It would not be incorrect to suggest that as a college student my investment strategies and budgeting could both be accurately qualifed with the adjective “non-existant”. College wasn’t real life, and this “future” people told me to worry about seemed intangible and distant at best.

But since I’m entering the phase of my life in which the next step is retirement, I figure it’s time to start looking at this elusive time period which exists beyond my next meal.

The following two short films I think anyone would find useful as they look at their financial future. Both films indirectly address lifestyle inflation, the concept that spending naturally increases to match your income unless you consciously try to avoid it.