Are Baby Boomers Ready to Retire? (55, state, retired, friend)
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Baby boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964. These are the children of the "charging for their purchases, unlike their parents who understood what it meant to wait till you can afford it.
So, tell us baby boomers are you ready for retirement or did you blow your earnings?
not really, it was not my choice, but i am ok do little of this little that just to experience life on my own term from working for minimum wage to try to develop million dollar project.
I am 56 and ready for retirement but I can't really retire until I am 60.
My husband and I do not "charge" for our purchases - we have always lived on one salary in case one of us lost our job.
We have lived the last 20 years with a pessimistic attitude as far as our finances are concerned - that has now paid off. We are not rich - but we should be OK in our retirement.
Oh, I think many baby boomers prepared for retirement based on the tools in their tool kits at the time.
I frequently write on the boomer topic, mainly their lifestyle and trends, for publication.
What boomers didn't foresee, as many other didn't, was the economic downturn that wiped out or reduced their savings, stock portfolio's and other retirement investments and accounts. Couple that with the decreased valuations of much real estate and the boomers are facing an altered reality.
Then season those two wealth-killers with down-sizing, lay-offs and trying to find new employment opportunities in their 40's, 50's and 60's...not easy, is it?
Many boomers, among others, got blind-sided b y our economic melt-down, and are now trying to recover....
Their fault? I think not, at least not for many.
I have high hopes for boomers. This is a creative, inventive generation (it's really two generations-in-one with an 18-year time span between younger and older boomers).
Boomers will survive. Among other major lifestyle changes, I predict more collaborative living arrangements and re-grouping in new communes to share resources...there are many other changes we'll be seeing boomers make.
Always the trend-setters, we're going to see some startling shifts on the horizon influenced by boomers...keep your eyes peeled...
One more gross generalization!!! All people are not alike! All people born into the baby boom generation are not the same.
My wife and I live by the credo "If you can't pay cash you can't afford it" While we do use credit cards we pay off the balance every month. So I doubt if I fit the description of the "baby boomer" in the referenced article.
I think retirement is both desired and feared, while I believe I've saved and invested wisely, current events have shaken my confidence. I'm still on track, but I have also learned to enjoy today because I can't guarantee that I'll be around to enjoy the retirement I've saved for.
Decades of planning and investing has us ready. and we will live a life better then we even did during the saving years. thats our reward for decades of getting ready. . the word planning is very different from the word investing. throwing all sorts of money aimlessly into a 401k is not a plan by itself. i cant tell you how many people just throw money into their 401k because thats what there friend picked and they think thats a plan . well im here to tell you ITS NOT A PLAN.
that has no plan for asset allocation, no plan for rebalancing, no plan for how to take some money out if markets are down when your ready to retire ,, no plan for how much in the different asset classes , no plan for keeping years of safe money for utilizing if markets are down the year you retire , no plan for generating a lifetime of income . not even a clue for judging withdrawl rates in retirement . the list goes on and on. i always say more retirement plans are altered by bad planning then bad markets...
dont rule out uncertainty, plan for it and learn learn learn all you can . learn as much about financial planning your future as you do your car and refrigerator.
Last edited by mathjak107; 09-04-2009 at 12:13 PM..
i dont know, i think its a valid question,, its just how its phrased...
no question our generation was credit happy but so are our kids too...
or were up until the crash of credit and real estate
My husband and I both retired this past May (2009) at the age of 55. We are more than ready for retirement because we saved and saved our money, paid off our house, never use credit cards, and don't buy unnecessary "stuff." We owe no one! We are enjoying life sooo much right now. We are set, and we won't have to get back into the rat race. Life is great!
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