PROCRASTINATE SAVING AT YOUR OWN PERIL

​I read an interesting description of procrastination. It said procrastination is the result of the human inability to accurately predict how we’ll feel tomorrow. For example, when I get up in the morning I know I need to exercise but I don’t always feel like it so occasionally I put it off until later. I guess I assume that sometime in the future I will feel more like exercising. But when “later” comes I still don’t want to exercise and get frustrated with myself for putting it off. Procrastinating a necessary but unpleasant activity like exercise in hopes that it will be more pleasant later is to deceive oneself.
 
For most people saving money is not nearly as fun and spending it. Yet wisdom dictates we should save money, so we set goals to do so. Then when the paycheck comes we look at our bills and think, “This is too hard today. I will just save some from my next paycheck instead.” But when the next paycheck comes, setting aside money for savings will not have become any easier. Your procrastination in this case is based on the incorrect assumption that you would feel differently about saving in the future, but you won’t.
 
In a recent poll conducted by the Fidelity company, the average American estimated they would need about $1.7 million in savings for a good retirement. Surprisingly 2/3rds of those polled felt pretty good about their prospects of achieving that goal, even though very few were on track to do so.  Their justification for the optimism was that they intended to increase their savings rate at some future time, when they could afford it.
 
My own meetings with thousands of retirees have shown that very few retire with as much money as they had planned on. Many have unrealistic expectations about retirement because in reality, the money they are setting aside simply does not add up to the nest egg they believe they will need. Countless people have likewise told me they intend to increase their retirement savings at some future point, but just can’t do so right now. They have fallen into the trap of inaccurately predicting how they will feel about saving money tomorrow. Like most procrastinators, they fail to realize that sacrifice doesn’t get any easier by putting it off.
 
If you want to increase your odds of a good retirement I suggest doing the math and then committing to start saving today, whatever amount is necessary. I am always happy to sit down at no cost with any person, at any stage in life, and help them put together a plan. Putting it off until tomorrow will only make it more difficult, not less. People often come to a financial advisor for investment advice, but no amount of brilliant investing can make up for a person who is unwilling to commit to a disciplined savings plan. Don’t procrastinate your retirement planning because every day you wait, your likelihood of success becomes increasingly more difficult.