Perspective is everything

Guest blogger – Ben Hutton
August 2023  •  5 min read

Perspective is everything

Big numbers are hard to put in perspective. We hear millions, billions and trillions thrown around a lot in finance, but it requires a real effort to think about how much that really is.

A useful way of gaining perspective is to turn it into time periods (helpfully calculated by NASA, so you know it’s accurate*).

If you went back in time for one million seconds, it would be Friday, 23rd June. 12 days.

If you went back in time for one billion seconds, it would be Sunday, 27th October 1991. Nearly 32 YEARS.

But the really mind blowing one is this…

If you went back in time for one trillion seconds, you’d be 32,000 years in the past. Days of the week would be irrelevant, you’d be more worried about the fact that ice sheets covered most of the UK, and your closest friend was this guy:

Perspective

So, when we hear that the UK currently has a national debt of around £2.5 trillion**, we can acknowledge that is a LOT of debt.

But we shouldn’t panic too much.

Because when you put what the UK has borrowed up against what the UK is worth, things look a little better.

And that’s what the debt/GDP ratio below does (all the way back to the reign of King James II).

Perspective

In 1815, after the Napoleonic wars, UK debt was £854 million – 1/3000th of today’s level. But that represented nearly 250% of GDP!

Today the debt/GDP ratio is 100%. Similar to most other developed nations, and not out of whack vs. history.

Perspective is everything!

Perspective is everything2023-12-01T12:12:29+00:00

THE CHERRY TREE

TODAY’S BLOG

THE CHERRY TREE

I think it is a Chinese proverb that ask:

When is the best time to plant a cherry tree? Ten Years ago.

When is the second best time to plant a cherry tree? Now

I love proverbs (and old adages … and frankly the odd cliché or two!), but I have often struggled with this particular one.

In my spectacularly naive early twenties, I supposed the proverb to be all about starting young and getting on with it; having goals and taking steps to achieve my objectives and ambitions.  And throughout my twenties I worked incredibly hard at ‘living this truth’.

Following the arrival of my son in my mid-twenties, my career nose-dived; before my beautiful boy was even six months old, I was made redundant. Self-employment followed before taking on a job I loathed (but stuck at for 12 months before acknowledging defeat) and finally ending in a short period of unemployment.

I learned some pretty tough lessons the hard way during those years.  I also learned some pretty awesome things about myself too – that I was up for the challenge; that I was resilient; that I was resourceful – and most importantly that I could reinvent myself and simply start over.

I could plant a cherry tree…

Proverbs to live by

CONSCIOUS THOUGHTFULNESS

It wasn’t so much about the fact that I would have to wait 10 years to taste its fruit; it was that I had actively and consciously with thoughtfulness and determination, set in motion a chain of events that I would relish, savour and enjoy over the coming years (it’s about the journey as much as the destination – well … I did warn you that I like a cliché!).

To me this proverb (as with most of them) means more than just one thing – it can have different meanings for different people and even different meanings for the same person over time.  The cherry tree proverb addresses procrastination, regret, hindsight, patience, a long-term mindset … but most importantly it makes a clear declaration that it is never too late to start!

NEVER TOO LATE

We had the honour recently of welcoming some new clients to the Solomon’s community who were well into their retirement, but recognised that they wanted to plant their cherry tree and it didn’t matter that they may or may not be around to see it bear fruit – just knowing that it will is enough.

We would always encourage people to get financial planning as ‘early’ as possible – so long as ‘leaving it late’ doesn’t become ‘leaving it’.  I will leave you with a final thought – financial planning is not the cherry tree itself – financial planning is the soil …

Debbie Harris
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk 
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk    Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

THE CHERRY TREE2023-12-01T12:13:04+00:00
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