How are you living with consequences of not planning for future?

Falcon said:
This whole thread reminds me of the old fable: "The Ant & the Grasshopper."
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These days we live in a world where the hard working ants take care of the grasshoppers instead of turning them away from the door when winter comes.
 

KingsX said:
No empire lasts forever... I date the height of the American empire as 1969.There's a wise old saying: "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."So here is a history lesson:
Leading up to the fall of ancient Rome, much of what was consumed by Romans was imported. Roman citizens lived in luxury and reveled in degeneracy while the Roman government entertained them with bread and circuses.
As J V Nash wrote in Henry Ford’s “Dearborn Independent” magazine in 1921: ” So agriculture, industry and trade were abandoned. The products of the whole known world streamed daily along the great Roman roads into the Imperial City, which sent back nothing in return but carts loaded with dung. ”Here is another clue... when the gates are willingly opened to the barbarians, it's the end of empire..
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Interesting that you should mention the Roman Empire. I, too, often reflect on the Romans, and how closely our nation is going down the same path. The Primary difference is that while it took the Romans almost 500 years to destroy themselves.....with technology, etc., we seem to be going down the same road much much faster. I'm old enough that I probably won't see the collapse, but I worry about the world my kids, grandkids, and beyond will be living in.
 
Don M. said:
Interesting that you should mention the Roman Empire. I, too, often reflect on the Romans, and how closely our nation is going down the same path. The Primary difference is that while it took the Romans almost 500 years to destroy themselves.....with technology, etc., we seem to be going down the same road much much faster. I'm old enough that I probably won't see the collapse, but I worry about the world my kids, grandkids, and beyond will be living in.
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The genesis of our current situation can be found in history, but about a 1000 years after the Romans. The Black Death, circa 1350 A.D, wiped out half of the European population. The losses had lesser effect on the nobility (what we today call the "Super Rich," or "One Percenters.") Once the plague subsided there were less people to do the day-to-day work required in those days. This led directly to the creation of what we call the "middle class." The Plutocracy has spent the last 650 years trying to put the proverbial toothpaste back in the tube. Today we are seeing the results of that effort.
 
Mr X said:
The genesis of our current situation can be found in history, but about a 1000 years after the Romans. The Black Death, circa 1350 A.D, wiped out half of the European population. The losses had lesser effect on the nobility (what we today call the "Super Rich," or "One Percenters.") Once the plague subsided there were less people to do the day-to-day work required in those days. This led directly to the creation of what we call the "middle class." The Plutocracy has spent the last 650 years trying to put the proverbial toothpaste back in the tube. Today we are seeing the results of that effort.
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Yes, a close look at human history shows numerous examples of the rich taking advantage of the masses. There are several indicators showing another such cycle forming. The vast majority of personal wealth is in the hands of the upper 1 or 2%, while millions here are fully dependent upon the government to "survive". If one looks at the global populations, well over half probably live well below our poverty "standards". This trend shows no signs of abating, and it is just a question of time before we see a major crisis erupting, as a result. If/when the Middle Class becomes almost non-existent, the rich are going to have to hire a personal army to protect themselves.
 
Don M. said:
Yes, a close look at human history shows numerous examples of the rich taking advantage of the masses. There are several indicators showing another such cycle forming. The vast majority of personal wealth is in the hands of the upper 1 or 2%, while millions here are fully dependent upon the government to "survive". If one looks at the global populations, well over half probably live well below our poverty "standards". This trend shows no signs of abating, and it is just a question of time before we see a major crisis erupting, as a result. If/when the Middle Class becomes almost non-existent, the rich are going to have to hire a personal army to protect themselves.
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Exactly. I see signs of a "plan" already in progress: Suicide rate is up by a pretty large margin, with no coverage. I live in a "law and order" state, which is a joke because "assault" is treated like a traffic warning. The numbing of larger numbers with legalized pot.

It's like the masses are slowly being guided to a place where they will kill themselves off.

..and have you noticed the tendency of the rich to start eating these goofy "Tom Brady" diets? Is it really for "health," or is because these diets consist entirely of things that can be grown and harvested by machines in walled compounds? Getting off topic, but it seems like quite a few dots are connecting.

Back to reality, we are scheduled to visit some rural properties this weekend- very interested to compare actual properties to the ads!
 
Don M. said:
For us, the transition to "Saving" was pretty easy. We had two daughters that we were spending thousands of dollars a year on to raise them, and when they became adults, and went out on their own, we got serious about saving. At about that same time, 401K's became available, so we just moved the "children" money into a good 401K, and that worked out quite well. We saw several people, in the same position, who, when the kids left home, bought fancy houses and cars, and started taking lavish vacations, etc., with their "extra" money. Looking back, I'm glad we chose the route we took.

In the majority of cases I've seen, where Seniors are now having to live on minimum financial resources, most of them seem to either have ongoing health problems, or they went through a nasty divorce, in their earlier years. Divorce, IMO, is a curse that can easily leave both parties "scrambling" for their futures.
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the big 3 get almost all of us at some point in our lives .

divorce-illness-job loss .

very few of us escape at least one of them .

but the difference between us is not the event . it is generally the planning and choices we made over a lifetime leading up to the event that gets us .

it is generally going to be that those with a history of poor choices and bad decisions along the way are those who are going to be the ones to have one of the big 3 do them in . then they blame the event .

there are exceptions , but i view it like losing weight . very few can't lose weight because of physical reasons . most just can't do it because they have to eat less and move more . but they will just keep complaining about the fact they can't lose weight .
 
mathjak107 said:
the big 3 get almost all of us at some point in our lives .

divorce-illness-job loss .

very few of us escape at least one of them .

but the difference between us is not the event . it is generally the planning and choices we made over a lifetime leading up to the event that gets us .

it is generally going to be that those with a history of poor choices and bad decisions along the way are those who are going to be the ones to have one of the big 3 do them in . then they blame the event .

there are exceptions , but i view it like losing weight . very few can't lose weight because of physical reasons . most just can't do it because they have to eat less and move more . but they will just keep complaining about the fact they can't lose weight .
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Yes, those "Big 3"!! But then again, there are those, like myself earlier in life, that didn't make a high enough salary to save anything. But, again, my fault, nobody else's. My wife was the opposite. She knew that just having an AA Degree wasn't going to be enough to get a nice salary in Accounting, so she went for her Bachelors. Had to get School Loans, of which she was still paying off when I met her, but they got paid off.

Then, there are the folks, at a younger age, that will save for a trip to Disney World or somewhere else...........but, not for their future. Or, they buy a nice house, nice new vehicle, perhaps a ski boat or whatever. Nice salary, but want to use it on the "good life", not the future. A lot of young folks don't think they will live long enough to see their Senior years. I hoped I would, but my wife had some doubts about herself.
 
ClassicRockr said:
Then, there are the folks, at a younger age, that will save for a trip to Disney World or somewhere else...........but, not for their future. Or, they buy a nice house, nice new vehicle, perhaps a ski boat or whatever. Nice salary, but want to use it on the "good life", not the future.
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I have no quarrel with those folks as long as they own their decisions and don't expect the government or others to pick up the slack when they get old.

I've known a few people who have lived, played and worked their entire lives and are very happy with the decisions that they have made. That is probably the way all of us were originally intended to live. I think that retirement is a fairly new concept in the grand scheme of things.
 
mathjak107 said:
the big 3 get almost all of us at some point in our lives .divorce-illness-job loss .it is generally going to be that those with a history of poor choices and bad decisions along the way are those who are going to be the ones to have one of the big 3 do them in . then they blame the event .
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Yup....Excuses are like Rectums....Everybody has one.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I have no quarrel with those folks as long as they own their decisions and don't expect the government or others to pick up the slack when they get old.
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Just give me the social security and medicare that I paid into and we will all be happy!
 
I think the biggest thing we Boomers have going for us is that we are currently the single largest voting block thanks to our sheer numbers. Politicians aren't going to be pushing any changes to current programs unless they are ready to be out of office. I am most concerned that they will institute means-testing at some point but I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
 
Just give me the social security and medicare that I paid into and we will all be happy!
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Then you will run out of benes. On average, you'll use at least 30% more in Medicare than you paid, and 60% more in SS than paid in (for married couples). The percentages are less for singles.
 
retiredtraveler said:
Then you will run out of benes. On average, you'll use at least 30% more in Medicare than you paid, and 60% more in SS than paid in (for married couples). The percentages are less for singles.
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Heaven forbid the government reduce other out-of-control spending on foreign aid and other B.S. to shore up SS.

If I hadn't been FORCED to contribute to SS I could have invested that money and probably made it last as long as necessary. Unfortunately I had no voice in the matter.
 
C'est Moi said:
Heaven forbid the government reduce other out-of-control spending on foreign aid and other B.S. to shore up SS.

If I hadn't been FORCED to contribute to SS I could have invested that money and probably made it last as long as necessary. Unfortunately I had no voice in the matter.
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the problem is ssdi is draining social security retirement . since 2000 ssdi has become the new unemployment insurance . the ranks of those who manage to get on ssdi who really should not be is insane . billions had to be diverted from ss retirement to refill ssdi when it could not make payments .
 
mathjak107 said:
the problem is ssdi is draining social security retirement . since 2000 ssdi has become the new unemployment insurance . the ranks of those who manage to get on ssdi who really should not be is insane . billions had to be diverted from ss retirement to refill ssdi when it could not make payments .
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Yup...SSDI is turning into a major Scam. In our area, there are constant TV ads, and numerous billboards from unscrupulous Lawyers promising to get anyone with any minor issues on SSDI. That is becoming a real drain on SS. Plus, I am a classic example of the Other major problem...we are living too long. I know what I paid in to SS during my working career, and I signed up for SS as soon as I became eligible, and the wife signed up for spousal benefits when she became eligible. We have already received at least 3 times what I paid in, and if we live as long as our parents...that number may reach 7 or 8 times. Yet, the SS withholding has NOT kept up with Senior Longevity. For us, this is a Great investment...and there are millions of Seniors enjoying the same "return" on investment. At some point....and not too far into the future...the government is going to have to rewrite the rules or SS will be a thing of the past.
 
C'est Moi said:
I think the biggest thing we Boomers have going for us is that we are currently the single largest voting block thanks to our sheer numbers. Politicians aren't going to be pushing any changes to current programs unless they are ready to be out of office. I am most concerned that they will institute means-testing at some point but I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
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I once believed this too.

But it now appears baby boomers have become more of a target than a voting block who will stand up for their interests.

I was up in arms when the House of Representatives tax bill eliminated the extra over age 65 standard deduction. But mine was a small voice crying in the wilderness with little company.

Thank God the Senate version of the tax bill and the final tax bill retained the extra over age 65 standard deduction. But I suspect most seniors have no clue how close they came to losing it.

Something else seniors should have been vocal about... the Reagan & Clinton eras laws which created the current tax on Social Security. Those taxes were on incomes that would never be adjusted for inflation. Now, decades later, that tax which initially only affected the rich, now affects seniors who can least afford it. There might have been an opportunity to change that in the current tax bill... but no one was interested.

.
 
Don M. said:
Yup...SSDI is turning into a major Scam. In our area, there are constant TV ads, and numerous billboards from unscrupulous Lawyers promising to get anyone with any minor issues on SSDI. That is becoming a real drain on SS. Plus, I am a classic example of the Other major problem...we are living too long. I know what I paid in to SS during my working career, and I signed up for SS as soon as I became eligible, and the wife signed up for spousal benefits when she became eligible. We have already received at least 3 times what I paid in, and if we live as long as our parents...that number may reach 7 or 8 times. Yet, the SS withholding has NOT kept up with Senior Longevity. For us, this is a Great investment...and there are millions of Seniors enjoying the same "return" on investment. At some point....and not too far into the future...the government is going to have to rewrite the rules or SS will be a thing of the past.
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here in ny they busted over 100 lawyers ,doctors , insiders at social security and some benefit receivers getting undeserved benefits . they say they are just starting the investigation and this is the tip of the iceberg . they should break ssdi off and make it part of welfare
 
We have already received at least 3 times what I paid in, and if we live as long as our parents...that number may reach 7 or 8 times. Yet, the SS withholding has NOT kept up with Senior Longevity. For us, this is a Great investment...and there are millions of Seniors enjoying the same "return" on investment. At some point....and not too far into the future...the government is going to have to rewrite the rules or SS will be a thing of the past.
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Yup. But folks don't want to admit to that.
 
I would stop spending on anything besides necessities and start saving now. Think about down sizing in the future. Your house payment is not high but could you afford it once you were both on social security with the small retirement? When my parents lived in a nice but not overly fancy mobile home park there was a retired MD and his wife living there. Why? Who knows. They were financially irresponsible? Or did they like the quiet and safety of an all adult park and wanted a simpler life. There are solutions, I don't think it's too late. Consider a big yard sale if you ever decide to move.
 
mathjak107 said:
the problem is ssdi is draining social security retirement . since 2000 ssdi has become the new unemployment insurance . the ranks of those who manage to get on ssdi who really should not be is insane . billions had to be diverted from ss retirement to refill ssdi when it could not make payments .
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True - I looked at going that route as it seemed like it's better to have a ticket, then to be on standby. I found many, many comments from people saying that it's impossible to get on the rolls - things have already tightened to where it's not worth the effort to scam. Same with "welfare" - I know we tend to have this image (fabricated for the sake of a good story) of guys living on the beach, surfing, eating with food stamps. I know people who are on, or tried to get on, welfare - there's so little money and it's so hard to get that it's easier to just work.

I suspect that explains the increasing numbers of healthy young men panhandling at literally every stop light in town. While we're on the subject, I've seen those guys walk into a nice pub after their "shift," loaded with cash and ask "what new craft beers are on tap?" I'm always stunned when I see some rube handing them money!

Back to topic at hand - I must be on to something: one of the small town houses we were scheduled to see this weekend is already under contract...
 

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