“Am I saving enough?”

It is a question even the most disciplined investors ask themselves from time to time. You can have spreadsheets, projections, and a beautifully detailed financial plan, and the question still creeps in now and again. Because no matter how carefully you plan, there will always be things you cannot predict.

Most people understand the basic idea. Save money today, invest it, let it grow, and your future self benefits. The logic is simple enough. The real challenge is emotional. The person you are saving for lives decades in the future and, if we are honest, that person often feels like a stranger.

It is easy to prioritise the life you are living right now. The holiday you want to book. The nicer car. The slightly bigger house. Meanwhile your future self sits quietly in the background, hoping you remember they exist.

If you are already saving, that is a great start. But there is an interesting pattern I see again and again. When saving feels completely comfortable, there is a good chance it is not quite enough. In many cases, the level of saving that actually builds meaningful wealth is the level that feels just a little bit uncomfortable. Not painful. Not impossible. Just enough to make you pause occasionally.

Think of every financial decision you make as a negotiation between two versions of you. Present you wants ease and comfort. Future you needs you to stretch and make a little sacrifice. Research in behavioural finance shows that we naturally place far more value on what feels good today than on what will matter decades from now. That is why the savings rate that feels right often is not. We tend to choose the number that fits comfortably into our current lifestyle rather than the number that truly supports our long term goals.

The slightly uncomfortable savings amount is where those two versions of you meet in the middle. It is the point where present you notices the trade off. Maybe you hesitate before booking that second holiday. Maybe you keep your current car for a few more years. Maybe you say no to a few things you would otherwise say yes to. That small tension is not a bad thing. In fact, it is often a sign you are doing the real work of building wealth.

The personal finance world loves neat rules. Save 15% of your income. If you started later, aim for 20%. Rules like this are helpful because they give people a simple starting point. But real life rarely fits neatly into rules of thumb.

Your income, your goals, your lifestyle, your timeline, all of these things are unique to you. Proper financial planning should reflect that. It should use real numbers based on your situation rather than a one size fits all percentage.

That said, the right savings number is not only about mathematics. It is also about how it feels. You need a level you can sustain month after month without burning out. At the same time, it should require intention. It should ask something of you.

If saving feels effortless, there is a good chance you are short changing your future self. If saving feels impossible, you will likely give up the moment life throws you an unexpected expense. Somewhere between those two extremes is the sweet spot. A place where you feel a small pinch, but you can still keep going. Interestingly, this idea shows up in other parts of financial life as well.

A good emergency fund often feels slightly larger than strictly necessary. Cutting back on spending works best when there is a little friction involved. Even career decisions that eventually lead to higher earnings often feel uncomfortable at first. Growth rarely feels completely comfortable while it is happening. The other thing to remember is that your number will not stay the same forever.

As your life evolves, your savings should evolve with it. A pay rise is not just an opportunity to spend more. It is an opportunity to widen the gap between what you earn and what you spend. Small increases to your savings rate over time can make an enormous difference decades down the line.

In simple terms, being too kind to present you often comes at the expense of future you. A little discomfort today can create a great deal of comfort later. That is the trade off at the heart of long term investing. And while it is not always easy in the moment, it is a trade off that tends to pay off in the end.

Part of an adviser's role is to help you stay in that productive zone. The place where saving still feels manageable but not effortless. The place where your future self is quietly being taken care of, even while present you continues living a full and meaningful life. 🩷