“Do Today What Others Won’t, So You Can Retire How Others Can’t.”

Football legend Jerry Rice once famously said, “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” This is advice that could apply to many areas of life — but when area where it can be especially helpful is when it comes to investing for retirement. 

See, many people struggle to save enough money for retirement. One big reason for that is delayed gratification. The money you are investing for retirement will help you decades in the future, but for today, investing for retirement means that you are tying up money that you can’t use to meet your immediate goals and desires.

If you want to retire in a way that others can’t, with more security and fewer financial worries, you have to make the decisions to sacrifice now for a better tomorrow. That can be harder than it seems when the rewards seem so far away. But it’s well worth the effort.

How to do today what others won’t 

So, how can you put this quote into practice and do the things necessary to make sure you’re saving for a retirement that few get to enjoy? There are a few moves that you need to make that undoubtedly require some sacrifice today, but that will have a big future payoff. These include:

• Building your budget around the long-term.  Instead of devoting a lot of your money to discretionary spending now, limit the fun spending you are doing today and devote more money to retirement savings. Of course, you need a balance, and you can’t live only for the future. But the goal should be to save 20% of your earnings, keep fixed costs to 50% and limit discretionary spending to 30%. This may mean you have to live in a smaller house or can’t eat out as often as you’d like, and can’t spend money on expensive cars. In other words, you can’t keep up with the Joneses today, but you are setting yourself up for a better tomorrow. 
• Make it automatic and set yourself up for success. If you truly want a retirement that sets you apart from your peers in terms of financial security, you are going to have to sustain your investing for a long time. It may not require a few weeks of living on a budget, but years of making investing the priority. Since this can be hard, you should aim to set yourself up for success. You can do that by making the process of investing for retirement automatic. Have your money transferred to a 401(k) or IRA before you get a chance to spend it. When you get a raise, devote that money to your retirement investing before you get used to the extra cash. If you do this, you’ll set yourself up to save by default, and it will be harder not to save than it is to keep investing. 
• Avoid debt. There is nothing wrong with using credit cards to earn points as long as you pay the cards off in full each month. And, taking out student loans or a mortgage to increase your assets and earning power can make sense as long as you are responsible with how you borrow. However, in general, you should try to avoid debt as much as possible. This means not financing expensive cars, not carrying a credit card balance, and not taking a personal loan for vacations. Debt makes saving for retirement harder now, and if you keep debt into retirement, it means you need more income to live on later. 

Live the retirement that others can’t

If you can follow these three rules of thumb, you’ll have a very different life from many Americans who drive vehicles that cost them thousands but who don’t invest even 10% of their income for the future.

You’ll be doing today what others won’t, and you’ll find when you get to retirement that your efforts were well worth it, as you have the chance to retire when you want and enjoy your life without fears of how you’ll afford it.