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People have lived on less, with less, in the past than they do today. The majority of seniors have enough resources to live well if they use their heads, and live within their means. If not, there's public assistance. No one has to starve or freeze to death in the winter. i'm 71 now, but 40 years ago there were news stories about retired people living on dog food. What amazed me was that with just a hotplate and a pot and running water and a refrigerator, they could have cooked very low cost nutritious meals from scratch, rice and beans with cheap cuts of diced pork or beef, lentils with cheap cuts of stewing beef diced in, and bread and butter, pasta and sauce, peanut butter and jelly, boiled eggs, grilled cheese, etc. Instead they ate dog food.
Location: Foothills of Maryland Blue Ridge mountains
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanny Goat
I think it's scary that people are living longer, to me anyways. Where I work, we have had many seniors in the 94-99 range! They have money so they live much better than most--but the physical and psychological effects of living that long are difficult even in a protected environment where their needs are being met. I can't imagine living that long w/ just moderate means or w/ less than moderate means.
I agree. My MIL is 100. She started getting lonely at age 90. All of her friends and family of her generation were gone or senile. She was sharp, living on her own and driving until 97. She got her first speeding ticket at 97! She's been ready to die since she was 96.
Anyhow, she's in a nursing home now with dementia, though otherwise healthy. She cries everyday and wants to go "home" to be with her husband. She claims she's in an airport but she keeps missing her plane. Dear merciful God....please take her!
No way would I want to live that long. It's too painful.
Well. I wanted to read this article, but when I go to the link, the Washington Post wants to charge me $1.00 to read the article. Went to their website and got the same thing. Maybe it is because it is the end of the month and I have already read my allocated # of articles.
I cannot bring myself to pay Jeff Bezos $1.00 to read this article, so I will have to skip it. Maybe, in a few years, when I am in my Golden Girls situation, we can pool our funds and get a subscription. Or maybe I am being overly optimistic.
I clicked on the link and there was no charge to read the article. Maybe, you are over your months' quote of articles from the Washington Post.
And this has nothing to do with other demographic characteristics such as propensity for dual income households or the fact the SSN encourages working longer? Or that the babyboomer generation has a reputation for being a rapacious generation that spent profligately on their wants and status symbols?
Retirement security, particularly around medical costs, are an issue but anyone can pick out a few hard luck stories, cherry pick some stats and build any story they want. Making everything into an us v. them issue detracts from really fixing the problems of this country.
These retirees appear to be (nonunion) members of the working class. It makes sense that they would not have had sufficient funds to sock away for retirement and that they would have been particularly hard hit by the recession. They would also be the ones most reliant on their Social Security check. Unfortunately, "...Social Security benefits have lost about a third of their purchasing power since 2000." I have to admit, that was bit of a shocker.
Interesting. "People are living.....more expensive lives,......" One aspect of the general picture is that our standard of living is such that we would no longer be satisfied with what was considered "normal" life 50 or 60 years ago.
Stuff costs more because it is more complex; one example is cars. When I was a kid, our family car did not have air conditioning, or seat belts, or electric windows. Ditto about our house - no air conditioning, although we did have central heat. One full bath only, for four people.
Also, it was a bit harder, though by no means impossible, to live way beyond one's means. There may have been credit cards when I was a kid, but that was not part of my family's universe; there were no credit cards in our household.
No, I have no wish to return to those times. I have a credit card which I enjoy for its convenience. My car has air conditioning and seat belts, which I very much appreciate, and it has electric windows, which I hate with a passion. But all in all, I'll take modern life. But it is more expensive.
I've got you beat. Our tiny house had one bathroom for EIGHT people! And you are right... most of us grew up with much less than we have now. My family didn't even own a car until after the 6th child was born. Nowadays our kids have to have one when they turn 17.
If we wanted to go back to living the simpler lives many of us had growing up I'm sure that our cost of living would go down but, personally, I have gotten quite used to the "new" normal and I will keep my air conditioning and power everything and I will happily pay a little extra for the comfort and convenience.
Relative to the WaPo article and impoverished seniors, personal finance needs to be taught in grade and high school, the power of compound interest, present and future value of money, budgeting, etc.
Can't say I learned anything of what I know today about money when I was growing up. I learned it in the workplace working with bankers, investment managers, real estate investors, and top-flight attorneys - and reading financial publications.
Most valuable course I ever took in my late 30's was a commercial real estate investment course which taught present and future value of money, income streams, etc. Course was held in San Diego. Sat next to the atty son of the then atty general of the US (William French Smith II), who declared that one week was the equivalent of a semester of college - worth its weight in gold. This coming from a rich kid.
Children need to be taught these things as soon as they can read, add and subtract/multiply and divide - with personal finance/investment courses continuing into high school, imho.
Last edited by Ariadne22; 09-29-2017 at 11:51 PM..
Hi all,
I got a little creative with a non-bubbled search engine that I use for research and came up with another link to the same article (apologies for the late post). This article mentions the 1,400 mile drive and the $10.00 an hour job, so it appears to be the same article. Here is the link: The new reality of old age in America | INFORUM
Don't forget that Generation X and Generation Y, and the generations behind them will not be able to afford a home until they are well into their 40's, if at all.
This is the squeeze that the moguls put on us starting long ago.
tkx,
IC
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