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For what it's worth towards blaming yourself for your choices, you can read many a discussion here where people have gotten college degrees (and attending loans) and have no particular career or useful job with it. I think having skills, either via degree, training, apprenticeship, whatever, is the best way to go, and looking for decent pay that way is more likely to be a success than "getting a degree." We all seem to have those 1960s public service announements in our heads, that sonorous voice saying, "To get a good job, get a good education." There's some relation, but not always.
I mean, you could become a hairdresser, and/or have your own salon, and make "decent pay." I do think women often make lower-income choices, even if they go to college. I think there is still a subconscious "someone will take care of me" feeling, or a sense that the woman's income is an afterthought because there will be some guy paying the bills.
One can only hope, I say. When it comes to men, I just wanna break even.
So, we're only to have careers that are valued by our society, even though WE might think there are better things to do that are more valuable in OUR eyes? Frankly, I think our society's "values" are upside down, but there's nothing much I can do about it right now. I think it got really skewed during the 1980's with all the greed going around.
Maybe a person in a low-paying field like social work should stay single and have no children? Or maybe they should not even bother thinking about retirement, but rather about their overall impact on their world before they die?
Guess it depends on what you are thinking on your deathbed, as to how you feel about yourself as a person and what you gave to the world and other people.
Well piking a career that is valued is the way it has been for centuries. That is what makes some peole get paid mopre thasn others;its called demand.Many of teh non-vlkued careers are those bacially that peole have done witrhpout for years ands produce no product demanded or too little. Its the way the world really works. No0thing has changed since time began other than the right to chose.
You bring some excellent points and I want to add one more. The important thing is to find work that you like to do and that you are good at it. I have always said that if you like what you are doing, first you will happy doing the work, you will do a better job and as a consequence you will move up. I know it is not always possible, but one should strive to do it. If you are happy working in a college level profession, go for it. If you are happy being a mechanic or a hairdresser or a plumber, go for it. You will be happy. You will be able to bring the bread home and you will contribute as a productive and happy member of our society.
I didn't take time to read the entire thread, so if I repeat some one's answer, I apologize.
To answer the original questions, two things that I see. Lack of instruction as kids are growing up, there is no emphasis on earning and saving, or the vlue of money for that matter. And secondly, greed. Gimme, gimme, got to have it now, keeping up with the jones. No thought for the future, somebody else will just have to take care of me.
I read somewhere that a key ingredient to financial security in later life is a "Good First Marriage"
Some of the reasons listed are: greater achievement working together as opposed to working against each other... the right spouse can be the motivation to excel as opposed to being mediacore and the synergy created when two people share common goals...
No question about, divorce, alimony, child support and even just the cost of maintaining separate households drains resources away from achieving financial security.
That is without a doubt the most critical key to a solid retirement planning foundation. Divorce depletes assests and divides them between two households. Having multiple sources of retirement income coming in from a couple who have been married for 35 plus years can't be denied. Staying with one employer and being fully vested with your retirement benefits is also very critical
Wife and I have been married 37 years and each have excellent pensions and investments. We will each when eligible receive very high social security benefits. We are retired at sixty and each have our own full coverage health insurance provided by our former employers.
Jonathan Pond on PBS says, "Never be responsible for anything that eats." (Somehow I guessed that he's in a second marriage with kids in college!)
I'll keep feeding my rescue dogs, that's for sure.
As for doing what you like and are good at, well, they might not be the same thing at all. I am specifically not good at the things that really interest me. I apparently have the soul of a bureaucrat when I thought I was a free spirit! I even liked the regimentation of the Army Reserve, so go figure.
I am good at what I do (night psych RN). I am just tired of it all- the hours, the bitchy co-workers, the alleged "managers" who couldn't manage two birds in a cage.
I do think it's important to be good at whatever you rely on for your oh, food on table, roof over head, money in bank. If you're not good at it, you'll be in big trouble. If you don't like it or love it, you'll still be OK.
I think doing work because you want to get that work done is worth every effort, but there comes a time (preferably before one is, oh, 30) when you have to admit it isn't gonna happen.
Location: Oklahoma(formerly SoCalif) Originally Mich,
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Many job dicisions need to be thought over behond the box. It can't always be predicted but you need think about whether or not this job will be elimunated in years to come.
There is also,"outsourcing". I have a video of a Human Rescourse group (caught on tape) in a conference/Siminar showing employers how to legally discriminate against American IT and white collar job seekers in order to hire H1B and H2B workers only.
So, we're only to have careers that are valued by our society, even though WE might think there are better things to do that are more valuable in OUR eyes? Frankly, I think our society's "values" are upside down, but there's nothing much I can do about it right now. I think it got really skewed during the 1980's with all the greed going around.
Maybe a person in a low-paying field like social work should stay single and have no children? Or maybe they should not even bother thinking about retirement, but rather about their overall impact on their world before they die?
Guess it depends on what you are thinking on your deathbed, as to how you feel about yourself as a person and what you gave to the world and other people.
Persoanlly a person must in fact chose. That's just reality and the way its always been. But whose to say who contribute the most. Persoanlly; i think someone who produces good that peole need and want are very important. It is those same persons that support the fields that do teh social work other wise they would noit have funding. Doing a job that produce nothing but does social work is important and a choice but only there because others produce the wealth that fund it.
Well as a person in social work all my life, I sure didn't see the future or I would have made different choices. I gave up my RN to be an MSW. I sacrificed $60000 a year for just $30000 and now am wondering how I got into this place. I enjoyed what I did, for many many years and now I don't anymore. Burned out. Probably. But not enough money to retire. Life ain't fair, and noone said it should be.
most buy reagonomics, debt is meaningless. he was not an economist he was an actor.
americans love to spend and hate to pay.
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