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This is really true. The Boomers (in general) turned their noses up at their parents' frugality and decided to live for today. They passed that kind of attitude onto their kids. Now, we're seeing the results of that mentality (financial crisis, lack of retirement savings for Boomeres) and it's ugly.
So many of the boomers are complete morons. By a quotient 10x greater than their parents.
I.e., there's a waitress at a restaurant I've been going to for a long time. Probably 60. Doesn't like the job. Complains about what she has to do. Etc. But still a nice person.
But not sure if she wants to retire!! Sound familiar. Goes back and forth. Completely goofy. It's like they've got their hand in a bunch of different pots...but not sure what to take. No suprise that it trickles down to the 24 year old. Should I move out, or stay in.
A previous generation would have lowered their expectations, taken the train/bus instead of needing a car, moving into a smaller apartment, etc. The lack of retirement savings is embarrassing IMO. Esp after the boom of the 80's and 90's. I hope gen y doesn't repeat those mistakes.
A previous generation would have lowered their expectations, taken the train/bus instead of needing a car, moving into a smaller apartment, etc. The lack of retirement savings is embarrassing IMO. Esp after the boom of the 80's and 90's. I hope gen y doesn't repeat those mistakes.
Yeah, I was just talking to my financial adviser about this the other day. I can't imagine being in my 60's and still owing on a mortgage, only having about $100K in retirement, etc. Yet that's where many of the boomers are right now.
im not so sure thats totaly true. the boomers as a generation are the wealthiest generation in history. we read all the time how baby boomers were spenders and not savers and squandered their money and most have less than 50k in retirement funds.
as we were saying in a previous thread you have retirees who have saved next to nothing.
many of those folks are in debt over their heads.
but then there is the group that did the right thing . they saved, they invested ,they had successful careers and they did the right thing.
they have nice retirement nest eggs. the issue is the statistics love to average those 2 groups and come up with some statement like retirees have on average 50k saved for retirement.
thats not the case.. the numbers are just very diluted.
fidelity said their typical 401k for those over age 55 and contributing from half to the max saw the accounts jump from 96k in 2000 to 216k in 2010. im sure vanguard would be about the same in results.
thats a big difference from the common statement you read that most people have about 50k in retirement money.
now the one number missing is the percentage of those who did the right thing vs those that didnt.. perhaps 90% of the generation saved nothing. but the part that is correct is those that did do the right thing have alot more than the statistics claim.
even the fidelity study may be higher than it shows. how many like myself took their 401k's with them when they lost their jobs and put them in their own ira's?. loads of people switched jobs over the last decade..
everyone i know did that but to a study i now only have very little in my new 401k as im just starting over again.
i have never seen an accurate breakdown of just how many have no savings or pensions.. one i saw said only 24% of baby boomers not counting their homes had no retirement savings. i guess include the home which is somewhat a savings and its even less than not.
i think as typically happens the news, myths and those un-successful finally seem to make it seem like the statistics are higher than they are.
Last edited by mathjak107; 05-21-2011 at 07:13 AM..
So many of the boomers are complete morons. By a quotient 10x greater than their parents.
I.e., there's a waitress at a restaurant I've been going to for a long time. Probably 60. Doesn't like the job. Complains about what she has to do. Etc. But still a nice person.
But not sure if she wants to retire!! Sound familiar. Goes back and forth. Completely goofy. It's like they've got their hand in a bunch of different pots...but not sure what to take. No suprise that it trickles down to the 24 year old. Should I move out, or stay in.
A previous generation would have lowered their expectations, taken the train/bus instead of needing a car, moving into a smaller apartment, etc. The lack of retirement savings is embarrassing IMO. Esp after the boom of the 80's and 90's. I hope gen y doesn't repeat those mistakes.
The problem with the boomers is that they always believed that they could live their lives completely on their own terms. Unfortunately, none of us get to do that, so they have lived in an unreal world. We can control certain things but not everything, and certainly not our age. Age should affect how you handle your finances, and the boomers' general denial of their age and their belief that they would somehow remain forever young is going to be a disaster for them. I have little sympathy.
This is really true. The Boomers (in general) turned their noses up at their parents' frugality and decided to live for today. They passed that kind of attitude onto their kids. Now, we're seeing the results of that mentality (financial crisis, lack of retirement savings for Boomeres) and it's ugly.
Yes, and they have imposed their destructive mentality onto the country also. This generation (and I'm technically one of them) has always been great at trying to pass off extreme self-centeredness and self-absorption as a form of altruism. They're so good at it that they largely believe it themselves. But they've been one of the most destructive generations in the history of this country.
So many of the boomers are complete morons. By a quotient 10x greater than their parents.
I.e., there's a waitress at a restaurant I've been going to for a long time. Probably 60. Doesn't like the job. Complains about what she has to do. Etc. But still a nice person.
But not sure if she wants to retire!! Sound familiar. Goes back and forth. Completely goofy. It's like they've got their hand in a bunch of different pots...but not sure what to take. No suprise that it trickles down to the 24 year old. Should I move out, or stay in..
I have a 56 year old Boomer friend like this, too. Although he doesn't hate his job....he always planned on working until age 70. And I've always said to him...."Just because you want to work until that age doesn't mean you'll be able to". He ended up losing a decent paying job at 50 and only worked sporadically (at mostly low paying jobs) for 5 years until he landed his current job. He ended up declaring bankruptcy. It's like he's spent his whole life chasing some ideal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by John23
A previous generation would have lowered their expectations, taken the train/bus instead of needing a car, moving into a smaller apartment, etc. The lack of retirement savings is embarrassing IMO. Esp after the boom of the 80's and 90's. I hope gen y doesn't repeat those mistakes.
Yes, I totally agree. This is what my friend is like. He's kept stuff in storage on the opposite coast for 3 years because he has deluded himself into believing he's going to have both the time and the money to get it and upgrade to a larger apartment. I keep trying to tell him it ain't never gonna happen. He complains about no retirement savings but if I try to point out the $250 a month he's paying in storage fees could amount to a nice little retirement fund in 15 years, he'll bite my head off.
The Boomers are like this with politics, too (conservatives & liberals alike). Everything has to be according to their ideal view of how the world should be with no room for compromise.
I know all Boomers are not as the 2 we've described but a lot of them are.
Yes, and they have imposed their destructive mentality onto the country also. This generation (and I'm technically one of them) has always been great at trying to pass off extreme self-centeredness and self-absorption as a form of altruism. They're so good at it that they largely believe it themselves. But they've been one of the most destructive generations in the history of this country.
sounds exactley like i said about my parents generation as i got drafted to go to nam.
Yeah, I was just talking to my financial adviser about this the other day. I can't imagine being in my 60's and still owing on a mortgage, only having about $100K in retirement, etc. Yet that's where many of the boomers are right now.
So many of the boomers are complete idiots. You wonder why 24 year olds are stilling living at home? How about...no role models!!
-Their aversion to technology has been crippling. I.e, not catching on to the latest technological advancement. Technological advancements can make things easier and more efficient. How many boomers do you know who almost refuse to catch onto technology?
-No concept of planning, time management, etc. So many of them have an attitude of....I'm just going to show up tomorrow. And I'll be able to make it work. (because I've got the special baby boomer pixie dust, figuratively speaking). Or, because I'm "experienced".
-Owing on a mortgage in your 60's = you got outdated, but don't want to admit it. A lot of them don't want to admit that their education/skills aren't what they should be. Thus, making less money. Thus, mortgage at 60.
A previous generation at 55 or 60 would have been more practical. I.e., saving more (saving for a rainy day). Instead of complaining about gas, take the bus, trade in your car to get one with better gas mileage, etc. The baby boomers basically created disneyland for themselves after 1960....living perpetually in this peter pan, fantasy land.
-The boomers that don't know if they want to retire, do I stay, do I take SS, they remind me of a basketball player, who's unsure of who to throw the ball to. He looks to the left...fake throws it. Looks to the right, pretends to throw it. Keep going back and forth. Retirement admits that they're getting old. Admiting that they're getting old is more painful to them than losing retirement saving, not planning, etc.
Not everyone. The ones that didn't plan are probably worst off than when they were younger. Another 5-10 years, there's going to be a real generational war. SS/Medicare, National Debt, etc. Its going to make complaints about lazy gen y'ers at 25 look pretty small.
My point (personally) wasn't to blame the boomers for anything. You have self-absorbed non-planners in every generation. It's just that the boomers are the once currently entering retirement and some are quite ill prepared, based on articles readily available.
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