There is an old story about a kingdom of ducks. One day the king of the ducks decided to hold a conference and he called for all of the ducks to travel to the palace where he promised they would have an experience they would never forget. On the day of the conference the ducks began to arrive. They came by car, train, bicycle, skateboard, and all other methods of transportation, excited for the conference.
True to his word, the King had prepared an eventful conference full of enjoyable activities and it all led up to the final experience that he had prepared. He explained to them that he was going to teach them something amazing, he was going to teach them to fly.
He began to flap his wings and rose into the air. The other ducks were amazed and so they too began to flap their wings and off they went, soaring through the air. The King flew at the front of them, dipping and diving, floating on air gusts and generally showing the other ducks how much fun it was. And it was a blast! Finally, with reluctance, the ducks all flew back to the palace where the King ended the conference and bid them all farewell. At that point the ducks all returned to their homes. They left by car, train, bicycle, skateboard, and all of the same methods of transportation that had brought them originally.
One of the King’s advisors noticed he seemed sad and asked what was wrong. His reply was simple and yet carried the weight of his disappointment: “It’s too bad that they didn’t apply what they learned.”
In life we often learn the same lessons multiple times, or we hear the same advice multiple times. That goes double for our finances. How often have we read a blog that recommended that we review our estate plan or contribute to a Roth IRA or set aside part of our income each month to build up an emergency fund? How often have we thought “I should do that” when we hear a piece of financial advice, and then gotten busy with life and put off the action for the future?
This is not uncommon, there is so much information out there that it’s natural to be in gathering mode most of the time. There is nothing wrong with constant learning, it’s what keeps us from getting stuck in a rut. However, it’s like filling up a bucket with water. At some point, the bucket gets full and if we keep running the water, it just overflows and ends up all over the ground. But if we transfer some of the water to a different bucket, we can keep filling it up with more water. Implementing the knowledge we learn is like transferring water from the bucket to a glass or a pitcher so it can be used and enjoyed.
So with the start of a new year, here’s one resolution I’d recommend. Instead of reading a bunch of new blogs or listening to more podcasts, go back and find one or two pieces of financial advice from the past few months that you’ve been putting off applying in your life and just go for it. Accumulating knowledge is great, but if we don’t apply some of it to make our situation better then it’s just wasted time.
Bottom line for 2025: don’t be a duck.
