A Money Lesson from Filming Forrest Gump, Retiring Happier, Tim Ferriss’ Productivity Filter, and More

“During the filming of Forrest Gump, director Bob Zemeckis realized he had a problem: The kid cast to play the young Forrest had an accent he was unable to tone down in order to mimic the way Tom Hanks was portraying the adult Forrest.

One day on set, Zemeckis told Hanks, ‘We got a problem here, you have to teach this kid how to talk the way you talk.’

Hanks was enjoying a run of box-office hits, had just won his first Oscar for Best Actor, and could have let the fact that he was one of the hottest actors in Hollywood govern his choice to demand that Zemeckis cast a different kid. Instead, Hanks asked to meet with the kid.

He was from Mississippi, and when Hanks heard the kid talk, he loved his thick Southern accent, and Hanks said, ‘I thought, ‘Why don’t I just talk the way HE talks?’’

The accent and mannerisms that would define the iconic character and help Hanks become just the second actor ever to win two consecutive Oscars for Best Actor: it was just the simple choice to mimic the kid.”

“Am I 'going to ‘have to’ track every expense?”

“While only about 45% of respondents spending between $20,000 and $30,000 per year between the ages of 50 and 54 are satisfied with their financial situation, about 84% of those age 80 or older with similar consumption levels are satisfied with their situation. Additionally, financial well-being declines for only about 7% of households moving into retirement, Blanchett notes, despite consumption declining by about 20%, on average…

‘This analysis suggests that reductions in spending during retirement are likely to be significantly less cataclysmic than suggested by many existing models,’ Blanchett says. ‘Regardless, we need to approach the implications of these potential spending reductions in later retirement with more nuance to better reflect how people experience retirement and adjust to situations over time.’…

‘This reduction in consumption, as well as the overall lack of retirement savings, has given rise to the notion that we are in, or at least headed towards, a national retirement crisis,’ Blanchett says…

‘There is a clear disconnect between perceptions of a national crisis (what other people are experiencing) and the reported situation of retirees, where retirees are far better off when asked about their situation,’ Blanchett writes. ‘This is consistent with retiree perspectives in the HRS. … Overall, roughly 90% are moderately or very satisfied with retirement.’…

‘While it’s possible retirees could be over-reporting financial well-being, there are other potential drivers as well,’ Blanchett writes. ‘For example, retirees are going to have significantly more free time than workers, which may offset lower potential consumption levels.’…

‘This means that even retirees who may have to eventually live off less in retirement may actually end up better off from a satisfaction standpoint as compared to how satisfied they were doing while working,’ he notes.

“Learn to ask, ‘If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?’

Don’t ever arrive at the office or in front of your computer without a clear list of priorities. You’ll just read unassociated e-mail and scramble your brain for the day.

Compile your to-do list for tomorrow no later than this evening. I don’t recommend using digital to-do lists, because it is possible to add an infinite number of items. I use a standard piece of paper folded in half three times, which fits perfectly in the pocket and limits you to noting only a few items.

There should never be more than two mission-critical items to complete each day. Never. It just isn’t necessary if they’re actually high-impact.

If you are stuck trying to decide between multiple items that all seem crucial, as happens to all of us, look at each in turn and ask yourself, If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?

To counter the seemingly urgent, ask yourself: What will happen if I don’t do this, and is it worth putting off the important to do it?”

Do you know the percentage of your income you want to save to meet your financial independence or retirement goal?