Catching Up Financially in Your 40s and 50s

Older individuals can improve their finances by making difficult lifestyle choices and prioritizing what truly matters.

### Catching Up on Retirement: Strategies for Those in Their 40s and 50s
* 💼  Humpher Yang raises an important question about how individuals in their 40s with **minimal retirement savings** can **catch up financially**.
* 🏋️‍♂️  The speaker draws a parallel between health and finances, emphasizing that just as one must adopt a **comprehensive approach to improve health later in life**, the same applies to **financial recovery**.
* 💰 " If you want to be somewhere you've never been before, you’ve got to be willing to **do something you've never done before**," highlighting the need for **significant lifestyle changes** to improve financial situations.
* 🚗  This may involve tough decisions, such as **downsizing expenses by trading in luxury items like cars** or **scaling back on vacations to redirect savings into retirement funds**.
* 📊  The speaker advises that individuals should **identify their core values** and prioritize spending on **what truly matters** while cutting unnecessary expenses, like **frequent dining out**.
* 📉  The value of money diminishes over time, and it's crucial to focus on behaviors that **maximize savings and investment growth**, as the potential for **compounding decreases with age**.
* 📅  The message is clear: it’s never too late to start making changes, and the best time to take finances seriously was **yesterday**, but the second-best time is **now**.
* 📚  For further insights, the speaker recommends Brian's book, "Millionaire Mission," which addresses these financial strategies in depth, reinforcing that **one's starting point does not dictate the final outcome**.

[Music] Humpher Yang has a question. Oh, holy cow. All right, so get ready. All right, buckle up. No, it's a great question. It says, um, how does one catch up if you're on the older side? So maybe you are in your 40s, um, with a little retirement savings. He says, I'm never sure what to tell people. What would you tell people? 'Cause we talk about this. We get this question a lot. It's really hard, and I feel bad continuing to use, um, I feel bad continuing to use health analogies, but there is such a, like, like such a very weird parallel between, like, our health and our wealth, our finances and our physical being, right? Like, it's so interesting, um, at some point, like, when you're young and, uh, and early on in your life, and you're like, man, I'm just not in great shape. I want to, I want to get in better shape. The advice could be easy. Hey, cut out soda, stop drinking Coke with your meals.

and start drinking water, and that'll have like a meaningful impact you get later on in life. And you're in your 40s and 50s, and maybe you've let your health go, and you're not at the best place, and maybe you're overweight, and you have, you know, high blood pressure, whatever. Just cutting out soft drinks might not be enough. You might have to, okay, I got to take on a workout regimen, and I have to change what I'm eating, and I have to change what I'm drinking, and I have to change my lifestyle. I have to improve my sleep. The older you get and the further, quote-unquote, behind you are, the more severe the changes have to be. But it's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not too late. Like, that's at the heart of that what I tell people who are later on, they haven't taken it seriously, someone in their 40s or in their 50s is, if you want, this is again, this is such a cliche, such a cliche, if you want to be

Somewhere you've never been before, you got to be willing to do something you've never done before. So in your 50s or even in your 40s, it might require making really hard decisions. Hey, you know, I bought that BMW because I, you know, got the promotion and I deserved it and I put the time in. Hey, it might be time you got to, like, get rid of that car and get a more affordable car and take that savings and start dumping it into savings. Hey, you know, we used to do these massive vacations every year and it's amazing. Hey, maybe we're not doing massive vacations for a few years, maybe we're doing weekend getaways. You know, you have to figure out what are the things that you can cut to get more dollars working for you 'cause no matter whether you are 22 or 62, when it comes to impacting your finances, we all only have two options. We can either figure out how we spend less money or make more money, and sometimes the spending less

money is the thing we have to do because we can't go out and make more. Now I get, yeah, you can Uber and you can side hustle and work through that, but you know, if you're in your 40s and you got family, have all these other things, not Val, you might not have the time and the space and the capacity. So you have to be relentless with the things that you cut. And a really great thing to do that I tell people, humph, especially if it's like a couple that are married, hey, sit down and write what are the things that are the most important to you. Like, what are the things that really, really matter? Like, okay, we want to do a trip with our kids, great. We want to do this, we want to do that. Hey, I noticed on here eating out wasn't one of those, but when I looked at your budget last month, I noticed you ate out a ton. Oh, well, we just get busy and Chick-fil-A's right there, we can just stop by and well on

the weekends. You know we want to do this after church and da D and okay great. You got to exercise discipline if eating out is not something you value. How do we eat at home? How do we put together groc? How can we cut down those expenses? Okay cars. I didn't say driving a nice car. Okay why do you drive that car? What and and You Begin really focusing on and this is a this is totally a thing from R. He says you know spin relentlessly on the things that you love and the things that you value but on everything else cut mercilessly. I think that is especially true for people that are behind your dollars right uh when we are young at 20 years. You know I got this Koozie. This $1 beer cost me $88 cuz for a 20-year-old 21y old $1 can turn into $88 by the time that they get to 66. It's so powerful by the time that you get into your 40s by the time you turn 40.

It's down to seven, so the value of your dollar turning over gets smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller. So, you have to focus more on the behavioral stuff that can get more dollars working for you. Don't need $1 to turn into $88. If you need $88, you got to do a couple dollars to be able to get the... you got to get like $11, $12, $113 to turn into $88 by the time you get there. So, that's what I would tell people. What do you tell people that are older that need to catch up? You got to make hard decisions if you want to change your outcome. If you want to, you know, get to the place you want to be, it's not going to be easy, but if you can do it, it's worth it. And we've seen people that we've... we've heard from you guys. We get emails and comments and stuff all the time that say, Man, I wish I would have found you guys when I was 22 years old. But man, here I am at 39 and

it's like a light bulb went off. It's like I saw the light for the very first time. That's great. It's not too late. The best time to start taking your finances seriously was yesterday, which by default means the second best time to start is today, right now. So, you can do it, absolutely. I really appreciate that about you guys because even though, like, I appreciate that you're so honest about it, like, Hey, it's going to be harder. Here are the things you have to consider. But it's rooted in this belief, like a firm belief, that how your journey started does not define how it ends, and it is not too late. So, um, honestly, very good question that we get a lot, and that's why we continue to talk about it. That's why Brian actually put, uh, like a whole chapter about this in his book, Millionaire Mission, the boiling point chapter. Normally, well, I mean, it's behind me. No, and I think we have a graphic for it potentially too, but um, yeah, Millionaire Mission, definitely check that out 'cause it definitely, uh, you know

It's a great place to be introduced to some of these things that we talk about all the time, and that's why we're going to keep talking about it. So, thanks for being here, Humphrey.

What Is the Best Way for Older People to Catch Up on Investing?

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The Money Guy Show

Catching Up on Retirement Savings in Your 40s

It's common to feel behind on retirement savings in your 40s, but it's not too late to make significant changes.

Just like improving health, catching up on finances may require a more comprehensive approach, including lifestyle changes and a dedicated savings plan.

The key is to take action and make meaningful adjustments to improve your financial situation.

Making Tough Financial Decisions in Your 40s and 50s

Making hard decisions is crucial when trying to improve your financial situation in your 40s and 50s.

Cutting expenses, like downsizing from an expensive car or reducing vacation costs, can free up money for savings.

It's important to prioritize what truly matters and be relentless in cutting unnecessary spending.

Building Financial Discipline for a Better Future

Eating out less and focusing on home-cooked meals can help cut down expenses.

It's important to prioritize spending on things you value while cutting back on everything else.

For those behind on their finances, making hard decisions and focusing on behavioral changes can lead to a better financial outcome over time.

The Importance of Starting Your Financial Journey

Taking your finances seriously can start at any time, with today being the second best option after yesterday.

The journey's beginning does not determine its end, and it's never too late to make a change.

The topic is frequently addressed, highlighting its significance, and is also covered in Brian's book, "Millionaire Mission.

The speaker expresses gratitude for Humphrey's presence and emphasizes the importance of discussing the topics they often talk about.

They plan to continue the conversation, highlighting the significance of the introduction to these themes.