Why “Future You” Deserves a Paycheck Too

Picture this. You’re grinding through a long week, Friday rolls around, and that paycheck hits. Bills, groceries, gas, it all disappears fast. But most people forget someone important when they’re splitting up dollars: Future You.

Future You is the one who still wants a roof overhead, vacations that do not involve a Motel 6, and maybe retiring before your knees give out. The problem is, Current You tends to hog all the paychecks.

So how do you make sure Future You gets paid? Here are three moves that tilt the scales back toward balance.

1. Treat savings like a bill.
Rent is due. Utilities are due. Netflix is due. Add one more: savings is due. Do not wait to see what is left over. Pay yourself first because if you wait, it will never be there.

If you choose not to pay the electric bill, there are consequences—you won’t have power. If you don’t pay yourself, there are consequences as well. You may not be able to retire, or you may be left trying to stretch a tiny Social Security check to cover future you’s bills.

I get it, the electric needs to be paid this month or you feel the pain quickly. Retirement, or any future goal, seems far away and it’s easy to think, “I’ll get to it later.”

That reminds me of a riddle from grade school: What day never comes? The answer is tomorrow. If today is Monday, tomorrow is Tuesday. When Tuesday arrives, tomorrow is Wednesday. Tomorrow never comes.

“I’ll do it later” is not a plan. Doing anything now, regardless of how small, is a plan. If you can’t put $50 in savings or bump your 401(k) by 1% today, what makes you think you’ll put away $500 later? That’s trusting your future to hope, not creating a real path.

2. Build a short-term cushion.
Life throws curveballs. The car battery dies. The washing machine starts making noises like a drum solo. The dog eats your socks and needs surgery. Having three to six months of expenses tucked away means you don’t need a credit card bailout every time chaos shows up.

If your emergency fund is sitting at 25 cents, six months’ worth of expenses might sound impossible. The good news is you don’t have to get there this month, or even this year, but you do have to start today. Every dollar added is a dollar of stress removed.

According to a recent study by Bankrate, 59% of Americans do not have $1000 set aside for an emergency and would need to rely on credit cards. If you are among that 59%, take comfort that you are not alone, and then start setting something aside.

3. Give investments time to cook.
The market is not a microwave. It is a slow cooker. Toss in your contributions, give them years, not weeks, and let compound interest do its magic. Impatience ruins more wealth than bad luck ever does.

Markets will be up some years and down in others. Keep moving forward, ignore the noise, and stay focused on your plan. Plant a seed with every bit of income, and Future You can enjoy an orchard. Wait too long and Future You will still be staring at seedlings.

Just like trees take years to bear fruit, investments take time to grow. Make the plan, and trust the plan.

Here is the truth. Future You cannot hire a lawyer and sue Current You for neglect. But Future You will definitely thank you, or curse you, depending on what you do with today’s paycheck. Start paying them now, and you will both live better lives.