Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-02-2015, 01:15 AM
 
Location: SW Florida
5,586 posts, read 8,354,209 times
Reputation: 11210

Advertisements

I agree with In_NE. A few years ago, I mentioned something (trying to be helpful) about my mother receiving some aid for assisted-living through a program in the state of FL, and immediately got bashed. I also got some flak for mentioning that I didn't understand financial investing. And then there are soooo many folks who post these incredible numbers about how much they have saved and these wonderful pensions.....it starts making me think I'm the only one who doesn't have a million dollars in my retirement account. So therefore, I don't say much.....
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-02-2015, 01:18 AM
 
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
14,678 posts, read 7,983,324 times
Reputation: 24910
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe View Post
You must just be missing them. I've posted that I'm on SSI and retired on a very limited income. I am in a subsidized senior apartment that is a very tiny studio. I have Medi-Cal, and have a great dog, and moved to the northern-most town on the coast of CA, where it is very affordable, and I can now walk to the ocean, and drive to the redwood forest just 7 miles away.

I can't afford to go out to eat, or travel. But, I don't need to. The trick is to get over not being able to have the retirement of your dreams. Once I accepted the limits of my budget, I'm actually quite happy with what I have. And I think it's important for seniors to know that there is a lot of subsidized senior housing out there, and my experience so far in two senior subsidized apartment buildings in two different lower COL towns in CA, is that they are very well-maintained and safe. They are inspected by the government agencies that fund them, and they make sure we're in a safe and well-maintained place.

If you get on the waiting lists, eventually you will get called. You might not be able to live in the city of your dreams, because of the COL or length of the waiting lists. But, if you can get over that, too (I originally hoped to live in the SF Bay Area, but couldn't make that work), and you're flexible, you can find somewhere nice. It turns out I love it here, where I finally ended up. And I'm already making friends.

I became disabled, so retired early. But, if people want to retire early, and they can change their idea of how much is enough, they can do it. It's hard to let go of a vision of retirement you've had for many years.

At any rate, poor retirees can be happy, too. You just need to accept what you can't change and change the things you can, and once you get the best situation you can, be happy with what you've got.

You see, I'm pretty broke, but I can choose every day whether to walk my dog by the ocean or in the redwood forest. Today we walked by the ocean. I also took some stuff to sell at the flea market and chatted with interesting people all day, and sold home-made muffins and some other junk I had. Came home and took the dog for a walk by the ocean and chatted with some cute kids who were collecting shells.

I consider myself to be lucky, now. But, I had to let go of being able to live near my daughter in the SF Bay Area. You don't get to have everything you want, but you can still have it pretty good.
Awesome post! You are probably more happier than many of the people who retire with large sums of money.....because of your attitude, and acceptance....and being able to walk your dog in the Redwoods or the Beach sound like Paradise.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2015, 04:02 AM
 
11,558 posts, read 11,996,765 times
Reputation: 17746
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avalon08 View Post
I agree with In_NE. A few years ago, I mentioned something (trying to be helpful) about my mother receiving some aid for assisted-living through a program in the state of FL, and immediately got bashed. I also got some flak for mentioning that I didn't understand financial investing. And then there are soooo many folks who post these incredible numbers about how much they have saved and these wonderful pensions.....it starts making me think I'm the only one who doesn't have a million dollars in my retirement account. So therefore, I don't say much.....
This!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2015, 04:07 AM
 
105,806 posts, read 107,776,949 times
Reputation: 79420
Quote:
Originally Posted by modhatter View Post
When anyone typically posts anything about having enough to retire on, it appears everyone on this board has enough, whether through pensions, double social security checks or larger portfolios. Yet statistically, many more people do not have enough to retire.

So how is it we never hear from them? Does the subject matter of this forum "Retirement" only attract people who are in a position to retire? Are there not people on here who would like to retire, but feel they can't? Are they afraid to speak up, or are they just not interested in the subject matter so they never come on this forum?

asking where are those that don't have enough to retire is a very vague statement . retire when and where is the question ?

retiring at 62 takes alot more money than at 70. few americans are really prepared to retire at 62 although many think they are, reality says nay nay. they usually end up with a very financially stressed life sweating every unexpected bill and never living their wants and dreams for retirement.

working longer is the great fixer:

not only is the social security check almost 2x larger but:

you do not spend down for 8 years from savings

you may be adding to savings

your savings and investments are still compounding

you have 8 years of life less to support .

much less is needed from savings at 70 with almost 2x the ss check

there is a huge difference between having enough at 62 and having enough at 70.

most folks will have to work longer if they can and they will be just fine.

perhaps we should change the name and call 70 full retirement age and everything else is just called early retirement.

waiting to retire is the biggest boost anyone can give to their retirement plan.

retirement is a priveledge not a right and there is nothing that says at a certain age you just do not work anymore.

retirement is letting your money work for you as opposed to you working for your money anymore. so you need a way to let that happen and waiting to retire may be the answer where health is not a factor.

Last edited by mathjak107; 03-02-2015 at 04:34 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2015, 04:40 AM
bUU
 
Location: Florida
12,077 posts, read 10,654,553 times
Reputation: 8793
That assumes that you have money to work for you. My step-sister earns enough money to pay the rent, buy second-hand clothes, and occasionally splurge on something more elaborate than rice and beans. She's using her liberal arts college education and her innate capabilities, but there are so many people competing for jobs that the wages are quite low. And jobs end eventually, and when they do, she lives on her savings since unemployment compensation covers only about half of rent, food and transportation expenses. She'll be better off than if she were a greeter at Wal-Mart but she'll eventually come to the end of her working years with nothing financial to show for it. If she could have worked for fifty years uninterrupted, told by an employer on Friday that he's going out of business and starting work with a new employer on Monday morning, she still probably wouldn't have enough to live on for the twenty or so year she may life after that, but the fact that the job market has regularly failed to offer enough jobs for everyone who wants to work, and for some years in recent history has had so few jobs that a year-long period between jobs became more commonplace, adds injury to injury.

I'm not sure if she'd post here if she could, but it's academic since she surely couldn't afford a computer or Internet connection at home. We need to remember that posters on the forum represent a sample biased by both leisure time and the ability to afford some extra comforts and luxury.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2015, 04:43 AM
 
105,806 posts, read 107,776,949 times
Reputation: 79420
like i said retirement is not a right. some will never be able to afford to retire and if they do life is a real struggle.

but many americans do have choices and while they are underfunded at 62 they can be fully funded for retiring at 70. sure it would be nice to retire early but if you can't afford it working longer can be the great fixer.

charlie ellis has a wonderful book on the subject called "falling short, the coming of the great retirement crisis and what to do about it "

but i guess you have to be able to afford to buy the book .

as charlie says "

The United States faces a serious retirement challenge. Many of today's workers will lack the resources to retire at traditional ages and maintain their standard of living in retirement. Solving the problem is a major challenge in today's environment in which risk and responsibility have shifted from government and employers to individuals. For this reason, Charles D. Ellis, Alicia H. Munnell, and Andrew D. Eschtruth have written this concise guide for anyone concerned about their own

http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Short-.../dp/0190218894

Last edited by mathjak107; 03-02-2015 at 04:51 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2015, 05:22 AM
 
Location: Concord, CA
7,129 posts, read 9,203,523 times
Reputation: 25367
Quote:
Originally Posted by modhatter View Post
So how is it we never hear from them? Does the subject matter of this forum "Retirement" only attract people who are in a position to retire? Are there not people on here who would like to retire, but feel they can't? Are they afraid to speak up, or are they just not interested in the subject matter so they never come on this forum?
Perhaps their single wide has neither a computer nor internet access.

I bet many move in with their children and are perfectly happy helping to raise the next generation. In exchange for a free bedroom they provide help with the cooking, babysitting grandchildren, offering advice, and generally helping out.

My own widowed mother lived like that with no income other than her meager Social Security check for 30 years and was one of the happiest persons I've ever known.

Money is very much over rated. I the end, we all go out the same way we came in with our bare asses hang out.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2015, 05:31 AM
bUU
 
Location: Florida
12,077 posts, read 10,654,553 times
Reputation: 8793
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
but i guess you have to be able to afford to buy the book
The point was to consider the reality of a woman who, despite working all her life as much as the labor market offered employment, reaches the point in her life when she is no longer physically capable of working. I'm sorry that got lost in translation. As you point out, the people we're talking about need to be able to afford to buy the book, but more importantly the book needs to have an action plan in it that our relies on the what our nation's economy and labor market actually offer, covering a period from the present day to just before they lose the ability to work. Short of that, it's worth as much as random typing on a page.

Needless to say, the problem in that scenario is what our nation's economy and labor market actually offer. We cannot go back in time and fix those inadequacies so all we can do is fix them now and make up for past inadequacies through other, less efficient, means, even if some don't like having to do so.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2015, 05:43 AM
 
Location: Backwoods of Maine
7,485 posts, read 10,435,834 times
Reputation: 21455
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe View Post
I think the articles that say people have to have a certain amount of money are just silly. Many people will never be able to save that much money. At some point, they need to just figure out how to live with what they have.
Time and Money. Money and Time.

You can run out of money, and make it all back (at any age, retired or not).

But when your time is up, all the money in the world won't buy you another nano-second. GO FOR IT!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2015, 06:08 AM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,907,575 times
Reputation: 15773
The reality is that you cannot make generalizations about retirement and money. Someone who owns their home outright with very low expenses vs someone who has great pensions but has a high mortgage and elderly to pay for, etc...you get the picture. You cannot compare apples and oranges and bananas. Everyone is in their own situation.

But as to "where they are," it appears that over the 5 or 6 years I've been here in the Retirement forum, I have seen as a stable core to the forum a class of fortunate people who had the opportunity to work hard and amass relative fortunes. The key word here is opportunity, and implicit in that word is the ability to grasp opportunity. Some found this at a very young age and stayed well employed and invested over the decades of their lives; others lost opportunities due to health and other issues, and others never had the opportunities to begin with (I will not get into the demographic factors in this, but they inarguably exist). Yes, some made major mistakes, and that is just plain human.

Those who generally post are comfortable, however they live. Those who are not comfortable at all don't post, or seldom do. What would be the point? Once you're retired, your situation is more or less set.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top