Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is something the arrogant, smug people who criticize people for not saving or not saving enough never think about. Some people just don't have the wherewithal to save great deal of money like good paying jobs. So many Americans are just focusing on how to get by on their paychecks and do the best they can.
I live off SS and a tiny pension. It works because I make it work.
Thank you. I had a good-enough job, meaning I could live in a decent, safe town, and as a matter of fact it was my hometown, so that my mother could be there for my daughter after school because my job was 35 miles away in Manhattan. I wanted my daughter to have the same things that the other kids did, and I don't mean video games and designer labels, I mean school trips and Girl Scouts and the ability to play in the band. There are costs involved with such activities. There is such a short window of time when they are children, and you can't get it back.
SO yes, I could have saved more for MY retirement by living in a cheaper, less safe town with substandard schools, dropped her at the local daycare run out of a house by a woman watching ten other kids, and not let her join in any activities that cost money, and I would have had a nicer "nest egg" and maybe even a "portfolio". Instead, I have "just" a pension, since I worked in the public sector. I won't be rich, but it covers my expenses.
What I don't have are regrets. My daughter has a wonderful relationship with her 87-year-old grandmother, confidence in herself, two Bachelors degrees, speaks Mandarin fluently and has lived in China, and she will enter a Ph.D program in the fall.
I'm a vegetarian, so if I end up eating rice and beans for most of my golden years, that's fine. It will have been worth it.
This is something the arrogant, smug people who criticize people for not saving or not saving enough never think about. Some people just don't have the wherewithal to save great deal of money like good paying jobs. So many Americans are just focusing on how to get by on their paychecks and do the best they can.
I live off SS and a tiny pension. It works because I make it work.
Great point Minervah. We make it work because it has to. Complaining about the injustice of it all only gives us heartburn.
My wife and I lived frugally in a manner of speaking. We have had an emergency fund for as far back as I can remember. Probably about the time my wife and I came up with our paycheck agreement. I let her run the day to day expenses, limited my spending, made the decision on the 5% of my paycheck for 401k and I got to keep my military weekend paycheck for spending. That helped keep the peace, save the homeland from invaders, kept me from spending too much money. It worked for us because it had to.
I'm 69, and I'm still working full time in IT; next year I'll start collecting the max amount from social security. I'll have $100K+ in my 401k and plan on working a year or two more. By 72 I should be able to match about 70% of my current level of income and plan to make up the rest with some freelance work (if I live that long, of course). My focus has been on making sure everything's paid off, so I have a small buffer for immediate needs in checking and am looking to build up savings over the next couple of years so I have 6 mos. living expenses there. So for now, I fit into the "no savings" category but that doesn't mean I'm without resources.
What would totally screw things up for me is a major medical emergency. That's not something I'm prepared for; I'm having hernia surgery next week, and will probably have to finance it. I now wish I'd done a better job of planning for retirement 15-20 years ago, but it is what it is and I have to live with the consequences of my choices. For those who are past 60 and haven't prepared, I'd say it's never too late to start and you can recover from poor planning to some degree by being aggressive about saving and cutting back on expenses. Something put away is better than nothing.
At age 69 you're eligible for Medicare, even if you are working. Are you on it?
Thank you. I had a good-enough job, meaning I could live in a decent, safe town, and as a matter of fact it was my hometown, so that my mother could be there for my daughter after school because my job was 35 miles away in Manhattan. I wanted my daughter to have the same things that the other kids did, and I don't mean video games and designer labels, I mean school trips and Girl Scouts and the ability to play in the band. There are costs involved with such activities. There is such a short window of time when they are children, and you can't get it back.
SO yes, I could have saved more for MY retirement by living in a cheaper, less safe town with substandard schools, dropped her at the local daycare run out of a house by a woman watching ten other kids, and not let her join in any activities that cost money, and I would have had a nicer "nest egg" and maybe even a "portfolio". Instead, I have "just" a pension, since I worked in the public sector. I won't be rich, but it covers my expenses.
What I don't have are regrets. My daughter has a wonderful relationship with her 87-year-old grandmother, confidence in herself, two Bachelors degrees, speaks Mandarin fluently and has lived in China, and she will enter a Ph.D program in the fall.
I'm a vegetarian, so if I end up eating rice and beans for most of my golden years, that's fine. It will have been worth it.
And that, as I see it, is the best definition of wealth there is. Contentment with one's lot in life, and the ability to make it all work.
I've worked all my life with no breaks (extended periods of time off) whatsoever. My SS will be enough for me to live on and I have large savings and investment funds.
Girlfriend A always made fun of me for "working for the man," working two jobs and never taking time off to "enjoy my money" while she worked jobs where she was paid under the table. She also took long periods (3 to 4 years) off at least six times in her life. Now she is 56 and having health problems. She could probably get SS disability, but since she did not have reported earnings, it's only $520 a month. Not enough to live on.
Girlfriend B (55) worked very low paying jobs and also took lots of time off -- one was five years off when she received an inheritance (and blew through it in that time). She has some serious health problems and may not be able to work much longer. Due to not working, her disability would only be $612 a month. Her rent is $900.
You are very lucky that Girlfriend A and Girlfriend B never became Wife A and Wife B
But your investments would be money available to you in your retirement, would they not? Thus taking you out of that 22.8%.
BUT, we aren't told that. We can assume it, but we can also assume as I did, the question asked was "Do you have a savings account?".
My answer would be no, even though I have various investment vehicles, I do not have a savings account. I no longer saw the need when our income cranked up, that we didn't need to prepay bills to ourselves anymore.
Which is why I look at charts and graphs and such things as statistical noise. Meaningless. If you ask 100 people and extrapolate, you can target people to make your case. Did they do that? Don't know. Are there people of all incomes in financial trouble? Yes. Is it most of us? No. Most of the people I know are okay. We will be okay if we decide to pull the plug and close the business.
My mom was okay on SS and about 100K investments. She was a black belt frugalista. My belt is brown.
Once again, I don't see the point of trying to dissect a whole generation of retirees. Everything in life is on a bell curve. There are people who will be worse off than you....and there are people who will be better off. The key is to live your life well, and enjoy it.
Frankly, these threads are very unproductive in that vein, and yet I keep getting sucked in....
At age 69 you're eligible for Medicare, even if you are working. Are you on it?
Nope. I have great health insurance at work including short term and long term disability programs (I work for an international bank), and don't actually need to sign up for Medicare until I'm no longer working here.
Once again, I don't see the point of trying to dissect a whole generation of retirees. Everything in life is on a bell curve. There are people who will be worse off than you....and there are people who will be better off. The key is to live your life well, and enjoy it.
I have a few family members that were poor all their lives and ended up fairly destitute in retirement. They all also happen to be dead.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
