The day you begin to think about the rest of your life is one of the most important decision days of your life.
Many young people decide (1) how they’re going to earn a living; (2) the kind of person they want to marry; and (3) where they’d like to buy a home.
The smart ones consider where they want to be later in life. Some plan on being a millionaire by the time they’re 30 years old. Some want to wake up without the alarm clock buzzing and have a leisurely breakfast. Some dream about walking down to the beach after breakfast or grabbing their clubs and taking those few steps to the first tee on the golf course. Still others have a picture of going on a picnic with the grandkids.
Whatever your goal for the future is, planning retirement from day one maps your life in the direction of that goal. Otherwise, you may not like where you find yourself when you’re 65 years old.
You do not want the ups and downs of life to decide your destiny. That's why the smart ones figure out early how they want to live after a lifetime of working, raising children and making sacrifices.
*** The day you begin your first job, and earn that first paycheck, is the best day on your journey to your future.***
When every American young adult pauses to consider their future. they know what to study, what knowledge they need and how to get it.
They can see their tomorrow, and have a clear path to get there.
For some, It’s difficult to stop the exicitement of today and think about tomorrow. Today is here. It is tomorrow we all need to focus on. Otherwise life may look like a field of car parts with no idea how to assemble them into something useful.
I earned my first bit of coin when my dad helped me open my lemonade stand. In those days, boys got a paper route for a first job. Girls earned money babysitting. I was only seven years old with an old cigar box in my hand. My wonderful dad stayed with me that day. Neighbors stopped and gave me a shiny coin for a glass of homemade lemonade.
Of course, I was only open for business that one day. I didn’t know anything about net profits.
All I knew is that feeling of those first coins that I earned standing behind my little lemonade stand, greeting friends, family and neighbors who were my customers. It was memorable. Exhilerating. Satisfying. I believe that “lesson” helped me through life.
I can’t remember the total of all those dimes that day. I just know they covered the bottom of that cigar box when I closed the lid and smiled up at my dad.
It was “my bank.” I was young. I think my dad was giving me what I wanted. You know. Spoiling me. I don’t think he was teaching me to save for the future. He did teach me the value of work.
If I would have opened a savings account at the bank that day, deposited those few earnings and added a percentage of all the paychecks I would earn in my life, I can’t imagine the total it would be 30, 40, 50 years later.
Are you saving for retirement? You may think that you don't have enough money, or maybe you think you can start saving later when you earn more money. You won’t.
The best time to form the habit of saving for the future is when you get the first paycheck you earn. It’s one of the most important decision days in your life.