What Can Lent Teach us About Retirement Planning?

When you say “Lent”, we say “giving up our favourite things for 40 days”.

Taking place in the lead up to Easter, Lent carries various traditions across different cultures. Observers of Lent may follow a strict fasting plan, while others may abstain from a single luxury, such as sugary treats, social media, or shopping. Whatever the tradition, Lent is a season of significant sacrifice and offers a period of reflection and discipline. 

Choosing what you forego is usually based on what you enjoy or rely on the most; popular options for many include cutting out chocolate or the internet for 40 days and nights. 

Now, the golden question – and certainly in no way a tenuous link – how can Lent impact your retirement?

A Time to Reflect

Observing Lent does not have to involve giving up your favourite snack or alcoholic drinks, it could be possible to show such discipline in other ways. For example, cutting back on spending on certain luxuries and contributing said saving to your pension.

Let’s say you spend £40 a week on your favourite takeaway. Lent generally lasts for 6 weeks, equalling a grand total of £240 saved. If you’re not ready to ditch the donner kebabs yet, even by reducing your takeaway a week to a takeaway a fortnight, you’ve saved £120 that could be invested into your pension. 

Doing so could generate greater financial understanding and ultimately place you in a stronger position in the future. And who knows, it could result in some long-term positive habits. 

Planning for the Future

Positive discipline can in turn spur on other positive habits, even beyond Lent – think of it as looking after the retired version of you. Applying discipline to your finances could highlight the importance of being careful with your cash and open up the world of financial planning and the exploration of new products.

We’ve now stretched beyond the period of 40 days and 40 nights into long-term planning, but long-term financial planning needn’t be the overwhelming concept many assume.

Picture your ideal life in retirement – how many holidays would you like a year, what hobbies would you like your newfound free time to focus on? These answers can provide a really useful starting point to work from, it can help you to understand what you need to do to achieve your goals, the age you can retire and how much you need to save.

And with the help of an adviser, this can be made clearer. 

Seek Advice

Like the team at My Pension Expert, advisers are always on hand to help you with your finances. Expert advisers will take into account everything you want to achieve, and your financial circumstances and make a personal recommendation to set you on track to the retirement you want. 

So, the final takeaway – Lent can teach you a lot – from self sacrifice to discipline. And feeding this lesson into your financial management can help you work towards the retirement you want.