Is the next one (OK, I am paraphrasing and mis-quoting Ben Hogan), but what is true for Golf is always true for Money as well. The actual quote is:
“The most important shot in golf is your next one.†-Ben Hogan
Off Season Up Close
You can’t undo what you have decided before, so it is fairly obvious that the most important decision(s) are the ones you have not made yet. You can try to learn from your previous mistakes but the only decisions you should be ruminating on are the ones you have not made.
For those purists, I am not saying that your previous decisions are unimportant or less important, just that they are already made, so work on your next decision, don’t dwell on the ones you already have made. If you have made bad decisions in the past, maybe the next financial decision will be a better one?
Now I have said before that Investing is Like Golf (in that you need to go back in time and get good at it then), but I must listen closer to the Golf Announcers as this one from “The Open” this past weekend was a true gem.
Make your next financial decision count.
Our next decision was to cut cable TV. After 2 phone calls and about 1/2 hour of our life we’ll never get back, it’s done. We can’t go back in the past and cut cable 9 years ago, but at least we won’t continue to get rooked for the next 9.
I think it is very beneficial to learn from your mistakes so your next decision is better.
True, but that makes that next decision that much more important too!