Putting Candy Aside for the Future
October 14, 2019
When I was a child I went trick or treating with a bright orange plastic pumpkin. Walking around the neighborhood, I might fill half of that pumpkin. When I got home, my parents would make my sister and I dump the pumpkin out on the floor and sort the candy. Some of the candy we ate immediately and some of it was put out for a daily treat. My friend’s family went a step further and part of his load was put away to taken out in portions each month to enjoy. Is this starting to sound familiar?
These childhood experiences were early lessons in savings that we can pass on to our kids, and perhaps even remember to use in our own practices. There is nothing spooky or dark-and-mysterious about successful savings strategies. It starts with sorting your income, and immediately putting aside some treats for the future.
Everyone we meet who has successfully accumulated savings and wealth, started with putting aside a portion of every paycheck to savings. Even if you are just starting out, try setting up a small automatic deposit out of your paycheck to a savings or investment account. After six months, see if you can increase the amount a bit. When you get a raise, immediately add part of the raise to the monthly deposit, before you get used to spending it. You’ll still enjoy that raise, and also increase your savings. If you get a bonus, try to put most of it into savings. Never consider a bonus part of your everyday lifestyle spending. Over time, these regular deposits will really add up.
If your employer has a retirement plan, be sure to put something aside for the retirement plan to grow steadily for the future. Young clients have sometimes asked us, how do I make $1M? The easiest way is to start contributing to a retirement plan as soon as you are eligible. Keep increasing the contribution each year until you are able to contribute the IRS maximum each year- currently $19,000/yr. If your employer doesn’t offer a plan you can save up to $6,000 in an IRA. In a tax-deferred retirement plans like these, we have seen savings really add up and reach $1M for some people before they are 50 years old.
Savings is about the practice of putting something aside today for something you really want in the future, being willing to put off some spending today in order to fully enjoy purchases, trips or experiences in the future without incurring expensive debt. Perhaps use this Halloween to start teaching simple savings lessons to your children and sharing with them how you put some candy aside in your own life too.
Are you interested in learning about more ways to save? Contact us today.