I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

Make Money Not Excuses Review: I’m Too Old Or Don’t Want To Think About It

This is the penultimate review of Jean Chatzky’s Make Money Not Excuses and how it relates to me and my financial situation and outlook. The first review is here, Chapter 1 is here, Chapter 2 is here, Chapters 3, 4, and 5 are here, Chapter 6 is here, and Chapters 7 and 8 are here. Next week will be the final overall review.

Is there such a thing as too old to even start saving for retirement? Is it too late for me? How about all those things we just don’t want to think about - like death, divorce, and disability? Sometimes it feels like things are better just not thinking about them. There’s nothing we can do about them, after all, and if we just don’t think about them, maybe they won’t happen.

But the truth is, of course, that not thinking about things doesn’t make them not happen - it just makes us very unprepared for them when they do.

Chatzky admits that the idea of saving can be overwhelming, especially when you haven’t been a saver before and you feel like there’s not enough time left to make a difference. I know I’ve felt that way myself and I’m only 34 - I bemoan the time gone by and feel like time is just slipping through my fingers and nothing I can do will make a difference. I think it is a by-product of how we try to encourage people to start saving young. Sometimes we feel like if we didn’t start saving in our twenties, then, what’s the point?

But the truth is that it is not too late. Yes, it will be more difficult but the longer you keep waiting to start - the more difficult it will become. Older savers have other reasons to be optimistic, including that you may be in your prime earning years, and your kids may be grown (giving you more money available to save). Also - old age isn’t what it used to be! Many people don’t completely retire, but work part time from 65 onward, because they want to. Chatzky says to repeat to ourselves - it’s not too late, it’s not too late - and then take action. There are a number of strategies in the book on how to take action once you’re ready, but to me the most important idea is to just DO it. I think that is where a lot of us get hung up - once we start doing something, we can move forward but the inertia to starting itself can be almost crippling. Don’t delay! Make a move now.

The last chapter deals with all the things we don’t want to think about, and reminds us of course that not thinking about them doesn’t stop them from happening. This chapter focuses on putting a protection plan in place - a will, a living will. a health care proxy, durable power of attorney for finances, health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and a prenuptual agreement. For me, there are a number of things on the list I’ve done well, a few I don’t even know what it is, and one I didn’t need (the prenuptual agreement). I have a long way to go though to be as prepared as I need to be. So I should take my own and Chatzky’s advice and start… now.

Next week I’ll give my final thoughts on the book as a whole and start my own action plan - I’ve got so many things I need to start and hopefully I can manage to make progress on a few of them before my last post on this book. Now there’s some motivation, tell the internet you’re going to.

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