How to look after your future self
- Robin Powell
- Jul 30
- 3 min read
Financial wellbeing is about feeling secure and happy with your money both today and down the road. Many people find it hard to think long term, especially when the future self seems like a stranger.
In this video, financial wellbeing advocate CHRIS BUDD explains how our brains treat money decisions as emotional and fearful moments. He reveals how simple techniques, like writing letters to your future self, can make the idea of saving and investing more personal and motivating.
Get ready to discover easy ways to connect with your future self, improve your financial choices, and strike the right balance between present enjoyment and future security. In this short video, we’ll walk you through how to better prepare for your financial future without giving up the life you want today.
Key takeaways
Financial wellbeing means feeling secure about your money both now and in the future.
Our brains treat future selves as strangers, making long-term financial planning challenging.
Simple methods like writing to your future self can improve connection and encourage smarter money decisions.
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Transcript
Robin Powell: A phrase we’re hearing more and more is financial wellbeing. Essentially, it’s about ensuring we feel happy about our financial situation — both now and in the future. It sounds straightforward. But, as author and financial wellbeing advocate Chris Budd explains, it can be a difficult balance to strike.
Chris Budd: Money decisions are fearful decisions. The bit that we use of our brain when we think about money is the same bit that lights up when we are afraid, so consequently, we use a kind of fight or flight process when it comes to money. Consequently, we tend to focus on enjoying ourselves now. We don’t particularly like putting back our enjoyment for another time, so we tend to spend our money on ourselves now.
Robin Powell: So, why do some people find it hard to rein in their expenditure now, so they can invest enough money for the long-term future? Simply put, that’s how the human brain is wired.
Chris Budd: Neuroscience tells us that when we think of ourselves now, a certain part of our brain lights up. If I then ask you to think of somebody else, a different part of your brain lights up. If I ask you to think of yourself in ten years time, the bit of the brain that lights up is the same bit that thinks of somebody else. So when you say to a 30 year old to put some money into a pension, you’re literally saying, open the window and throw your money out because you’re giving money to somebody else you can’t recognise. So part of financial wellbeing should be helping people to connect better with their future selves and therefore make better financial decisions.
Robin Powell: Again, it seems simple enough, but too many people struggle to envisage themselves in, say, 20 or 30 years’ time. What can you do about it?
Chris Budd: There’s lots of ways of connecting with your future self. I like the idea of writing a letter to your future self, which is quite fun. Sit down, think about what yourself at retirement might be doing. Write a letter. Whatever it is you want to say. Leave it a few weeks and then write back from your future self to yourself now. It’s about making connections with your future self so it no longer seems such a stranger to you, and that you’re therefore more likely to do things now to help your future self.
Robin Powell: But remember, it’s all about balance. Yes, younger people have to make sacrifices now to ensure their future selves are provided for. But that certainly doesn’t mean cutting back on expenditure right across the board.
Chris Budd: Plenty of research shows that the most important contributor to wellbeing is the quality of our social relationships. So if that young person wants to go on a holiday, to Ibiza with their friends? Great. Do it. On the other hand, if you go to buy something that you don’t really need, but you’re only doing it because you want some retail therapy, that may not be such a good thing. So it’s about understanding where the sources of joy come from and spending your money on that.
Robin Powell: Ultimately, deciding what to spend your money on and how much to invest is very much easier if you have a financial plan. Whatever your age, producing a plan is the logical first step to take if you want financial wellbeing.
