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- [Narrator] What is
the lifecycle theory of savings?
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It's the theory about how a person
chooses to spend and save
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throughout her lifetime.
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But before diving
into these choices,
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we need to examine
a person's typical income over time.
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Most people's incomes don't stay flat
their entire lives,
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they change in predictable ways.
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Here's a typical pattern
showing a person's income
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over their life with their income
on the vertical axis
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and time on the horizontal axis.
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When you're young
and still in school,
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you might make
a little bit of money
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waiting tables
or occasionally mowing lawns.
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Your first job out of school --
it's going to pay a lot more.
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After a few years of experience,
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and hopefully
a few raises along the way,
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you make more than you ever have.
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Then, as you age,
you look forward to retirement
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when your income falls,
but you're no longer working
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and you could really
enjoy your golden years.
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Now let's imagine
if your consumption followed
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the same path as your income
and you never saved or borrowed.
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You'd struggle when young,
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and you'd be unable
to invest in an education.
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Then, you'd spend
every cent you make
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during your prime working years.
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Well, that sounds like a lot of fun,
but without any savings,
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your income will drop suddenly
when you retire,
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and so will your consumption.
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Your golden years
wouldn't be so golden.
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So instead people tend to
follow lifecycle theory of savings.
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A person can start out consuming
more than she makes,
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borrowing to fill that gap,
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and to pay for things
like an education.
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Then during her prime working years,
she makes more than she consumes,
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paying down her debt
and saving the extra income
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for retirement,
and when retirement comes,
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she can spend those savings
and enjoy the golden years
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even without working.
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We call it "dissaving,"
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but that just means
spending your own savings.
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Now, of course, many people deviate
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from this exact path,
depending on details.
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They consume less in college
than they do as professionals.
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Ramen noodles are no longer
are a staple of my diet,
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but generally speaking,
many people follow a pattern
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of borrowing, saving and dissaving
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to smooth their consumption path
over their lifetime.