{"id":6685,"date":"2025-01-20T16:44:16","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T16:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blueleaf.com\/blog\/why-people-are-uninspired-by-retirement-planning\/"},"modified":"2025-01-20T16:44:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T16:44:20","slug":"why-people-are-uninspired-by-retirement-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blueleaf.com\/blog\/why-people-are-uninspired-by-retirement-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Why People Are Uninspired By Retirement Planning"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all\u00a0know saving for retirement is important. We\u2019ve been taught this.<\/p>\n

Our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, friends, coworkers (and financial advisors) all chat about saving for retirement. We\u2019ve seen the research\u2026 the charts and graphs that prove what a monthly contribution to our retirement savings account will look like in X years.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not fun.<\/p>\n

Your clients are uninspired.\u00a0Their\u00a0rational brain knows their \u201cretired self\u201d will one day be grateful for each dollar saved, but they can\u2019t see \u201cretired self\u201d. They see \u201cnow self\u201d and \u201cnow self\u201d sees saving money for \u201cretired self\u201d as a missed opportunity to spend, spend, spend on the life they\u2019re enjoying today. Their \u201cnow self\u201d is sees life happening all around them and they want cash to pay for that awesome life.<\/p>\n

This is fine. You do need cash to spend now. But here\u2019s the truth about how retirement plays into it, dear \u201cnow self\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Life happens. You want to spend cash on life.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Time passes. You want to retire.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve got the first part covered; living life and spending money on that life. They also know they want to retire. But the missing piece to the puzzle is seeing time.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, a big reason our \u201cnow selves\u201d begrudgingly save for retirement is we don\u2019t easily relate to the passing of time.<\/p>\n

We know retirement will happen, but it\u2019s far in the future. \u201cNow self\u201d struggles to see something that will happen decades from now. Sure, when we see \u201cretired self\u201d approaching, we\u2019ll eagerly put money away. Until then, putting money away feels like a chore.<\/p>\n

As their advisor, you\u2019ve probably discussed some version of this and the client probably nodded, smiling politely. But if you\u2019re just talking about it, you\u2019re not helping them see it.<\/p>\n

Help Clients “See” Time.<\/h3>\n

You need to help clients see their \u201cretired self\u201d and make that future self feel real, today.<\/p>\n

Time is hard to visualize, but it\u2019s crucial you do it. Not only because visualizing time will help their \u201cnow self\u201d see their \u201cretired self\u201d and appreciate the need to save, but also because visuals are a powerful education tool for the majority of people.<\/p>\n

Approximately 65 percent of the population are visual learners. (Source<\/span><\/a>)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Simply talking about retired lifestyle, and dollars, and years won\u2019t resonate with visual learners. You need to show them their \u201cretired self\u201d is real and worth saving for.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How? Show them their life.<\/p>\n

Show them how each small increment of time that passes actually adds up to big chunks of time, and before they know it, they\u2019ll be nearing retirement.<\/p>\n

Below is a particularly powerful graphic that displays the life of a typical American in the form of small week blocks. I’ve also shared some ideas for how to leverage it in your discussions with clients.<\/p>\n

\"Life-in-Week-blocks\"<\/p>\n

Source:<\/em><\/span> waitbutwhy<\/a><\/p>\n

You can use this visual to:<\/h3>\n

Help clients\u00a0see what happens during a typical life in regards to cash.<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Accept cash from parents during blue, blue-green, green, yellow and orange
\n– Earn cash during red
\n– Spend cash on yourself during orange and red
\n– Spend cash on your children during blue, blue-green, green, yellow and orange
\n– Save cash during red
\n– Spend cash on yourself during purple<\/p>\n

Help clients\u00a0see the importance of saving \u2018enough\u2019 during their red years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Cash earned during red will pay back debts from orange
\n– Cash earned during red will pay for living expenses (food, shelter, clothing) during red
\n– Cash earned during red will pay for short-term fun during red
\n– Cash earned during red will pay for your child(ren)\u2019s blue, blue-green, green, yellow and orange
\n– Your savings during red need to pay for living expenses (food, shelter, clothing) during purple
\n– Your savings during red need to pay for short-term fun during purple
\n– etc.<\/p>\n

Using this visual, what else could you help clients\u00a0see?<\/h3>\n


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