#running #retirement, #RaceForRetirement

Road races have become a popular fund raiser for charities.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Race for the Cure has raised millions for breast cancer research, for example.

In its advertising, Prudential Wealth Management has taken a different tack on running to raise funds. It shows a Race For Retirement, in which the runners pledge to put a certain percentage of their income toward their retirement.

If you are one of those in which running a race motivates you to do something, this idea might appeal.

If you are disciplined enough to train for road races to win them, this also might appeal.

But saving for retirement requires a different sort of discipline. One must pledge to save a certain amount from his paycheck every time, without fail, a check is paid. Also, one must be disciplined enough not to touch the money until he reaches the proper age. It also requires the discipline to manage the money, often with trusted professional help.

Many people at or near retirement age today do not have enough money to retire comfortably. Obviously, some circumstances have inhibited their progress. One cannot control what an employer will do to an employee. One cannot control what markets will do to diligently-saved money. But many are not where they want to be financially because they did not have the proper discipline.

Many of us don’t have the interest, and, therefore, the discipline to train for road races. But we all should have the discipline to look after our own financial futures.

As teenagers, we often get jobs to save money for specific purposes, i.e. a college education. We expect those savings to be tapped out by graduation.

As young adults, we should make a pact to take a certain amount of our paychecks to put away into investments for retirement. We may only be able to afford, say, $5 a week at first. A technique to augment that is to add any pay raises to that amount, and learn to live on our original salaries. Some may say that’s easier said than done, and it certainly is. That does not make it undoable.

Life circumstances also change. Some of us get married, have children etc. A disciplined person does not let circumstances ruin goals. Circumstances change, so the disciplined person adjusts tactics to mesh with those circumstances. The disciplined person also doesn’t create circumstances that would ruin his or her goals.

Disciplined people also look for ways to save money on things they need to buy. They may also look for ways to earn extra income to augment their savings.

There are many ways out there to do one or the other. For a way to do both, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau.

Often, to get something good, one must sacrifice. One must forgo present pleasantries for future enjoyment. Disciplined people NEVER expect the future to be given to them. They ALWAYS expect that a good future requires planning, and doing little things consistently over time, without fail.

Darren Hardy’s book, “The Compound Effect,” illustrates that success comes not from one or two “big things,” but from a lot of little things, plus time.

The lesson: be disciplined. Do lots of good, little things that may be painless, or may even deprive you of some present pleasure. You may need some good advice to select those good little things, so make sure you trust who is advising you.

If running a race will help motivate you, lace up your sneakers and go for it.

Peter