Discussion 3: the battle between present self and future self

Look at the video below:

https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_goldstein_the_battle_between_your_present_and_future_self Links to an external site. 

Here, Goldstein argues that one of the reasons that 2/3 people don’t save for old age is that it is hard for us to connect between our present self and our future self.

“You are basically two persons: your present self and your future self”, according to Goldstein. Your present self listens to the here and now, wants to satisfy his/her needs immediately. Your future self also wants to live and would like your present self to be a little wiser. So, opposing interests. The power of Now vs the importance of Future.

Here are a couple of written articles that relate to Goldstein’s research:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/save-more-for-retirement-by-saying-hello-to-your-future-self.html Links to an external site. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/25/the-selfie-that-could-make-you-a-rich-retiree.html Links to an external site.     this selfie could help turn things around

Question: the last article above, “this selfie could help turn things  around”, suggests that using virtual software such as FaceApp (or Oldify or AgingBooth) to produce an aged photo of yourself 40 years from now will motivate you to save more for retirement. Thinking about yourself, do you agree that looking at an aged photo of yourself will motivate you to save more? Why or why not? (150-200 words)

Then give a comment to these two little paragraphs, each comment should be 50 words. 

1. I don’t believe looking at an aged photo of myself will motivate me to save more. The main factors that contribute to my motivation to save are beyond the physical appearance I may have in the future. Personally, my goals for the future include having a family and owning a house. The thoughts of comfortably providing for my future family and owning a house I can call mine mean much more to me. Considering the inflation of prices of everyday items and the rising costs of the average house, I believe I will have to make intelligent investments in addition to having consistent savings. I think it is very important to have meaningful goals in life that help you maintain the discipline needed to achieve your financial goals. As I get older my goals may change, but I will still have a financial foundation to begin to build my life on.

2. I have to agree with Hannah Goldstein that looking at an aged photo of myself would not change the way I feel about money. It might be a motivation to strive for a healthier diet and exercise if I am not satisfied with what I see. What could really be a motivation to saving more for retirement would be seeing the benefit or consequences of financial planning in my immediate environment. For example, if I see my parents thriving after retirement because they had a well thought out retirement plan. I will feel more inclined to follow through their steps and ask them for advice. On the other, if another close relative is struggling due to poor retirement savings. It will definitely push me to save more to avoid being in a similar situation as them. Therefore to me, a simple aged photo only plays on aesthetics and has nothing to do with the financial well being.