What if you had One Month to Live?

I am teaching a 6 week class with the title “One Month to live” based on the New York Times bestseller with the same name, written by Kerry and Chris Shook. The basic premise or question posed in the book is what would you be doing different if you knew you only had one month to live? What would matter to you? What would change?

The idea behind it is that if we would live differently because we knew we only had one month to live, then we should be living that way now – not waiting until it is too late. Living a life with no regrets.

Although it does not directly address finances, it did get me to thinking – what would I change financially if I knew I would die soon?

• Would I wish I had more Life Insurance?
• Would I take that vacation I always dreamed of?
• Would I wish I had started my own business?
• Would I change my spending or saving habits?

Now obviously we can’t change things completely because we do have a life to live. It would be  irresponsible to have no savings, no retirement. But it did cause me to pause – I don’t always want to be waiting for tomorrow. There needs to be a balance between living for today and saving for tomorrow. I hope I am striking the right balance. What about you?