Boomers: Stuck Between "Saving for the Future" and "You Only Live Once"

If you39re young you have a whole lifetime ahead to balance these debits and credits but if you39re an aging boomer you39re starting to run out of time Even though boomers know they may outlive their savings many are still stuck between the instinct to save and the hedonistic call to live in the moment amp8212 after all you only live once What39s a boomer to doAs aging people look to their future most share the same aspirational goal to age successfully Previously the general aim of successful aging was to live as long as possible with a limited decline in health and wellbeing By contrast many of today39s boomers expect to live longer than prior generations and aspire to a sustained amp8212 if not improved amp8212 quality of life as they age What39s more the generation that39s been accustomed to getting what it wants actually expects to get better with ageWhen you talk to a boomer about their future most assess it in the context of their anticipated physical and mental wellbeing The news here is good as continued advances in medical science and personal attentiveness to wellness Pilates anyone mean improved quality of life and personal productivity in one39s later years What you hear less of in that conversation is how boomers are planning to fund a costly future that includes not only extended longevity but also an uncompromised lifestyleSpoiler alert Life has living expenses and the longer you live the more expensive it getsSo once again the boomers have irrational expectations for what the future holds Nothing surprising in that per se but what makes this scenario much more alarming is their double standard They39re spending as if there39s no tomorrow while simultaneously talking about life as though they expect it to be endlessHow should marketers think about this baffling behavior and what if anything can boomers do to better prepare for the future Here are a few considerations to help answer those questionsThey39re Bullish on the Future Many boomers are ignoring the future because they39re preoccupied with quotthe good lifequot of what still feels like midlife Adam Smith the great Scottish economist and philosopher once described a similar psychology writing about the dilemma of investors in a latestage bull marketWe are all at a wonderful ball where the champagne sparkles in every glass and soft laughter falls upon the summer air We know by the rules that at some moment the Black Horseman will come shattering through the great terrace doors wreaking vengeance and scattering the survivors Those who leave early are saved but the ball is so splendid no one wants to leave while there is still time so that everyone keeps asking 39What time is it What time is it39 But none of the clocks have any handsquotThe boomers are every bit as bullish about life and the future of life Like Smith39s party metaphor this optimism is intoxicating The more they spend on enjoying the day on living in the moment they39ve waited a lifetime for the harder it39s going to be to leave the quotpartyquot For the typical boomers a decision to spend less on enjoying life now so as to save for the future feels like the beginning of the end If you believe you39re ageless the clock has no hands amp8212 and that39s OKThey39re Also Living for the Moment As much as people of age are changing when it comes to balancing the needs of the future and the desires of the present expect the same old same old Most will continue to opt to live in the moment versus sacrificing for the future This is largely driven by their personal valuesThe values that guide their behavior today were fashioned during their formative years and have persisted throughout a lifetime If their trademark values such as optimism and resourcefulness have remained that steadfast for that long they39re not about to change nowAlthough many boomers don39t have a practical plan for funding their future they do have a history of figuring things out when they need to be figured out They39re smart enough to know they need a plan but they39re opting to cross that bridge when they come to it Their optimistic spirit has them confident they will prevail because they always haveThey39re Controlling What They Can It39s hard to anticipate how you will respond to advancing age until you get there yourself A lot of the public commentary about saving for the future amp8212 and what happens when you don39t amp8212 is coming from constituencies with a vested interest such as the retirement savings industry It39s OK for them to preach smart financial practice but the reality is that many of them can39t relate to the choice because they39ve yet to confront the realities of being of ageNone of us amp8212 boomers included amp8212 have the ability to predict the future Absent are the concrete facts How long will I live needed to make rational decisions How much do I save So we resort to making irrational decisions instead What boomers do know and that which they can control is that life is pretty good right now Sustained quality of life is a worthy investment that39s paying solid returns in the shorttermAvoiding FOMO with YOLOIn a boomer39s world of uncertainty one thing remains certain You only live once While everyone is free to react to that reality in their own way the generation39s modus operandi seems to be quotget the most out of life while you canquot Related to that many also understand that quotyou can39t take it with youquot True amp8212 and also the perfect justification for spending your life39s wages on your lifeYet for generations prior to the boomers the values around saving for the future were markedly different For Americans who had experienced lifealtering events such as the Great Depression and World War II saving for the future was not about their later years it was about the future of their children Their reaction to quotyou can39t take it with youquot meant quotleave it behind for someone else to usequotWhile it39s tempting to judge the boomers the lesson here is that every generation has a different set of values than the ones that preceded it There is no contest no winners no right or wrong As marketers we have to take them as they are and the better we can understand them the more we can do to enrich their livesSo in the end maybe they aren39t really stuck between quotsaving for the futurequot and quotyou only live oncequot They39re actually freer than they39ve ever been to do what they want and if freedom is the secret to happiness then maybe everyone will live happily ever afterPhoto courtesy of BoomAgersClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Boomers: Stuck Between "Saving for the Future" and "You Only Live Once"

Author

Publish date

Channel

Peter Hubbell

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Boomers: Stuck Between "Saving for the Future" and "You Only Live Once"

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Peter Hubbell

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

Cookies