Key Takeaways
- Though we don’t have the ability to look into the future, we can benefit from thinking about our future selves.
- The next best thing to a crystal ball is learning lessons from those who are older than we are.
- There are three key money lessons to consider for our future selves.
It can be difficult to plan for the future. When it comes to saving for retirement, our financial needs may seem abstract, whereas the financial obligations of the present are most certainly concrete. It’s tough to empathize with our 80-year-old selves when our much younger, present-day selves have bills to pay, need a new car, want to remodel a kitchen, or are planning a vacation.
But if we force ourselves to picture our 80-year-old selves, it puts things in a very different perspective. A recent article from The Motley Fool, “3 Money Lessons I Learned Hanging Out With 80 Year Olds,” provides some good money lessons that that 80-year-old of the future would like to impart to us.
The first lesson is to invest for tomorrow. Start saving as early as you can and take advantage of the power of compound interest. Look at yourself 20, 30, 40 years from now and consider what your life will be like from that perspective. In doing so, you might be surprised how much it changes the way you spend money today. This new perspective may have you deciding to hang on to your car for a few more years or perhaps make a few nice upgrades instead of do a full remodel of that kitchen.
This leads to lesson number two, which is to learn what brings you pleasure. You’re going to hear a lot of opinions and advice on the “right” way to do things over the years, but only you can decide how to spend your money. Ask yourself what you really enjoy, and prioritize from there. If it’s a material thing, ask yourself if it will make you truly happy…it might, but you may also find those things to be few and far between. Your 80-year-old self would likely say that spending money on experiences, not things, is what leads to lasting pleasure and happy memories.
Finally, don’t be driven by fear. We tell our kids to count to 10 when they’re really upset. Doing so forces the brain to use executive functioning, helping us to release the negative emotion. Fear is an emotion that drives us to bad decisions, and we certainly have a lot of fear going around these days. However, if you can breathe, count to ten, and stay calm, the fear will dissipate, and you’ll make good money decisions. Your 80-year-old self will thank you. Until next time, enjoy.
