Too old to start your Financial Freedom journey?

Financial Freedom is promoted by younger and younger generations. And when you’re not in your twenties, say you’re in your forties, fifties or sixties… and you see all those wrinkle-free, enthusiastic faces on social media, maybe not on TikTok but on YouTube, you might feel that it’s loo late for you and that you missed the boat. And that could essentially cause so much apathy that you will give up before you start. And you know what? I disagree with this kind of attitude so today I’d like to talk about what to do when you feel exactly like that - discouraged, too old to give it a go and transform your financial life.

The main reason why people in their twenties and even younger folks focus on their Financial Freedom so early is the power of compounding. If you’ve heard of compounding, you know that Einstein famously described it as the 8th wonder of the world. The money you put into your investments earns you interest and let’s say the following year, your starting point moves up because not only does your money compound but also that interest does. The longer you invest for or leave your investments alone for, the more compounding it will be showered with. If you never heard of compounding, well… now you have!

So compounding is the superpower that you give your money. One that will accelerate your journey to Financial Freedom. And sure, of course it would have been nice for all of us to start with a maxed out tax-free investments account that our parents kindly started for us but… most of us didn’t. So what do we do?

Broaden your perspective

The beauty of compounding is this - it’s eternal. So it worked in your past and will work in your future. If you live in the UK, your life expectancy, if you’re a man is about 82 years and if you’re a woman, it’s 85 (Source: office of national statistics). These numbers are similar or higher for most developed countries. So chances are - even if you’re in your sixties, you have quite a few years ahead of you! Between twenty and forty years! And so, are you going to tell me that it’s too late and you are not going to put your money to work for a few decades?

Recently I finished a long-term coaching programme with somebody in their seventies. And let me tell you - this man has more curiosity, optimism and willingness to show up than many of my peers. He wanted to learn how to start investing, how to have a better understanding of investing and how to make sure his money worked for him on his terms. By the end of the programme he was a confident investor, true to his needs and risk tolerance.

By the way, if you’re interested in working with me, you can find my current offers here.

So chances are that in your fifties or sixties you still have a big stretch of time ahead of you. Chances are that you also have some savings. In which case, all you need to do is to learn how and what job to give them.

But maybe you are shaking your head now and think: I wish! I have no savings, in fact I’m in debt so what do I do with that?

Wake up to your earning power

Every time I talk on the phone to my mum, who’s in her mid sixties, and hear “oh, you know, for somebody my age…,” I remind her: hey, mum, don’t fall into that age trap. It doesn’t go with your character.

And it’s something I truly believe in. One of my favourite columns to read is A new start after 60 in the Guardian. It’s about what it says it’s about. And here are some people with their fascinating new beginnings… Bob launched a chain of 24h gyms. Carole-Anne opened her own bookshop, Suzanne trained to be a flight attendant, Andy became a ski instructor, Genny started teaching African dance, Paul opened his first company, Diana became a professional baker. There are many more and I do recommend you read this column. The point here is not for you to necessarily start something new but to think more creatively of your age.

Most people I know don’t feel “their age”. Think about it -  what does it mean to “feel your age” anyway? I’m in a relationship with somebody 12 years my junior. So what? But if you’re not like me, if you are chained by self-imposed ageism, get science on your side and treat yourself to - attention - illusory truth effect. What’s that?, - you may ask. It’s the tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure. Yes!  Your brain gets tired of lies and gives up. You can feed your brain fake news. Seventy? Uh-uh, you’re actually sixty. Fifty? Nope, you’ve just turned forty. You know by now that I believe in actions first and foremost but this is the rare occasion when I say: think yourself younger first. We all love to talk about how brilliant our brains are but here’s the thing: if I tell you a lie, your brain will assume it’s true in two instances:

-when it hears it for the first time. It simply needs to assume you’re being honest and then do some work to be able to question that honesty.
And
-when it hears this lie often enough.

In other words, you can trick your brain. So trick it wisely and tell it a great lie!

You’re not dead. As long as you have health, you have some sort of earning power. Sometimes smaller, sometimes larger. But the main thing is - it’s there, inside of you, waiting for you to tap into. Don’t let it go to waste.

Recognise your strengths

If you were to take a walk around wherever you live and focused only on the positives, what would you see? You could start with a country. Or a city. Or your neighbourhood. Or your house. It’s a very important lesson is gratitude and appreciation and if you’ve never done it, I invite you to give it a shot. But actually, you know what’s better, when you’re thinking it’s too late for you to embark on a journey to financial freedom…? Swap that place in our little exercise… with your life. See how much experience you have. How much knowledge. And how many opportunities. Reflect on that for a long while.

People in their twenties, when promoting Financial Independence, sometimes come with rather negative motivations. One of them is that false conviction that life can be enjoyed only when you’re young. Well, I don’t know about you but I never regretted not killing myself at work in my twenties. And the older I get, the more well-defined my idea of enjoyable life is.

You cannot be afraid of your sixties or seventies when you live them. Can you? Then see that lack of fear for what it is - your superpower. And with superpowers the deal is clear - you can use them in all aspects of your life. You are wired to win, no matter what your age is.

And if you look in the mirror and don’t see that younger self you feel inside, do one of two things - 1 - stop looking in the mirror or 2 - train yourself to see every wrinkle you have as a reminder - hey, you’ve laughed, you’ve worried you’ve expressed yourself. You’ve lived.

Now do yourself a favour and start your journey to Financial Freedom, no matter how old you are.