SunsetFinances.com Applauds Less-is-More Mentality for Now, and Retirement
New York, NY (PRWEB) August 18, 2013 -- Today SunsetFinances.com financial and life advice online magazine issued their support for the ‘New Thinking’ style proposed by Ann Brenoff in a recent Huffington Post article. Brenoff, on the premise that she suspects most consumers will not be able to save up the amount that they need during retirement to afford the same amount of luxuries as during working years, proposed a “less is more” way to live that will not only save money, but hopefully improve consumers’ gratefulness for what they do have.
The editor of SunsetFinances.com can be quoted as saying, “Some of us are used to the luxuries in life like walnut oil nail polish, top shelf liquor, solid walnut furniture, and luxurious cars however, a lot of it we could do without. Our nails will be fine without fancy nail polish and our taste buds will survive without 100 year-old scotch. Cutting back on life’s luxuries now may give you the stability you need to live comfortably when you retire.”
In the above-mentioned Huff Post article, Brenoff stated that according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 57% of working U.S. consumers have less than $25,000 in total savings, down from 49% in 2008. She reported that only a whopping 66% of U.S. consumers say that they have any retirement savings whatsoever, again a number which is down 9% from where it was just four years ago. Brenoff reasoned that with ‘Old Thinking,’ the ideas is that consumers would and will be able to save up enough to live the way we do now, in retirement. She believes that this statement is no longer accurate. She proposed the ‘New Thinking’ style of teaching ourselves to live—and be happy with—less. In this way, Brenoff pointed out that consumers will save money in the present while at the same time ensuring that they won’t need quite so much to live on in retirement.
SunsetFinances.com applauded Brenoff for her bold challenge to consumers, and deemed her hypothesis fairly accurate. SunsetFinances.com is quoted as saying, “Brenoff has a really valid point here. There’s no way consumers down the road will have enough saved up to live on after they stop working based on what the statistics are showing us now. For whatever reason, be it that people did not start saving early enough, or they put other priorities first, or they figured they’d be getting a pension from work and won’t be, American consumers are largely underprepared for retirement. Thus the beauty of Brenoff’s suggestion, that we all simply start scaling down now, purchasing less, figuring out what we need as opposed to what we want, and living more frugal lifestyles. It works twofold, because first it will save money in the immediate present, money that can go directly into retirement funds or to pay off debt. And second, it causes a dramatic mind shift that may stay with us our entire lives, making us use to and okay with having less of that walnut oil nail polish, nice furniture, relaxing spa days, or pricey vehicles. Imagine how much money a mentality like that can save over the course of a lifetime. The ability to value what you’ve got instead of being disappointed over what you can’t afford is priceless. You’ll be able to get by on so much less, and be so grateful for it.”
In the above-mentioned Huff Post article, Brenoff is quoted as saying, “We just need to teach ourselves to live with less. Lower the bar on our spending, discern our needs from our wants, and teach ourselves to value what we have instead of mourn the loss of what we can no longer afford… Yes, this is about an attitude of gratitude for what you have instead of lusting after what you used to have...Living frugally will absolutely be the New Order. But for it to work, we have to change what we value. Those among us who will be the happiest won’t be those who merely can figure out ways to live on less, but rather figure out ways to be happy about it.”
About SunsetFinances.com:
SunsetFinances.com is an online financial and life advice column designed for American’s everywhere. Sunset Finances celebrates the lives of those who have passed and those who are still living. SF enjoys providing consumers with the financial and life resources that can help them be happier in life.
Sunset Finances, sunsetfinances.com, (708) 669-6249, [email protected]
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