Ignorance vs. Indifference

What is worse, ignorance or indifference? … I do not know, nor do I care.

Let’s make an experiment, to the following questions, in case of not having an accurate answer, complete with a I do not know, or I do not care.

1) Are you currently saving money?

2) What are you saving for?

3) How much do you save on a monthly basis?

4) Could you save more?

5) Where do you usually save?

6) What performance have you obtained?

7) In what financial assets is your retirement fund investing?

8) How much do you need to have saved to retire?

9) Will your current rate of saving be enough for your retirement?

Actually, I doubt that the I do not care’s had been the most repeated answer, but apparently — arbitrarily decided by me, since it is my blogpost — to have answered 3 or more times with an I do not know would seem an unequivocal sign that your financial future “does not matter to you”. And do not take it badly, probably your current situation seems to give you the impression that you do not have to worry, in any case, I assure you that you do not lose anything by giving yourself the task of looking for assertive answers to those questions.

If, on the other hand, this exercise managed to capture your attention, we have won in a first approach to indifference.

Aligning incentives is an element that usually improves the chances of success, granting great relevance to focusing on Why you are saving. People do not save just because. Saving in order to have more money sounds quite shallow, and a vague objective often dilutes over time.

People do not want more money as an end, people want more experiences, more security, more time for theirs and for themselves, more fun, more freedom.

That is why putting it on paper helps: I want a decorous and comfortable retirement, enjoy time with my family and travel, a first-class education for my children, etc.

This is usually a way to keep the opportunity cost more in mind.

Regarding the amount necessary for your retirement, it will depend heavily on your expectations, according to calculations of the OECD, this would be equivalent to having available 70 percent of your last salary at the time of retirement. Today you can find a wide range of tools that simplify this calculation, which could help you in this task.

Be careful, beyond worrying, it’s time to take care of you

As for the other goals you have identified, we recommend you to be informed about what happens with your assets, what are they invested in, who manages them, etc. Despite outsourcing this task, the responsibility remains yours.