So, we all talk about “living life to the fullest” and “no regrets!” and (for those of a certain generation) “YOLO!”
But people are still finding themselves with big regrets later in life. And, get this: half of the top six biggest regrets of today’s senior citizens are about finances.
But people are still finding themselves with big regrets later in life. And, get this: half of the top six biggest regrets of today’s senior citizens are about finances.
The 6 Biggest Regrets People Have Later in Life
Here’s what people regret:
- Not having invested earlier.
- Being unhealthy.
- Not investing in real estate.
- Not saving for retirement.
- Spending too little time with family.
- Not sharing their feelings with others.
As a real estate investment company, Gatsby Investment isn’t going to tell you how to improve your health, spend more time with family, or express your emotions. But we can tell you how to avoid the financial regrets that so many people have!
How to Invest Earlier
Look, we get why people don’t invest earlier - when you’re young, you’re extra broke. Between student loans, car payments, increasing rent, general inflation, and wage stagnation, there’s not much money left for investing.
But here’s the thing - the money you invest when you’re young and broke has the most time to grow. You get to leverage the power of compounding interest to grow your wealth passively over decades!
Here are three tricks to make investing earlier more realistic:
- Start small. Commit to setting aside just 2-3% of each paycheck for investments.
- Grow your investment percentage over time. Every 6-12 months, bump up your investments by another percent of each paycheck. Before you know it, you’re saving a healthy 10-12% for investments!
- Automate. Arrange to have your investment contributions pulled from your account and deposited into your investment account automatically just after payday. This way, you can’t spend the amount you’re committed to investing!
How to Save for Retirement
Look, upcoming generations have zero guarantees of social security income in the future. We have to take care of our own retirement.
Luckily, this works the same way as the “investing earlier” tips we mentioned above.
All you have to do is set up your retirement account and funnel some of your investment savings into that account each paycheck.
If you’re employed, you might have access to an “employer-sponsored retirement plan” (like a 401k). Your employer might even offer to match your contributions, basically giving you free money for retirement!
If you don’t have access to that time of retirement account, you can set up independent accounts (like a Solo 401k or IRA). Then automate those contributions so your retirement fund can grow without a single thought!
How to Start Investing in Real Estate
Regret #2: not investing in real estate. Back in the day, most Americans would invest in real estate by buying their own home. That’s still a smart move. If you have good credit, you might qualify for a home loan with just a 3% down payment, making homeownership more accessible. And then you can watch your home appreciate and own the place free and clear so you don’t have a house payment or rent to worry about in retirement!
But sky-high prices in many markets have made homeownership less affordable for Gen Z and beyond. So, people are getting creative. They’re:
- Buying land and building tiny homes,
- House hacking by purchasing duplexes and renting out the other unit to help cover their own housing costs, and
- Investing in real estate without buying property (yep, it’s possible - we actually list 10 different ways to do it in that article!)
No Regrets!
Now that you know how to avoid the biggest financial regrets of the older generation, you can create a brighter financial future for yourself. And maybe work on your health and relationships along the way too ;)