Helping You Build Good Money Habits

The 1980s seemed to be peak suntanning culture in America. In movies, the cool kids had a deep, dark tan. The ads for sunscreen focused on getting a nice even brown. In the summer, it seemed like everyone was grabbing some rays, and in the winter, tanning beds were a thing.

I got caught up in the craze. I never visited a tanning salon, but I’d lay out for hours and sometimes even use baby oil.

I don’t think the sun’s harmful effects were clear to me until one particularly long suntanning session on our deck. Sure, I felt the sun’s heat, but I imagined it was turning me into one of those bronze gods in the magazines. I went inside to cool off, and Mom noticed I had a blister about the size of a half dollar on my left shoulder.

That day, I learned some important lessons: Too much time in the sun can be harmful, and always wear sunscreen. I stopped the marathon suntanning sessions, even if I didn’t completely change my habits.

A couple of certainties in life: Technology and knowledge tend to improve over time, and people tend to get wiser as they age. As kids, we tend to do a lot of dumb things and hopefully we learn from them.

When I was young, I felt that my skin was nearly indestructible. I didn’t think about long-term consequences of overexposure to the sun.

Similarly, many young people think that money will always appear, and they don’t think about the long-term consequences of not saving.

I have come to understand human nature much better over the years. Young people need education. That’s why we created our Money Minded curriculum and our Illinois Financial Wellness Hub.

People also tend to respond well to incentives. It’s why we secured tax advantages for 529 college savings accounts like Bright Start and started our First Steps program.

I know that change is hard, and we need to make it easier for people to develop new habits. That’s why our My Illinois Savings retirement program automatically deducts contributions from your paycheck and puts them into an individual retirement account (IRA) that you manage yourself.

I have learned that inertia is a great force. A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. We want to give people a gentle nudge to start saving for their future.

It took me a while and some bad burns to learn to better protect my skin. Even so, my dermatologist tells me I still have a lot to learn and better habits to develop. She told me that I need to wear sunscreen every day. Even in the winter. That was a new one for me.

I didn’t attend medical school, so I don’t dispense much advice on proper skin care. But I have spent many years managing money, and hopefully I can help a lot of people live more comfortably financially. We created our programs to do just that.

Sincerely,
Michael