While casually browsing on Quora.com I spotted the following question:
“I’m 41; is it too late to start investing in pension?”
Respect to the person who asked.
But really! Too late? It is never too late to start investing in your future.
Do you see the lady in the picture? She is from South Korea, she is 90 years old and she is a martial arts practitioner who breaks with the best of them.
It is never too late to:
- Master a new skill;
- Experience something new;
- Try a different life style;
- Change your life;
- Fall in love; and
- Start saving and investing.
You can think of it this way:
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life!”
It is up to you whether you continue mourning the past and doubting the future or you’d do something different and life changing.
I’ve always been ‘let’s do something different’ kind of girl. Never regretted it!
If you have no pension, no saving, a lot of debt and lousy job prospects, make this the first day of your life. Just decide where to start, commit and go for it. In a year time your life will be transformed.
This theme – it’s never too late – framed my choices of top money tips blogs for the last couple of weeks.
Here are my choices.
27 Retirement Savings Catch Up Strategies for Late Starters [Financial Mentor]: if you are nearing retirement but your retirement provisions are below par you really need to read this. My readers in the UK can follow the principles but will have to use different investment vehicles.
Achieve Your Goals: research reveals a simple trick that doubles your chances for success [Lifehack.org]: makes sense and still very few of us do it. When you state your intention clearly you have much higher chance for success. It works with pensions, savings and investments as well. Be specific – how much, how, through what means. Write this down. And aim high!
What is the Difference Between Retirement and Financial Independence? [Money Boss]: I like the 6 stages of financial freedom. We are between ‘security’ and ‘independence’. How about you?
An Interview with the Lawyer who Retired at 33 [Mr. Money Mustache]: You need inspiration. So read this!
Invest in Yourself [ListenMoneyMatters]: it is important and if you are stuck for ideas how to invest in yourself there are plenty in this blog post. And a good read as well.
This is it for now, friends. Hope you had a great weekend (never mind the weather) and that you’d enjoy these top money tips articles that we lovingly selected for you. Speak soon.
I agree! I am 46 and got started late – but have made up for lost time. Age is all a state of mind. Thanks for the positive words.
@Kym: Good for you, Kym. Would you mind sharing how did you ‘make up’? Asking because I’m thinking to write about ‘compound interest’ and how it does work in different ways.
I absolutely 100% agree. I think that in this youth focused culture people forget the following:
PEOPLE ARE LIVING LONGER.
It does not make sense to say that at 41 it is too late to start saving. If you live until 90 like the lovely lady in the picture that’s 50 freaking years. Some money is better than no money. Also, people have time to do their “Second Act.” There are a number of people who become quite successful later in life. As long as you’re living keep putting one foot in front of the other-and save money LOL!
@Michelle: Well said, my friend. I’d say that people are also forgetting that older people have a lot of knowledge (well, some of them anyway) and experience, and less fear and uncertainty. These are great when making money.
I totally agree with you on this. My grand father, who was an engineering professional, started a farm well after his retirement. He obviously did not hesitate because gardening was one of the central interests in his life. The biggest barriers towards progress in our lives is us, because we are often stuck in the comfort of inertia. It really is never too late to start a business or develop a hobby, and these activities require lots of work. Saving money, on the other hand, or investing money, is hardly as difficult.