How do you want to spend “the rest of your life”?
Quite honestly, we can answer that for everyone. We all have things in life about which we are passionate, and we want to spend our lives on those things when it is time to change gears. No matter how old we are, no matter how much income we have earned, no matter what level of education we have completed the broad answer is the same.
The specific answers will surely be different. Some will say they want to travel the world. Some would offer they have always loved the beauty of nature, and they dream of a time they could visit the national parks of the USA. Others would state that their dream would be to volunteer for their nonprofit ministry and make a difference in the hopes and dreams of others. Hard core sports fans might declare they would love to have the ability they never had to be able to watch the Vols, the Wolfpack, the Ducks, the Yankees, or the Braves play…now that they have the time.
We all want to spend our senior years pursuing our passions! We all want to do more than simply get by later in life. Unfortunately, many will not be able to do so. Circumstances will come that prevent a dream from becoming reality. Others will not be able to do so, because they did not live frugally and save enough to do more than make ends meet. On the other hand, there will be a significant number who will invest their senior years pursuing their passions. We want to help make those plans and dreams become a reality. We want to help everyone take control of their finances so they can do more than simply make ends meet.
Changing our financial future does not require luck. It does not require deep financial knowledge. It does not require huge changes in our lives. More often than not, small steps now with small increases in savings along the way, can make a huge difference later.
Consider this example:
At 25 years of age, when all the start up costs of life (new home, new family, college loans, and first job salary) are at work, a young person/family decides to save $62.50 per month. Making and keeping that that commitment will provide $800 per month in income for life beginning at age 65.
At 30 years of age a few more challenges have come along (children, graduate school costs, new car loans), but this still young person/family makes a commitment to raise their monthly savings another $62.50. Tough? Yes, but it is still only $1500.00 per year total. This additional savings will increase their lifetime income by another $595 per month.
If this individual/family made the same increase at 35, they would increase their retirement income by another $405 per month.
The same increase in savings at 40 produces an additional $300 per month for life.
This hypothetical individual or family has now created a lifetime monthly income of $2100.00. Over the average life expectancy in 2018, the family would receive $504,000. They did not need a financial windfall to accomplish this, nor did they need to understand stock/bond/options markets. This was done by committing just $2.06 per day in savings at age 25, and increasing this by an additional $2.05 per day at ages 30, 35, and 40.
We all have passions we want to pursue when we have the time. Taking small steps today can make them a reality. Doing exactly this is stewardship for your future!