We often come across people who know they should be thinking about the future, but are caught up in day-to-day life and not planning for retirement. They cannot see beyond the present and into the future and as such find it hard to comprehend what the future may hold.

Have you ever wondered why it is easier to buy a car than it is to save for retirement?

We know that the second a car rolls off the lot it significantly reduces in value. Compared to that your super is likely to actually increase in value over the life of the vehicle. Why then do people find it easier to buy a car?

Because of immediate gratification – we get something straight away.

After you’ve signed the paperwork and handed over a huge amount of cash, you get to enjoy your Brand New Shiny Car – all for you.

Sure your money is gone, but look at the car…

How do you feel about your shiny new car a month later? Or a year later?

You probably have gotten to the point of washing it once a month (yes, driving through a thunderstorm counts as cleaning), letting the kids eat in the back and you don’t mind if someone gets a bit of dirt on the upholstery. By this time the new car obsession is gone.

You see buying a car might provide satisfaction in the here and now, but it rarely holds value (in our minds and in the marketplace) for more than a year and is it really the best place for your money?

Planning for retirement

Planning for retirement on the other hand doesn’t usually give you immediate gratification, but it is a prudent place to invest.

We think that if we save a little more and add it to our super we’ll be right when we get to retirement age. But that’s the problem, we think we’ll be alright, but we don’t know.

With a new car purchase, we know exactly what we are getting and receive our car as soon as we hand over some cash. We have certainty. But with retirement (being so far into the future) we have no idea what our retirement will look like.

So, how do you get the best of both worlds – gratification and certainty?

We approach this by showing you your future financial position using your current situation and alternatives. We make it possible to see what your retirement looks like, 10, 20, 30 years down the track. We do this so that when you make a contribution to your super fund or decide to purchase an investment property, you know that this will ensure you can enjoy a comfortable retirement.

This regular review process allows for us to provide greater certainty to you and hopefully greater peace of mind. It allows for you to draw the connection between depositing funds to super and the benefit you will receive (albeit in the long term future).

Most importantly though, planning for retirement provides a sense of gratification today for making progress towards your long term future prosperity.