Time Flies: The Importance of Planning Ahead for the Future

In September, I’ll have lived in my home for ten years. It’s hard to imagine it’s been that long. When I bought it, I don’t know that I thought I’d live here that long. But, a spouse, two children, and two dogs later, I’m still here.

When we bought it, we inspected the roof. At the time, the report was that it looked good – it had about fifteen years of life left. Ten years ago, that felt like forever. Now, in what feels like a blink, ten years have passed. My roof may have another five years, give or take, before I need to replace it. Those five years will likely pass just as quickly, and, if I don’t prepare, I am going to experience an emergency when my roof needs replacing.  

There are so many things we know are going to happen eventually. It can be hard to prepare for those eventualities. One of the reasons, researchers believe, that we have such a hard time planning for the future, is because we can’t imagine our older selves in that remote situation. We don’t envision ourselves living in the same house for an extended period of time (in my case) or think of our kids growing up and going to college or wanting to slow down at retirement age. By envision, I mean truly see ourselves, imagine ourselves (picture ourselves old and wrinkled) there. And without being able to do this conceptually, we fail to plan for that time. 

Repairing a roof costs, on average, about $12,000 (there is a ton of variability here). If I had started saving for the roof repair 10 years ago, I would have only needed to set aside $100 a month to have $12,000 saved by now. Invested into a safe fund, I would have needed to set aside even less. Now that it’s more likely to be needed sooner, to prepare for my roof replacement without it feeling like an emergency, I’ll need to set aside $200+ a month.

The roof, while a big expense, is a micro example. Retirement is an even bigger haul, and one that is harder to envision. Starting early means you can set aside significantly less every month to get to where you need to go. Starting later means you have a higher burden later in life – to make up for lost time and lost savings. 

Time will keep passing by – in what feels like a blink – for everything you’re doing. Start now. Give yourself the advantage of planning (just slightly) ahead.