People Are Already Opening Accounts to Save for Space – Gizmodo – Gizmodo

In the halcyon days of yore, people put away money with the hopes of retiring somewhere warm, where they could argue about chicken salad with other curmudgeons until they expired. But very soon, the new retirement hotspot might be on Mars. While billionaires like Elon Musk have long touted human settlement of the Red Planet, at least a few ordinary folks are listeningand saving up money accordingly.

After SpaceXs most recent success with the launch and landing of a refurbished Falcon 9 rocket, everyone in (and out of) the aerospace community was buzzing about the next steps. The big benefit of reusable rockets is that theyll make space travel cheaper, and therefore more accessible, for the average personat least thats what Musk and his company claim.

Following that launch, automated investing serviceBetterment, which assists folks in planning for big-ticket life events like retirement, pulled some data on its customers. In a search of 250,000 accounts, the companys analysts found that among the usual account types (e.g. retirement, anniversary trip), there were 22 accounts set up for either Mars or Space. According to Betterment, some accounts are receiving $1,000 a month in deposits, and one, opened in January 2016, has a staggering $60,000 saved. Betterment told Gizmodo that the earliest space-related account was set up in March 2014.

I think theres a nice dovetail here with Elon [Musk] and SpaceX, who are looking far into the future of where humanity is going to be, and what we need to do to bootstrap ourselves into the stars, Dan Egan, Betterments VP of behavioral finance, told Gizmodo. The whole idea is that over time, the price of [space travel] will come down, and if our customers start saving, theyre going to be able to afford that.

Indeed, Elon Musk has already touted a relatively affordable $200,000 price tag for SpaceX-led trips to Mars. Egan said that by Betterments calculations, a customer would have to contribute $263 dollars a month in order to get to Mars in 30 years, assuming a 6 percent annual realized returnin English, that means how much you gained/lost over a year. So, the future is now-ish.

These are goals that are pretty serious, Egan added. Two of [the accounts] have about $1,000 going into them on a monthly basis, which is not an insignificant amount of money. According to Egan, the companys average clients tend to be individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and tech-enabled.

Sowho the hell are these financial unicorns who have enough money to comfortably afford food, rent, and space travel? We spoke with one of thema lawyer named Michael Cappo, who lives and works in the midwest. He opened a space tourism account with Betterment three years ago and has been socking away a few hundred dollars per month.

Cappo explained that space exploration has been a life-long fascination of his, in addition to traveling in general. Growing up, my dad was really into sci-fi and aliens, he explained. So Ive always had an interest in space, and combining that with really liking to travel...it would be a fun adventure.

While hes still mulling over whether or not hed like to end up on Mars, Cappo said hes very interested in checking out commercial space tourism opportunities, like those being created by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Blue Origins New Shepard capsule will send people on short stints into suborbital space, while SpaceX plans to carry two passengers around the Moon next year in its Dragon 2 spacecraft.

Id like to return home to Earth, but well see what happens, Cappo said. A lot of [space tourism technology] is developing pretty quickly, so maybe the answer will be different in 50 years.

Ideally, a sojourn in space would be the ultimate getaway. But although commercial entities continue to develop impressive tourism vehicles, the risks of sending untrained citizens off Earth remain very real. As for retiring on another planet, were still just learning how long-duration spaceflight and extended time in microgravity affect the human body, say nothing of psychological element that comes with being stuck on a barren planet. Needless to say, folks who are planning ahead ought to be sure theyre thinking about the potential medical bills.

Cappo added that hes aware of the risks of spaceflight but doesnt really have any reservations.

I feel pretty secure, he said. But hopefully by the time I would be in the position to go, some of the kinks will be worked out.

Obviously, weve got a long way to go until theres a Margaritaville on Mars. Itll definitely be interesting to see how popular the early bird special is there.

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People Are Already Opening Accounts to Save for Space - Gizmodo - Gizmodo