Are you saving for the right things?
By Erika Agard & the Aptus Team
When most people think about saving, their minds jump straight to retirement. That’s the advice we’ve all heard—save early, save often, max out your retirement accounts. And yes, long-term saving is important. But it’s not the only thing worth saving for.
One of the most common patterns we see is people doing all the “right” things on paper. They’re contributing to retirement, investing regularly, and maybe even maxing things out. But they still feel stressed. Maybe there’s still debt on a credit card, or just enough money for essentials each month.
They don’t feel like they have much flexibility or much fun.
That’s often because all their savings are locked up for the long term, with nothing set aside for the short term. They know their savings rate is good, but it doesn’t feel like it’s helping with their life right now.
That’s where squirrel funds come in.
At Aptus, we help people build a savings rate that gets them to retirement, while also carving out money for the things that make life better now. Squirrel funds are intentional savings for things that don’t show up in your budget every month but still matter.
Think about things like:
A car replacement in a few years
Home repairs or upgrades
A family trip
Parental leave
Time off for a reset
The option to go part-time for a season
Starting something new
These aren’t emergencies, and they’re not retirement. But they’re still part of the plan. And they’re worth planning for.
FREEDOM NOW AND FREEDOM LATER
The point of financial planning isn’t just to build security for someday. It’s also about helping you live the life you want today.
If you’ve been saving consistently and still feel like money is tight, it might be time to rethink the structure. Sometimes it’s just about adjusting where your savings are going so that you’re building a future and giving yourself some breathing room now.
It could be a high-yield savings account labeled “Next Car” or “Career Break,” or setting aside a monthly amount for goals that aren’t urgent but still important.
A FEW QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:
What are you postponing, not because you can’t afford it, but because it never feels like the right time?
If you had extra money saved outside of retirement, how would you use it?
Are you saving at a rate that gets you to retirement and lets you live a good life now?
Are your savings giving you flexibility or just future security?
Saving for retirement is important. But so is saving for the life you want to live along the way.
Let us help you save for the life you want to live.