Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Your Older Self Can Help You Save for the Future

A nifty experiment from Jeremy Bailenson's virtual reality lab:

Ask 20-somethings how much they want to start setting aside for their retirement.

Then show them a picture of their own face, morphed to show what they will look like at 70.

Now they want to set aside twice as much.

This is a great nudge.

2 comments:

flipper said...

Maybe Mr Obama should look at his older self...

ceemac said...

Warning: Self absorbed baby boomer rambling

20 somethings thinking about retirement. Interesting concept.

And perhaps an example of how although the world is getting better for most folks for some folks it is not.

I turned 20 in 1977. Though the economy was sort of shaky the idea of thinking about retirement would seem silly. After all there was Social Security and Medicare. And the kind of jobs college grads got had pensions.

At that time my parents were in their mid forties. 20 years away from retirement. If my peers and I thought about retirement at all we probably assumed that it was going to be around 55. I think that is what Walt Disney had promised those of us who consumed his Sunday night show on a regular basis circa 1965.

Wonder if I could sue Disney for broken promises :-).

While I am on my good ole days rambling I think I'll mention that tuition at an unnamed state university in the MIDDLE of a state just to the south of yours was less than $200 a semester. Yes that is TWO HUNDRED.