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Being poor and running out of money are not the same thing. Unless they had $100,000 a year jobs, there is no guarantee that people who live a long time won't run out of money when they get frail and sick. My mom ran through $175,000 in 3 years, between medical care, home health aides and rehabs.
In order to be sure you're not going to run out of money, most people need well over a million by the time they retire. Not everyone makes a ton of money. Heck, I'm single no kids, make a decent salary but aren't going to come close to having enough. I went to college late and paid off student loans until my mid-40's, doesn't leave a lot of time to save enough, and I won't have a home to sell.
It's really odd to imply that anyone, no matter their income, should have enough money saved to live to 100 as long as they didn't have kids.
I'll shut up about this now however, as OP has stated multiple times that money is not his concern.
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If you are single you are, by definition, not a DINK. Dual Income means two incomes. Live on one, save the other. If you do that for 20 years, with SS you should easily have enough to live on for 30 years. Retire at 66 or 67, you will be fine to at least 95, if you live that long, which you probably won't.
No kids means the wife won't have to interrupt her career for the mommy track. Your mom was not a DINK either. She spent her time and money on you.
My sister has the same problem. 10 years and she has not been able to downsizing much. I told her if she is dead, I will throw everything away. Not sure how she takes that. But she keeps coming up with many excuses that she has go through her stuff by herself. Not a chance in hell. So if you worry now, throw away things slowly. Keep absolutely the minimum is my best advice.
Part of it is some people can't stop shopping. If a person would go 2 years without buying anything except for food and bathroom supplies, and throw away or donate 1 item a week, you would be amazed at how much seems to disappear.
But PLEASE BE AWARE - these services are not free.
We are Dinks and will have substantial holdings as we age. We have had experience with one or two of these fiduciaries and find them to be wildly unregulated and private contractors. I have seen and heard of abuses by these folks.
My advice - which we will follow - is to find a family member who will perform these services and offer to pay a stipend for their time and energy. This needs to be hammered out WELL before you become infirm.
We have also had the experience of a Wachovia broker - recommend to my inlaws - HIS FATHER - to perform these services. Red Flags went up fast!
There are all sorts of charlatans awaiting to take your money.
Two of their recommendations: Develop a social network, and Think creatively.
I agree with both of those. The second one is really the purpose of this thread. The first is not really workable - our social network is mostly our age and won't be in a position to pack boxes etc any more than we will be at some point.
I remember when my mother had a debilitating heart attack at 88 or so. I flew down and spent a week finding a care facility for her, packing up some personal items for her, taking care of her condo, and starting the process of selling her place and moving her to Seattle where I lived. It was a lot of work to sort and pack her stuff and many trips back and forth. I keep asking myself who is going to do that for us, or one of us? Yes, we can pay someone which I am OK with but that means the person is likely a stranger. That makes me nervous.
Part of it is some people can't stop shopping. If a person would go 2 years without buying anything except for food and bathroom supplies, and throw away or donate 1 item a week, you would be amazed at how much seems to disappear.
She doesn't shop, she's hoarding. Save everything kind of person. For example, I served pate from a pate container and she told me to wash and save them. For what? It's a part of mental illness or bag lady syndrome. Who knows?
People who grew up in the Depression had pretty frugal habits is my observation. My mother reused a lot of stuff.
My wife and I wash plastic containers that we bought dip or pate in and re-use some of those for left-overs or for starting plants for the garden, whatever. For us it is not about being frugal, it is about the shocking amount of throw-away packaging we have as a society. We recycle and most of it is plastic packaging.
People who grew up in the Depression had pretty frugal habits is my observation. My mother reused a lot of stuff.
My wife and I wash plastic containers that we bought dip or pate in and re-use some of those for left-overs or for starting plants for the garden, whatever. For us it is not about being frugal, it is about the shocking amount of throw-away packaging we have as a society. We recycle and most of it is plastic packaging.
She did not grow up in the Depresion area. In fact, she was not like this when she was younger. She saves ramen noodle bowl by the hundreds. And this was suggested at my house, not her house.
Perhaps you should throw things away too.
She doesn't shop, she's hoarding. Save everything kind of person. For example, I served pate from a pate container and she told me to wash and save them. For what? It's a part of mental illness or bag lady syndrome. Who knows?
I think it does serve some sort of psychological need. I have a friend, twenty years younger than I who just turned 50. I've known him forever, since he was in high school. All this time he has been a major hoarder. His wife has put up with it for years. They were left a beautiful house and furniture from his aunt when she passed away. They destroyed it all. It was so full of their hoarding they closed off rooms that had nothing but his collected stuff.
About five years ago, their house got so full of they actually had to have it condemned and move out. Most of their stuff got destroyed in the process. Now they are living with his mom who won't allow him to hoard. It's a nightmare.
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