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The only reasonable answer these days for this generation and future ones that are young now is to not have any kids. Greedy sociopaths that control the economy and these crooked businesses and the country are not going to stop being Greedy Sociopaths.
You have to make sacrifices and adjusted accordingly. First rule of thumb, Don't have kids.
The simple fact is, NOTHING is going to improve. Not so long as the 1 percent control it all. Everyone is going to enjoy a much lesser standard of living from previous generations, while the one percent will continue to enjoy a better standard of living.]
I made a conscious choice a decade ago in my 20s that this country was headed on the highway to hell and your travel there will speed up if you have all these extra expenses sucking you dry. And this biggest expense were kids.
My uncle made the conscious decision to never have kids, and that was back in the 80s.
I do wonder about the whole "1%" comment. Top 1% is roundabout $200k a year household income. That could be any business owner, salaried doctor, attorney, dentist. Could be any two people with college degrees. It's not that much when you live on the west coast or NYC. I think the "1%" is more like 0.1% or 0.01%.
Do you have health insurance? Is it subsidized in any way?
Property taxes?
Do you own an automobile?
These are all questions that pop into my head reading the income that sustains you.
I live in a foreign country.
Non-subsidized government run health insurance: $83 a month for wife and me. Private discount plan for emergencies: $14/month. (Sometimes the gov. plan makes you wait a long time for surgery even when you're in pain so we have a couple grand saved for emergencies; anything above that would have to go on a credit card. If you wait for the govt plan it's mostly free but you could pay in terms of long-suffering pain.)
Yes I pay property taxes.
Yes I own a 99 4wd auto.
Food and most other things (except labor) are about the same price or more here than in the USA. I believe it is only about 20% cheaper at most, to live here as opposed to the USA, but that's if you adjust your lifestyle.( i.e. if you have to have central air, a pool, American food items, etc then chances are it may cost MORE to live here. Electricity is more here, as is gasoline, electronics, appliances, and most quality consumer goods. Labor for car repair, home repait etc. almost makes up for the difference.
So that's why I say it's about the same cost of living here but the property, construction and property taxes and labor are much less.
Last edited by movingvanmorrison; 06-08-2018 at 02:40 PM..
The only reasonable answer these days for this generation and future ones that are young now is to not have any kids. Greedy sociopaths that control the economy and these crooked businesses and the country are not going to stop being Greedy Sociopaths.
You have to make sacrifices and adjusted accordingly. First rule of thumb, Don't have kids.
The simple fact is, NOTHING is going to improve. Not so long as the 1 percent control it all. Everyone is going to enjoy a much lesser standard of living from previous generations, while the one percent will continue to enjoy a better standard of living.]
I made a conscious choice a decade ago in my 20s that this country was headed on the highway to hell and your travel there will speed up if you have all these extra expenses sucking you dry. And this biggest expense were kids.
I couldn't agree more.
The U.S.A. is going down a very bad road, one in which there are less jobs, less opportunity, less job security, higher costs of living (insurance, fines, property taxes etc etc), and probably more and more limitations on freedom.
If you are in your 30's or 40's or less, start saving as much as you can, buy and PAY OFF some property somewhere - even in a foreign land if you'll be able to become a legal resident there when you choose to move - and learn to live frugally and don't buy into the whole "gotta have the latest ___ [this or that consumer item]" way of life. Downsize and learn to appreciate things that don't cost so much $.
Does anyone know of someone who found significant employment after age 70? I have a close friend who is terribly unprepared for retirement. She's unable to work and her husband lost his (6 figure salaried) job due to an unforeseen business closure. He's now pounding the pavement to try and find a similar position. He's been a chief maintenance engineer for a large hotel chain and, so far, he's only been offered temp work as a fill-in. He's not particularly young for his age or vigorous. The work requires a fair amount of lifting, bending, etc.
Is he being unrealistic? He's way too prideful to apply at Home Depot, Ace or other home product stores who hire retirees with similar backgrounds. He expects to obtain another management position with a similar salary to what he's used to.
Does anyone know of someone who found significant employment after age 70? I have a close friend who is terribly unprepared for retirement. She's unable to work and her husband lost his (6 figure salaried) job due to an unforeseen business closure. He's now pounding the pavement to try and find a similar position. He's been a chief maintenance engineer for a large hotel chain and, so far, he's only been offered temp work as a fill-in. He's not particularly young for his age or vigorous. The work requires a fair amount of lifting, bending, etc.
Is he being unrealistic? He's way too prideful to apply at Home Depot, Ace or other home product stores who hire retirees with similar backgrounds. He expects to obtain another management position with a similar salary to what he's used to.
In something like that, it would be pretty unusual. I'd try small businesses for employment - large corporations are going to be extremely averse to hiring a 70-year-old.
Retirement is a thing of the past for most people. They will NEVER be able to retire. America.. Don't you just love it.. Or what it has become.
Most companies will kick you out on your rear before 50 today. Most of the people that will ever be able to enjoy and afford retirement are from previous generations. Not this one or any future ones
I'm in my 30s and this sums up my retirement planning. I will work until the day that I can no longer be employed. I do not expect that I will have the luxury of retiring on my own terms. Rather, I expect that my retirement date will be forced upon me either by the failing of my health or by company restructurings that occur after I am 50-55, which is basically the age that someone becomes unemployable.
At a previous company I worked at, there were 3 rounds of layoffs over the course of a year, all of which I survived. In the first round, a woman who was in her early 60s got laid off. I don't know what her retirement plans were, but she never worked again after that layoff. Without the layoff, she might have been planning to go to 64-65. When I observed what happened to her, I couldn't help but think that I was observing what would happen to me at some future date.
All I can say is that it is difficult to make a retirement plan when you have no idea when you will be retiring.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ddm2k
My uncle made the conscious decision to never have kids, and that was back in the 80s.
I do wonder about the whole "1%" comment. Top 1% is roundabout $200k a year household income. That could be any business owner, salaried doctor, attorney, dentist. Could be any two people with college degrees. It's not that much when you live on the west coast or NYC. I think the "1%" is more like 0.1% or 0.01%.
In our city of 60,000 the median household income is $160,000, which is only at about the "5%" and the schools are overcrowded, with more being built to handle the influx of new residents. Even in Seattle, the median income is $121,000 and again there are many kids, though the trend is waiting until over age 30 to start having them. The Seattle School District shows steady growth since 2013.
So that's why I say it's about the same cost of living here but the property, construction and property taxes and labor are much less.
Cost of living isnt high in the US, it's the cost of lifestyle in the US is higher because people grew accustomed to having the new and shiny gadgets...
Look ar houses prices/size and it is "affordable" like it was for past generations but people want 2xxx sqft hones instead of 1xxx sqft homes like other people. Well, yes a house twice as big cost more than a smaller house...
Same goes for cars and everything else. The people who envy other countries, I wonder how many of them will go there and try to live like they do in the US and find it is still expensive to do so. To live cheaper in another country, they can do that in the US if they choose to
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Full time would be rough
