The Ideal Life Can Be Planned—Just Dare to Start Now!

An Ideal Life Can Be Planned—Just Dare to Start Now!

Pasardana.id - "You live your life to the fullest, you grow rich when you grow old, you die in heaven"—this expression is probably familiar to us.

Who doesn't want such an ideal life?

However, the question is: what must be done to achieve it?

In a written statement on Saturday (July 26), Ade Yusriansyah, Director of BNI Asset Management (BNI-AM), explained the importance of financial planning from a young age.

"I was once invited as a speaker on a podcast discussing the importance of financial planning from a young age. Why is this important? Because there were several points highlighted in the discussion. One of them was the division of human life into five stages: childhood, adolescence/singlehood, adulthood/marriage, pre-retirement, and retirement," Ade explained.

He added that in each of these stages, we face various uncertainties such as illness, physical decline, sudden needs, education costs, and the risk of death.

"The solution? Early preparation, one way of which is through thorough personal financial planning. This planning can take the form of an emergency fund, education fund, Hajj fund, dream home fund, or even a retirement fund. Besides mitigating risks, financial planning also helps anticipate rising living costs, one of which is caused by inflation," he explained.

For example, Ade continued, education inflation in Indonesia is quite high.

Based on data I've gathered from my personal experience from 1996 to 2024, education inflation at the same university and major reached 8.13% to 14.42% per year.

On the other hand, data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that the average income increase from August 2015 to August 2023 was only around 5.51% per year.

For basic education, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, school fees at the elementary school level increased from IDR 2.4 million (2017/2018 academic year) to IDR 3.24 million (2020/2021), an increase of approximately 35%.

At the junior high school level, fees increased by 32%, from IDR 4.23 million to IDR 5.59 million. Meanwhile, at the senior high school level, the increase was recorded at 19%, from IDR 6.53 million to IDR 7.8 million.

These figures indicate a potential gap between rising education costs and income growth.

Another example, Ade continued, is the need for retirement funds.

According to a 2022 report by Manulife Investment Management, regular income from pensions in Indonesia is projected to be only around 20% of previous active income or even lower.

This means that retirees' standard of living is predicted to decline significantly if financial preparation is not initiated early.

Given these facts, it is clear that financial planning is crucial at every stage of life.

However, implementing financial planning is not easy, especially when many people still view it as a "burden" rather than a long-term investment.

One clear example is the view that education costs are merely an expense, not an investment for the future.

To change this mindset, the first thing that needs to be instilled is the ultimate vision of financial planning: achieving financial independence.

"With this vision, we can better understand the results we will reap from the process we are currently undergoing or will be undergoing. Furthermore, we also need to develop four important elements in implementing financial planning: interest, willingness, commitment, and consistency. These four elements act as guides to keep us on the right track," he explained further.

Equally important, he continued, is the need to continuously improve our financial literacy.

With a good understanding, we will be wiser in choosing investment instruments that suit our risk profile and be able to achieve optimal returns without ignoring the potential for loss.

He further stated that getting into the habit of financial planning from a young age is a small step that has a big impact.

To quote the proverb, "small steps for giant leaps," it means that one initial step can bring about major changes in the future.

Therefore, the slogan "living wild when you're young, being rich when you grow old, and going to heaven when you die" is not just a dream as long as it's accompanied by concrete plans and action.

Good luck with planning your finances wisely!