People often use the excuse, “you can’t take your money with you when you die,” to keep from feeling guilty about not saving. My father would always point out the fallacy in this thinking. “Maybe you can’t take it with you, but people have long lives to plan for before they have to worry about dying” he would say, shaking his head. He would explain to me that you always have to save for the future because there will always be hard times, there will always be surprises, and there will always be a time you are thankful you have savings.
When I was ten years old, needing savings, or the idea of having any type of life event for which my money could be useful seemed crazy. At that time there was a really cool commercial about the “Hairigami,” a totally awesome hair styling system that would create high fashion up dos with a simple twist of the tool. My sister and I thought this would be the BEST use of our money. That’s what money is there for, right, to spend? After all you can’t take it with you when you die.
After lots of begging and saving my parents agreed, not so enthusiastically, that we could buy it with our money if that is what we really wanted. We did! It came in, we twisted, we pulled, we followed the directions and wal-la! normal not so awesome hair. We tried again, but no matter what we did that “Hairigami” just didn’t live up to our expectations.
When I bought the “Hairigami” needing a car felt like a LONG way out, but I made a mistake, I blinked, and there I was without a car and needing a way to get to work. The money I spent on the “Hairigami” would have served me much better if I saved it for a car. It was a hard lesson that I had to learn.
Retirement is a life event that most people treat like a 10-year-old treats needing to get a car. It feels like a LONG way out but be wise; realize that someday you too are going to blink and you’re going to be at your last day of work. Do not get caught thinking, “What am I going to do?” Save now. The “hairigami” isn’t as great as you think it is, and someday you are going to want to enjoy your retirement.
Call us and let us show you how you can start preparing for your retirement today and how we can make your money work for you! No matter if you are 20 and retirement is a while away or are just a few years away from being retirement age we can help you figure out what retirement planning is all about. Let us guide you in your journey down the road towards retirement!
Jessi Canales
Focus Financial Group, LLC