Nana You (65-Year-Old You)
Make retirement saving vivid by picturing the badass future self it's paying for.
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 85%
Nana You is Dunlap's device for making retirement emotionally real. Because a goal decades away feels pointless, she coaches people to picture their 65-year-old self in vivid detail: her own 'Nana Tori' sips sauvignon blanc at lunch, flirts with a younger Pilates instructor, and runs a Tuscan villa full of adopted dogs. The image makes present contributions feel like the heavy lifting that gets that future self to her good life. For others the vision is simply feeling content and unstressed, which is equally valid; the point is to attach a feeling to the far-off number.
Origin
Dunlap developed this as the retirement-focused sibling of her 'attach the number to a feeling' principle, using it in workshops and her book where she calls it 'grandparent you' or 'Nana you.'
Core principles
- 01Distant goals feel pointless without a vivid emotional anchor.
- 02Personifying your future self makes present sacrifice meaningful.
- 03The vision differs per person, from Tuscan villas to simple contentment.
- 04Present saving is the heavy lifting that earns the future you a good life.
How to run it
- 1
Picture your future self
Imagine a specific version of yourself at 65 or older living the life your savings could fund.
- 2
Add vivid detail
Flesh the image out with concrete, joyful specifics so it feels real rather than abstract.
Pro tip The more badass and specific the vision, the more motivating it is.
- 3
Connect present to future
Recognize that your future self only gets that life if you do the heavy lifting of saving and investing now.
- 4
Let the image drive saving
Use the emotional pull of that future self, not the far-off dollar figure, to sustain contributions.
Pro tip Your vision can be modest; simple contentment counts just as much as a Tuscan villa.
In the wild
Dunlap pictures 65-year-old Nana Tori drinking sauvignon blanc at lunch, flirting with a younger Pilates instructor named Luca, and adopting dogs at a Tuscan villa. The vision is so appealing she 'can't wait to meet her,' but Nana Tori only gets there if present-day Tori does the saving now.
→ The vivid future self turns abstract, uninspiring retirement contributions into meaningful, motivated action today.
Common mistakes
Leaving retirement abstract
Treating retirement as a far-off number with no face attached makes it easy to deprioritize and under-save.
Assuming the vision must be extravagant
Some people's future self just wants to feel content and unstressed; forcing a lavish fantasy can make the exercise feel fake.
Is it for you?
Best for
Younger people or hustler-types who struggle to feel motivated by distant retirement goals.
Not ideal for
People who already save diligently and need mechanics rather than motivation.
From the transcript
“I try to have them picture what 65 year old you looks like because there is this like arbitrary thing where you're just like I'm…”
“she doesn't get all of that unless I do some heavy lifting right now”
From the episode
Tori Dunlap: Unlocking Financial Freedom, the REAL Cause of Money Problems and How to Defeat Them for Good
Tori Dunlap