Is Comparing Your Finances to the Average Person a Mistake? Yes. And It’s Costly.
Is Comparing Your Finances to the Average Person a Mistake? Yes. And It’s Costly. Is comparing your finances to the average person helpful? No. The average saver is underprepared for inflation, longevity, and retirement costs. Using average savings by age as a benchmark creates false reassurance and leads to long-term shortfalls, even for disciplined high earners. That is the starting point most people resist. The issue with “average” is not that it is modest. It is that it reflects a population already falling behind. These benchmarks are built from households that save too little, start too late, and rely on assumptions that quietly fail over time. Matching them does not protect you. It delays the moment you realise your plan lacks margin. This is why being above average is often mistaken for being safe. You may be doing better than most, yet still exposed to rising living costs, longer retirements, and inflation steadily eroding purchasing power. Financial security is not rela...