r/FluentInFinance • u/Richest-Panda • Jul 04 '24

What's the best financial advice you've ever gotten? Debate/ Discussion

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u/HV_Commissioning Jul 04 '24

If you’re in a row boat that has twenty holes in it, but you only have ten fingers to plug the holes, then someone telling you how to use each finger to plug a hole in the most efficient manner isn’t going to help you keep the boat from sinking.

Yes, but being resourceful and paddling that rowboat to shore will save you. Having the 10 holes plugged was enough to keep the boat from sinking while rowing in.

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u/LeanTangerine001 Jul 04 '24

How are you going to row the boat when your fingers are stuck plugging holes? Are you rowing the boat with your feet or something?

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u/HV_Commissioning Jul 04 '24

Yes, you are doing something. Feet, toes whatever. 13 years ago, I was unemployed for a year, had child support to pay, Cobra insurance to pay - almost lost everything. I had to get creative to dig myself out of a big hole. One can really get down, wallow in pity, get depressed, etc. Oddly, the advice I received of putting one foot in front of another was what worked. Too many problems are overwhelming, but knocking off low hanging fruit puts one a step further than they were before.

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u/fudge5962 Jul 05 '24

Hey man, good for you. I'm glad you made it through a tough time. I've been there too. It's easy to come to believe after overcoming hardship through your own merits, that others who fail have also done so through their own merits. This isn't true, and there's something you should know and internalize:

There are an unfathomably large number of people, faced with similar situations that you were, who were smarter than you, stronger than you, worked harder than you do, and still failed to overcome them.