Tend your Garden.

May 31st,  2024  [4 min. read]

By Drew W. Boyer, CFP®

Back in 2020, extraordinary things happened.  

People being stuck at home looked around and asked themselves, ‘what now?’ Their zoom attire resembled mullets (business on top, party on the bottom), they created neighborhood ‘bubbles’ for their children to play in and driveway happy hours, and finished all their honey to-do lists. We had all the time in the world to decide ‘what now?’ and how you spent it said a lot about you.  

Some people, like my father-in-law, wrote a memoir of he and his wife’s escape from East-to-West Berlin in the trunks of cars. I heard it’s fascinating, but it’s all in German, so I’m waiting on the English version.

Unbeknownst to me, I had signed up for my long overdue CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ courses in September 2019.  By the time COVID shut down everything, I really had no idea what others were going through because I had dedicated an entire year to it.  

One thing I did to stay sane between family, work, and studying was to go on five mile runs almost every morning.  It was great to see so many other runners, walkers, and bikers out using our local bike path and hit up our great Columbus Metroparks. They’re almost all full anyday, to this day.

By May of 2020, I practiced what I do every spring—plant our family garden with my daughter's help. I grew up on a fruit and vegetable farm, so I’ve recreated it as a hobby-sized garden in our backyard for fun, not work. It’s not two acres of strawberries; it’s two four-foot, three-tier beds we can watch grow out our back window. It’s not a half-acre garden full of every vegetable to can; it's a four-foot by twenty-foot plot of lettuces, herbs, tomatoes, and peppers protected by fencing to keep the deer out, so only we can forage as crops ripen.

There’s something about getting your hands dirty, weeding, fertilizing, and tending a garden that’s good for your soul. Especially if you are stuck inside your house with nowhere to go or anything to do. It kept me balanced with everything I had going on.

Then, as I looked on social media, I was astonished to see the same thing happening in other’s backyards. People were finally planting their own gardens. Perhaps because they always wanted to, but never had enough ‘time’.  Maybe out of fear as well- after the toilet paper rationing, they wanted to take their own food supply more seriously. 

At any rate, it was great and I hope people have kept up their good habits and dropped the bad ones. (Except for neighborhood driveway happy hours, those provided much relief and normalcy.)

What about money?  People saved more because there was less to do and spend on. Life got simpler. I hope we can remember that if you need to save more now.

Did anyone plan ahead? Perhaps for travel only, between living in the moment and looking forward to the restrictions ending. 

Did you ever think about your retirement or investments? I can honestly say not more than I usually do. It is my profession, but after the sharp COVID market drop and V-shaped recovery post-CARES Act and Federal Reserve Intervention, I didn’t have time to fret about it. I’m sure others felt the same way.

After all, you can only control how you react to what life throws at you.

It’s 2024 now and the world is ‘normalizing’ after a severe shock to the system. Did you keep your good habits and lose the bad? Have you started planning ahead for your financial goals or have you gone back to normal and spend everything you make? Do you pay attention to your investments or just throwing dollars every pay towards something without knowing if it’s enough or what it’s invested in?

Did you ever plant your garden? If so, you’ve got practical knowledge to approach your financial future. First, just get started. Then you’ll need to allocate your investments just like the varieties of vegetables, fruits, and herbs you planted- it’s never in one thing. Lastly, you need to tend it often to keep out the weeds, pests, and disease just like reviewing your financial plans when life changes. 

The reward is watching it grow, knowing you were hands on and being proactive, and ultimately tasting the fruits of your labor. Everything great is earned- you just need to get started.

Plant your garden. Save for retirement.
Tend your garden. Make a financial plan.
Eat from your garden. Live the future you planned for.