Can you imagine living to age 120? What about 100? Seems far-fetched, right?
It may actually be closer than you think, says Ric Edelman, founder and executive chairman of Edelman Financial Services, one of the nation’s leading financial advising firms, and author of the new book “The Truth About Your Future: The Money Guide You Need Now, Later, and Much Later.”
Edelman says technology will soon keep humans healthier longer, enabling us to live decades beyond our current lifespans, he told Business Insider in a recent Facebook Live interview.
As a result, we will eventually adopt cyclical life patterns, where we “engage in learning, employment, and leisure, on a repeating cycle” for our entire lives.
That’s right, no more retirement. While you may be asking yourself, How could I possibly afford to live that long?, Edelman said it actually shouldn’t be very hard, thanks to a timeless financial concept: compound growth.
“One of the advantages of saving money for 50 years, 60 years, 70 years, is that you take advantage of the power of compounding,” Edelman said. “You’d be amazed at how much a dollar will grow in value if you let it grow for 60 years, something nobody in history has ever done.”
Taking advantage of compound interest can be easy if you work smart. Just look at legendary investor Warren Buffett, who knows all about the power of compounding. In fact, it’s crucial component of the strategy behind his $ 75 billion fortune.
“The biggest thing about making money is time,” Buffett said in a recent HBO documentary about his life. “You don’t have to be particularly smart, you just have to be patient.”
Ultimately, the earlier you begin to save or invest, whether it’s in a retirement account or the stock market, the more time your money will have to earn interest on itself.
“So don’t worry about how hard it is to accumulate wealth,” Edelman said. “All you need to do is step number one: start to save, and start to save now.”
Watch Business Insider’s full interview with Ric Edelman below:
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