Investing in Your Future

By: Jack Hansen

Investing in your future is something that should be done daily. As many of you probably do already, some examples of this include setting goals, saving, working out, investing in the market, etc. By doing this, you are helping your future self and are decreasing the amount of potential stress/problems you may run into in the future. Having the ability to delay gratification and be consistent, will help you tremendously when considering these different ways of how you can invest in your future.

Having goals set that you want to achieve will help lay out and identify various steps that need to be taken. Being consistent and investing a little every day in a goal will greatly increase your chances of achieving these established goals.

Saving money is key when it comes to investing in your future. To be able to afford big purchases like a house, car, etc. you will need to have a large amount of money saved over time. Saving can provide many benefits as well as opportunities to achieve goals/make expensive purchases. As there are many benefits that come with saving, it can also be detrimental if you save too much. Saving too much money may take you away from great experiences with family/friends, hinder the joy in life, and decrease your overall health. Finding the happy medium of saving your money is a very important aspect of investing in your future.

Investing in yourself today is also investing in your future. Making sure that you are eating healthy and getting the right amount of exercise will help improve your overall health. With being healthy, the potential of getting sick/injured decreases which also leads to a decrease in your chances of paying hospital bills. As these bills can be very expensive, they can greatly diminish your financial well-being if you are not prepared. These expenses should be funded by an “Emergency Fund.” Having this fund will protect your future self as this fund includes a set amount of money put aside in an account for emergencies including medical bills. This fund can help decrease your stress and possibly maintain your current financial state. Staying healthy can help you save money in the future and provide a very happy/healthy lifestyle. Avoiding medical bills and building an emergency fund is something that should be of high priority for everyone!

Time is our biggest asset, and we should capitalize on that. Investing in the market and saving for retirement will help you and your future tremendously. Putting your money to work can provide great benefits as it will help beat the rising inflation rates. Opening an IRA account is a great option that you can do today whereas putting money into a 401k plan can only be done through a potential employer that offers it. Both are great options for us to consider as we think about how we want to prepare for future endeavors. These retirement options can be explained in further detail in a consultation with one of our peer mentors! All these examples show the various ways as to how you can invest in your future!