Nov 13, 2024
The nice thing about getting older is getting wiser. By the time you reach your 70s, you may be in a place where you're able to see life through a different lens and wish you made savvier decisions.
You may recognize that you've made your share of blunders in the past — both personal and financial. In a 2024 NerdWallet survey, 46% of baby boomers aged 60 to 78 said they have money regrets. And among Americans of all ages, the biggest regret cited was not saving for emergencies, followed by not saving enough to meet financial goals.
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In a recent video from self-improvement YouTuber Sprouht, folks in their 70s were asked to share their biggest regrets. Here are three that stood out — and how you can avoid making the same mistakes.
Putting off the things you want to do until retirement
In Vanguard's 2024 How America Saves report (which is based on 2023 data), the average 401(k) plan deferral rate was 7.4%. And while that’s impressive in its own right, it’s below the 15% financial experts often recommend.
But while it’s not a great thing to underfund your retirement savings, you don’t necessarily want to go to the opposite extreme, either — setting aside so much money for retirement that you don’t have the funds to do the things that are most important to you while you’re young and healthy.
“You know the golden years are not that golden. People say you can do all of this after you retire, but you never know what’s going to happen to you,” said one woman interviewed in the video who regretted settling down too early.
In a recent CNBC survey, 31% of retirees cited declining health or illness as their biggest worry. You don’t want to save all of your money for retirement only to find yourself unable to use it the way you want due to health or mobility challenges. A better bet is to strike a balance.
Make sure you’re saving a reasonable amount of money each month for retirement. But also, set aside funds to meet different goals, like traveling to new countries, in the present. Don’t assume you’ll be able to do all of these things once you’re no longer working, because if you take that approach, you could end up missing out.
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Settling for any old job
It’s important to have a steady income that pays the bills and allows you to set aside money for long-term goals. But you don’t want to settle for any old job, either.
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As one interviewee said, “Make sure you do what you enjoy doing. Don’t just get a job. Have a passion for what you do.”
Working may be something you’ll do for three or more decades of your life. And your job is where you might easily spend the bulk of your waking hours during that time. So it’s important to find a job that’s engaging and fulfilling to at least some degree.
If that’s not the case now, and you feel entrenched in your career, consider sitting down with a career counselor to explore different options. In the American Institute for Economic Research study of older workers, it found that 82% of those who made a career change after age 45 reported it being successful. So even if you’ve been working in the same field for several decades, it’s not too late to make a switch.
Not having a good work-life balance
In a 2024 Hubstaff report, 48% of U.S. employees called themselves workaholics, while 25% said they never or rarely take days off from work. A poor work-life balance has the potential to impact your physical health, your mental well-being, and your relationships with your loved ones and friends. So it’s important to set boundaries as early on as possible.
This doesn’t mean you can’t ever pull some overtime for added pay, or pitch in late at night on a high-profile project. But in general, try to avoid having your job take over your life. If you do, you risk reaching a point where you retire only to have a whittled-down social network because you weren’t able to maintain the relationships that were once important to you.
Also, if you take the attitude that your job is your life, you might struggle to transition to retirement down the line and end up unfulfilled once the time comes to stop working. It’s okay to be passionate about your work. But it shouldn’t be the only thing that defines you or gives you a sense of purpose.
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Maurie Backman has been writing professionally for well over a decade. Since becoming a full-time writer, she's produced thousands of articles on topics ranging from Social Security to investing to real estate.
