If you don’t invest, you’ll end up with guilt
New survey: Regret of less saving in 2014
If you wish you’d invested more this year, take heart: Even fairly wealthy folks have regrets.
A third of people who have savings and other assets say they feel guilty that they didn’t invest more in 2014, a new survey shows.
Guilt over not investing enough was more common than guilt over what they ate or drank or over not spending enough time with people they love, according to Bank of America’s Merrill Edge survey of 1,046 people who are considered “emerging affluent.” Depending on their age, the respondents had between $20,000 to $250,000 in total household investments, including cash, sav- ings, mutual funds, IRAs, stocks, bonds and other investments, but excluding their homes and real estate investments.
The survey found that half (51%) of respondents did not save for retirement at all in 2014. About 59% plan to tuck away more for retirement in 2015; 51% plan to pay down debt. In comparison, about 42% are going to try to lose weight next year.
And 65% of those with student debt are waiting until that is paid off; then they’ll squirrel away more for their golden years.
“There is an awareness and desire to save more for retirement, but there is a lot of challenges around debt, in particular the growing student debt situation,” says Aron Levine, head of Merrill Edge.
The survey found that 40% of respondents are consulting a financial adviser, and 32% are seeking investment advice online. “A significant number are not reaching out and having someone help them with a plan,” he says.
Yet those who do get help are able to save more for retirement, he says. Other findings:
are proud of the financial decisions they made in 2014; 50% are content with those decisions.
people don’t think what they spend on entertainment (67%), eating out (63%) or gas (62%) will have an impact on their finances in the long run.
of those who buy coffee daily don’t believe that the expense will affect their long-term financial goals.
“Focusing on reducing debt will allow the mass affluent to increase their saving for retirement more than sacrificing small lifestyle purchases,” Levine says. “However, it’s critical to have a plan that includes thinking about how you spend and save all your money.”