Glad I Listened to Bob Hollis

To whom all are you listening about long-term things this side of eternity?

“I’ll be by at 8:45,” the caller said. “We’re going to a meeting.” Thus began an amazing and oft-repeated opportunity: about two hours on the road talking with Bob Hollis.

I’ll not even try to summarize him, his ministry, or his influence on a bunch of us.

Suffice it say that now, in my current status as an officially-retired pastor, I’m glad I listened to Bob Hollis.

All sorts of things remind me of him. For example, this —

You don’t need a big income to start saving and investing.

A common roadblock many face is the belief that they don’t earn enough to start investing for retirement, or that a small amount doesn’t matter. This misconception can lead to missed opportunities that compound over time, just like the investments we forgo.

The truth is, waiting to save because you anticipate higher earnings in the future is a gamble on time you can’t afford. The power of compounding interest means that even small, consistent investments can snowball into significant sums over time. This is a certainty you can count on. For example, investing just $50 a month at a 7% annual return will grow to over $23,000 in 20 years. Now, imagine if you increase that amount as your income grows.

Furthermore, if you invest in a tax-advantaged account like a Roth IRA, which allows tax-free withdrawals in retirement, or a traditional IRA and 401(k), which invest pre-tax dollars, you’re effectively using tax savings to boost your retirement fund. In other words, money that would have gone to taxes is now working for you.

Let’s not forget the potential boost from employer matching in your 401(k), which is essentially free money. Even if your employer matches only 50% of your contributions up to a certain percentage of your salary, this can significantly increase the growth of your retirement savings.

— Glad I listened to him and to others. About money and more.

To whom all are you listening about long-term things this side of eternity?

And the source of that italicized material? Here ya go: https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/what-i-wish-id-known-before-i-retired