Have you ever looked back on your life and said, “I wish I knew then what I know now?” Everyone has; it’s only natural to wish you could go back in time and tell yourself everything you learned in your journey through life.  This concept can be used to illustrate an important philosophy in retirement preparation.

Working exclusively with those in or near retirement for nearly four decades, I have gained an incredible appreciation for making the best of every moment while we still have them.

I have asked consumers who lost more than half of their nest egg from market crashes what they would do differently looking back. They always reply, “I would have taken more time to learn about my investments and do things differently.”

We all know retirement is coming, and most of us have some idea of what we need to do to get there, but most don’t take the time to learn how to get through retirement once we’re there.

The problem is most of us don’t take our own advice. So when you’re thinking about retirement, imagine yourself twenty years from now.  What would you want to tell yourself about retirement?

You can prepare for the future, all it takes is education.  Learn everything you can about retirement, the sooner the better. Educating yourself now is like taking a glimpse into the future, and it will ensure that you’re not Looking Back with regret.

When you get properly educated you might identify some steps you can take now to be better prepared for the future.

The Look Back Principle is allowing yourself to take what you have learned from your past, apply it to the present and avoid regret in the future.