Laidbackman
All Star
I'm not a real big fan of Dr. Boyce Watkins, but I've listened to him here and there over the years, but I haven't listened to him lately. However, I ran across a recently video of his the other day, and I was impressed how he broke the retirement situation down. I indicated in the title that it didn't really sound like "Doom and Gloom" to me, but more like a reminder that he saw the problem coming, why it happened, and the mistake people make regarding why they went to college, and why they chose certain high paying careers in the first place, misleading them into chasing the bag, and not relating any of this to financial security and retirement, or happiness. He stresses on the importance of financial knowledge, like knowing how to invest, being as important as getting a degree, and choosing a career.
Before he gets into all that, at the 9:30 mark he discusses the term called, Hyperbolic Discounting, which is a subconscious mindset most young people have, that prevents them from thinking 5, 10, 20, or 30 years into the future, which can be devastating. I've seen this all through my young working years, and I was guilty of it myself to a degree, even though I had some financial knowledge about the average 65 year-old in America retiring in poverty. This was when I was first introduced to Primerica, aka A.L Williams, where our main focus was on financial security. But I suffered job losses that caused me to cash in my IRA. Meanwhile everybody else in my age group kept kicking the can down the road, some until they were in their 50's, before they thought about saving or investing for financial security. Like Watkins said, most young people aren't conditioned to think far in the future (not even 5 years), so they can take immediate action to prepare for retirement. But there was always that one buddy, who seemed like he came out the womb thinking about his financial future.
To get back to what I was saying above in my first paragraph, about choosing the wrong reasons we go to school, work certain careers, etc..., and not knowing the importance of learning how to invest towards financial security, Boyce Watkins really gets deep at the 25:25 mark on that topic. He tells how college degrees really offer only short term survival, but no financial security. That's very true. He doesn't say college degrees are worthless, but he says they're not enough. He goes further into making sure you're happy in your career. I'll say enjoy, over happy. I told my nephew a few years ago, who is an artist, that as long as he's loves what he's doing, the money will follow. And it did, although it didn't happen overnight. Whether or not he becomes a millionaire, I don't know, but his work, along with his financial knowledge he got through his father, has him coming closer and closer to financial security, well before his 60's or even 50's. Anyway, below is Boyce Watkins video, although it's 55 minutes long.
Before he gets into all that, at the 9:30 mark he discusses the term called, Hyperbolic Discounting, which is a subconscious mindset most young people have, that prevents them from thinking 5, 10, 20, or 30 years into the future, which can be devastating. I've seen this all through my young working years, and I was guilty of it myself to a degree, even though I had some financial knowledge about the average 65 year-old in America retiring in poverty. This was when I was first introduced to Primerica, aka A.L Williams, where our main focus was on financial security. But I suffered job losses that caused me to cash in my IRA. Meanwhile everybody else in my age group kept kicking the can down the road, some until they were in their 50's, before they thought about saving or investing for financial security. Like Watkins said, most young people aren't conditioned to think far in the future (not even 5 years), so they can take immediate action to prepare for retirement. But there was always that one buddy, who seemed like he came out the womb thinking about his financial future.
To get back to what I was saying above in my first paragraph, about choosing the wrong reasons we go to school, work certain careers, etc..., and not knowing the importance of learning how to invest towards financial security, Boyce Watkins really gets deep at the 25:25 mark on that topic. He tells how college degrees really offer only short term survival, but no financial security. That's very true. He doesn't say college degrees are worthless, but he says they're not enough. He goes further into making sure you're happy in your career. I'll say enjoy, over happy. I told my nephew a few years ago, who is an artist, that as long as he's loves what he's doing, the money will follow. And it did, although it didn't happen overnight. Whether or not he becomes a millionaire, I don't know, but his work, along with his financial knowledge he got through his father, has him coming closer and closer to financial security, well before his 60's or even 50's. Anyway, below is Boyce Watkins video, although it's 55 minutes long.
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