Recent studies have found that those approaching retirement or individuals who are already in retirement share one common regret: not saving early enough. In today’s difficult economy that comes with a high cost of living, a majority of older Americans wish they started saving earlier than they did.
For youth today, it can take quite a bit of willpower to start saving for the future. In addition, costly tuition fees, a paucity of jobs or low wages and immense debt loads are contributing to the fact that young people might not be able to put aside money for a rainy day.
Regardless, a new PNC Wealth Management survey among investors who have at least $5 million in investible assets say saving early and regularly is the most important factor to building personal wealth. Other important factors to consider are making smart investment choices, earning a lot of money and controlling spending habits.
In allowing success, hard work was cited as the most important (63 percent) variable, while making good decisions (16 percent) and luck (nine percent) came in a distant second and third, respectively. Of course, more millionaires are conceding that “enjoying life more” is what drives their daily decisions.
“Most of the millionaires surveyed have controlled their own destiny by working hard and saving early and regularly,” said Joseph Jennings, director of investments for PNC Wealth Management, in a statement. “These are personal choices over which we all have control. This indicates that the ‘American Dream’ is still very much alive.”
Although saving can be considered good advice, there are two important questions: will the Federal Reserve destroy one’s wealth through inflation? When will the central bank let the market dictate interest rates so savers can gain some income on deposits?
With that being said, how can a millennial save more?
– Create a budget
– Spend within your means
– Open an automatic savings account
– Set aside money regularly
– Cut back on non-essentials
Saving early just means it will purchase less when you are finished saving. You need revenue from capital growth, which isn’t taxed until you use it, instead of annually the way income is taxed. You also need a larger income than your living expenses so that you stop paying sales taxes on most of your income. You need to exchange paper money for gold to escape inflation.. You need to be self employed so you can work to make your dreams come true instead of making someone else’s dreams come true for them