Study: Imagining Yourself in Retirement Will Get You to Save More

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Have you ever felt life was moving by so slowly that it seems like you will never retire? If so, you are not alone.

Most people are so busy and focused on the present moment that they have trouble thinking about the future. This is a problem because it means many Americans struggle to save enough for retirement.

A recent study out of New York University found just imagining yourself in the future might be enough to get you to save more.

For this study, the researchers took two groups of participants. The first group had their photos taken and the researchers used computer rendering to show the participants what they might look like as they got older. The second group was not shown these photos.

“By imagining yourself in retirement,

you will see the benefit of saving.”

From there, each participant was asked what they would do if they were given $1,000 right now. Possible choices included putting the money in the bank, buying someone a nice present, planning a fun event or investing the money.

The other group was more likely to choose an option that spent the money.

This could be a simple trick to get you to subconsciously save more money. Simply by imagining yourself in retirement one day, you will be able to see the benefit of putting money aside, which will help encourage better financial decisions.

Source: nyu.edu. Photo source: montague.net

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