situation. If you don’t know where to start there are tools available to you. Try the free Financial Road Map. This is a great place to get a quick look at your situation and determine if you’re taking some of the right steps to protect your personal egg. If you determine that you are not quite where you want to be, there is no better time than now to begin making changes. If you are headed in the right direction, celebrate a little. Just like Janae and her Mighty Wynbrooke Wolverine teammates when the announcer called out their names for winning first place in one of the events; protecting your nest egg is cause for celebration. Why let the kids have all the fun?

Lee Baker, CFP®
President
Apex Financial Services
Tucker, GA