Shlomo Benartzi: Saving for Tomorrow, Tomorrow

Americans love taking risks; from skydiving to risky investments, American culture enjoys uncertainty and the potential for a high reward. Safety and security are also commodities throughout the U.S. People buy houses to prepare for the future, to gain equity and to have their own little chunk of the world to call their own. According to Shlomo Benartzi, the majority of American’s don’t prepare themselves for such financial security down the road. More people buy insurance for their iPhones than they do for their lives. The average American household spends $1000 each year on lotteries; money that could easy be put into savings or retirement funds. Sure, it’s more fun to blow the extra money that you find in your bank account at the end of each month on lottery tickets or whatever frivolous impulsive items that might appeal to you. But, if you took that money that hasn’t been identified for a specific purpose (that you really can live without) and put it into a 401K, odds are you wouldn’t miss it a month down the road. While half of Americans don’t have access to 401K opportunities, only 33% actually take advantage and save with a 401K.  Only 11% of Americans actually feel that they are saving enough with their 401K for retirement. The primary question is: why are people not saving for tomorrow? If you do nothing now, you will be without in the future. Make a habit out of your savings. While self-control in the present is an issue for many people, there are ways to avoid this hurdle. Schedule automatic drafts from each paycheck into a savings account as a way to remove the temptation to spend the entire amount. Take away the bottle, take away the genie. If you don’t have the opportunity to arrange automatic drafts, be sure to transfer an allotted amount into a savings account before you access the remaining money. Saving more doesn’t always mean spending less. Re-assess your spending and create a budget. This will help you keep track of your funds and organize it in a meaningful way. Each time you receive a pay raise, add a percentage of this money to a retirement fund. If you were living comfortably prior to the raise, then adding extra money from your increased paychecks will already seem like a treat initially. Removing 15-20% of that money to put into a retirement fund will barely be noticeable if you don’t give yourself the chance to find a way to spend it. Be proactive in creating a solution to future financial security.   How does your family stay on track when saving for the future?