Save Now, Party Later: How to Be a BAD GRANNY

Please, take a minute to envision your most excellent future Old Lady Self. Seriously, do it. Whether that means quietly tending to your garden of felines or destroying the mosh pit at a Metallica concert, there’s no wrong vision here. You do (future) you!

(You don’t have to wanna be a “Bad Granny” like the video implies. No way!!! You can be a Tenderhearted Granny, a Crotchety Granny, an Introverted Granny, whatever type of Granny! Hell, you don’t even have to be a Granny. All I care about is Old Lady You, and your ability to make the last years of her precious life full and rich and complete.)

In your old age, will you want to travel? Imagine taking your entire family on a Euro trip, your grandkids burying their faces in croissants and practicing bad French. Or will you want to submerge yourself in all the books you never got to read while you were working and raising a family? Will you feel vibrant at 80, out-lapping the young whippersnappers at the community pool? Will you be that deliciously styled old lady that no longer dresses for any damn person but herself? 

MORE IMPORTANTLY, will you want to take care of your aging body without having to stress about whether you can afford your meds and keep a roof over your head (and the heat cranked to 85 degrees on a cold day)? Will you be free from worry about what will happen if you contract Alzheimer’s or dementia, or lose your vision, hearing, or mobility?

 It’s fucking hard to tell people to save more for retirement. Some of you are truly scraping to get by, today, and can’t feasibly save money for 50 years from now. If that’s you—it’s okay!!—focus your energy on earning more. And don’t you dare beat yourself up over it.

But, that doesn’t make all of this less important. Just as you have a moral obligation to take care of your Present Self, you have a moral obligation to your Future Self. Make it a goal for this month to increase how much money you contribute to your 401(k) at work (DO IT NOW!) or open up a Roth IRA (if you qualify) or another retirement account. If you open up your own account, set up a small automatic monthly transfer of money. Even if it’s only $10 or $50 per month, it will add up and it will make a difference.

 Ready to do the MOST for your Bad Granny self? Take my Invested Development course. Take this online video course at your own pace. It’s 15 lessons, over 11 hours of education, and best of all, it’s fun. There are office hours with me so that you can ask questions. Because we’re not doing it mutual funds. We’re not doing it for compound returns. (Okay, we are doing it for compound returns.) We are doing it for the happiness of our own selves at a time when we are most vulnerable, and life is most precious.

That’s it! Start there. Now, go on with your bad self 🙂

Ginormous thanks to Stewart Tomassian of Factual Photography who made this silly little film happen. Stew is truly a master; hit him up for your photographic and videography needs!!

And another special thanks to my inimitable girlfriends that helped me make this video. You know who you are, and making this really reinforced who I want to be a crazy Old Lady with. #badgrannies