With Short-Term Goals, Go for a Bird in the Hand

A friend of mine recently sold his house. It will be a few years before he’ll buy another one. Because the house was worth a lot more than what he and his wife owed the bank on their mortgage, they are now sitting on a pile of money and wondering what to do with it.

As we talked, the following became crystal clear:

• They will buy another house in three to five years.
• They don’t know exactly where it will be.
• This money has to be there when it comes time to buy.

I could make a pretty good case that this money isn’t money at all; it’s a deeply held set of feelings. To my friend and his wife, this money equals shelter. It has to be there when they need it.

Read the rest of the article on The New York Times.