the.com/retirement savings
paying your future self, who unfortunately never texts back to say thanks.
means money set aside during working years, invested and left alone so it can grow into income for after you stop working.
from before pensions and 401(k)s, retirement meant working until you died or leaning on family; the modern version emerged in the 1980s when companies swapped guaranteed pensions for do-it-yourself accounts, quietly transferring the risk from employer to employee.
compounding lagmost growth happens in the final decade, not the first.
the swappensions guaranteed income, 401ks guarantee only contributions.
inflation taxmoney doing nothing loses value while you wait.
behavior gapinvestors often underperform their own funds by mistiming trades.
for instance
roth ira — created 1997, taxed now so withdrawals later are tax free.
cpf singapore — mandatory savings scheme funding most citizens retirement since 1955.
fire movement — aims to retire decades early via extreme saving rates.