Abandoning the ‘Lottery Mentality'
Nearly everyone dreams of winning the lottery and sailing into their sunset years of retirement aboard a superyacht of financial freedom and security. The problem is, however, that simply buying a lottery ticket is very unlikely to result in anything other than the needless spending of your hard-earned money.
In fact, when you buy a Euromillions ticket your chances of winning the jackpot are just 1 in 139,838,160* – you are almost certainly more likely to be struck by lightning or involved in a road accident while on the way to buy your lottery ticket than of winning the jackpot.
Of course, few people consciously bank on winning the lottery to fund their retirement. However, many have a subconscious lottery mentality that prevents them from doing what is likely to be in their best long-term financial interests: that is, sitting down with a wealth manager or independent financial advisor to develop a regular savings plan and retirement strategy that will work towards a set of financial goals.
Quite simply, those who don't plan for their retirements as soon as possible are unwittingly entering a kind of lottery in which their future and that of their dependents are placed entirely in the lap of the gods. The same can be said for those who bring a scattergun, uneducated or myopic approach to retirement investment: without a well-diversified and intelligently researched portfolio of retirement investments, you are engaged in a game of chance in which the odds of a favourable outcome are not stacked in your favour.
Regular Savings – a First Step?
A regular savings plan is often the first step towards successful expat retirement planning. By simply saving money on a monthly basis and investing into a vehicle that offers the potential for growth, expats can increase their chances of reaching their financial goals.
Inevitably, it is a better idea to put money into a regular savings vehicle than any kind of lottery. For example, if you spent £10 each week (two tickets twice a week on the Euromillions draw) over the course of 30 years this would amount to an outlay of £15,600 with, probably, little to no return.
If you instead put the money into a modest savings account, you will still receive some return, but by making a slightly larger regular contribution to a savings account or investment vehicle – for example, two hundred pounds a month – you greatly increase your chances of having your money work for you and, if you invest early, of also enjoying all the benefits of compound gains.
But time is of the essence – it is never too early to sit down with your wealth manager to develop a regular savings plan for your retirement – you certainly don't want to be one of the 15% of millennials who consider the lottery to be part of their retirement plan.**
Expat Retirement Planning with Blacktower FM
Blacktower FM is committed to helping clients develop a regular savings plan that aligns with their expat retirement planning goals.
We work across the UK, Europe and the Caribbean to help our clients confidently plan their long-term futures. For more information contact us today.
* https://www.lottery.co.uk/euromillions/odds
** https://myirionline.org