SENIORS: At what age did you become financially comfortable and what made the difference?
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at
12:48 am
At what age did money and financial well-being become less of a concern? I’m 40 and I can see that happening in the next couple of years, but the 20s and 30s were rough. Thanks for your answers.
Filed under: Retirement Planning
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this is a great question to learn from i am not yet a senior and i am struggling like every other pay period i am trying to go to school in the medical field so that the older i get the more money i will make before the point of retirement.
I’m still working on it
Middle thirties. Moving into administration from the class room (I sorely missed the academic) eased the financial burden. I was able to contribute to IRA’s and 403B’s for a better retirement return. But it also made me a target for loans to my married children.
When I was about 20 years old and decided money was total crap, and wasn’t needed to be happy. The more you have, the more you spend. The more you spend the more debt you incur. the more debt you incur the more money you need. Money is a nowhere, no win bunch of bologna. If you can’t be happy without it, you’re sure not going to be happy with it. Sure money is Essential to live but needing more than what is necessary to live simply is a sign that you have no idea what life and real happiness is all about.
It never did happen, nor does it always. Money has always been a concern. I never became financially comfortable. Everything costs so much, and there’s always something to pay for.
Sounds like wishful thinking to me.
24. college was paid as i went. and by then, i was near graduating and had a nice sum in the bank and no real debt.
Eddie, it’s VERY important to make sure you have some kind of a "back up" income to come in monthly along with your Soc. Sec. I was fortunate while still working went to an honest financial adviser. I let him do the "picking" for me as to what I should invest in. He chose for me to put it in an annuity market for me. I was "forced" to retire at 63 due to a bad back & couldn’t sit for any length of time. Unfortunately, that was the type job I had for 20 yrs. working in executive sales on the phone & computer all day. I went on Soc. Sec. at age 63, & chose what amt. of money I wanted to receive monthly from my annuity co. I chose an amt., found I really didn’t need that much, so called the co. & lowered the monthly amt. Naturally this also will make my money last longer too. Of course when the stock market went in the basement, we ALL took a hit from it. But he did make some wise choices for me that weren’t high risk. I’m not setting the world on fire, but I’m should I say comfortable. Am also considered "low income" which also is one great help as I can get assistance with my meds. & have the BEST health ins. as my secondary to Medicare which I don’t have to pay one cent for ANYTHING regarding Drs., tests, you name it. The younger you sign up for this ins. the lower rate you pay. My son just turned 50, he just signed up for it along with his SS Disability. You’re welcome to the info., just "ask"…:)
It was somewhere in my mid-40s. My 20s were pretty hand-to-mouth (and sometimes I didn’t even get that far–I wasn’t making much and it seemed like I was ALWAYS paying the same bills all the time). I got better at managing my money in my 30s but then we had an earthquake and the chimney had to be rebuilt and stairways had to be replace and in doing so we found dryrot in the walls, etc. so I went into debt over those things, took 5 or more years to pay that down. My income increased enough so I was making more than I spent, stopped wanting to be fashionable, stopped doing a lot of the things I used to waste money on and started playing this game: how much can you save–It got to be a kind of competition in my brain. If I had $7 in the bank, I wanted to get to a nice round $10, and since we’re at $10, lets see how quickly we can get it up to $100, and so forth. I live comfortably now but still worry whether I’ll have enough after retirement.
For me, it was my 40s.
Had it goin’ on by age 31 & lost it by age 38.
I guess financial success isn’t my thing.
I now live off of less than $850 a month from the state & federal govt.
Never forget that what goes UP_______Must always come DOWN!☺
I suspect this question will cause alot of flack from the seniors frequenting this forum. Myself, I would like
to know where the concept came from, that senior citizens are living comfortable financially. Some are
living at the poverty level, running out of food halfway through the month. Even with donated food boxes.
Those have been cut back significantly, to one or two a month. And then the items are mainly beans
and vegitables canned, canned fruit and oatmeal. Hardly anyone gives sources of protein. And what has
happened to government surplus, being unavailable?
I would love to be living comfortably. But the cost of living is way too high, for those on a low income
from just SS, or SSI. And incomes were not that good during our years to this point. So we were unable
to set money aside, if we barely made ends meet during many times in our lives. So living well or in a
comfort state, is wishful thinking. For in reality, we are just hanging in there and making do for the most
part. And gone are the days where we could afford entertainment, and frequent dinners out. They are
special occasions for the most part. And I look forward to the few I may see during the year.
It does seem to happen like that. With having a family & kids in school, the time frame is slightly longer. The financial burdens never really go away – starting out on One’s own, getting married or in a relationship, buying a home, having children, raising children, educational needs. And then in between are the social & recreational needs and the unexpected things that will require additional monies spent. It is just tough to find that comfort zone. If One is single with no encumbrances & few responsibilities, perhaps financial comfort becomes more apparent sooner. Being married with children, that comfort level takes much longer. A pattern of putting away small amounts for retirement early on was a good thing. And as the financial burdens shifted and more could be invested plus luck at the time of investment, the comfort may occur. However, among a few I know who would be considered independently "comfortable", there are a few who are never comfortable with what they have & always complaining.
It is always a value judgement as to what is enough or sufficient.
.
after the children left home I was 46
A few years into our fifties and when we lowered our standards.
It is rougher now than at any time financially because I dont have a job and cannot get hired at an older age.