Posted on 04/23/2006 7:49:45 AM PDT by SmithL
I am not. We paid for their K-12 private schools. My youngest daughter is working to pay for her own college. My older kids have worked and received grants and scholarships.
Excellent! Good for you.
I take back most of the nasty things I was muttering under my breath)
The one thing I have always refused to do is depend on stock. To me, it's like money on a crap table. It isn't yours until you pick it up and walk away with it. 14 sounds like a lot but I wish I had a place with a couple of stalls to clean:')
It's not what you know.
It's not even who you know.
It's what you know about who you know...
;^P
You raise an interesting point. Since when did it become "expected" that parents would put their children through college? When I was growing up, kids worked part-time jobs to put aside money for college. Whether it was paper routes, bagging groceries at the local supermarket or washing dishes in a restaurant (I did all three), kids were expected to have jobs at a relatively young age. I've been working since I was 14 years old.
I also notice that many parents today (in addition to providing the college tuition) also feel compelled to buy their children automobiles, laptop computers and a whole host of other things that children with a part-time job could buy for themselves. No wonder they have nothing left for retirement!
There is nothing wrong with well-heeled parents telling their children that they should fund their own college education. I tell my own children that they should plan to take out student loans for at least half their college tuition. The other half, they should try to get through scholarships or money earned working part-time.
The child is likely to get a better education if he/she has a stake in it. Otherwise, the parents who insist on funding it themselves usually end up paying for 4 years of keg parties because the kids just aren't going to appreciate it.
Pardon my ignorance but even if you lost it all, with Social Security and Medicare, what are your monthly expenses, in general, that require you to get a job? I know that rent in a small town is virtually nothing (a few hundred a month?). Maybe moving to a low cost area at 71 is too much of a change? Partially curious about your situation and part about not wanting to get into it myself...
Unemployment is as low as it has been in 40 years. This is a boom, folks. There are jobs coming out of our ears, I see them everywhere, for anyone actually willing to work.
How many people tried to kill you today? Is a Mullah promising to cut off your head if you think for yourself? Shovel any body parts into plastic bags today? There are people in this world with cause for complaining, who do not complain. You aren't one of them, either score.
Turn off the TV, hibernate the computer, put the beer back in the fridge, get off your fat lazy ass and get a freakin job!
That example you gave was quite the reality 38 years ago. And even though the interest rates on moderately conservative issues aren't going to hit the peaks they did during the last 4 decades, doing the same as you wrote about would leave someone in very adequate shape by age 60, even adjusting for inflation.
Oh that Americans placed a premium on "personal responsibility".
You think it's bad NOW? Fast forward 15 years when you still have money in the bank and SS payments run out for those who didn't save enough.
Verbal abuse will be the least of your problems. Invest in more ammo! LOL
I think you are correct!!
...By 59 he should have developed a useful skill that employers would want and be willing to pay for. .....
A better course is to search the years for something he learned and train up on that or look for something entirely different. To expect to be able to keep on keeping on in the world of today is delusional. The bottom of a rut is a bad place to be.
Whining they don't need me is counterproductive. You are ok, your skills are what's no longer needed.
I started a new business at 55 and it is doing ok. I have another new business in process based on totally new skills.
No one should be out of work. If all else fails, there is a terrible dearth of truck drivers. TI guys driving a truck? why not. It's not 1985 any more.
My father ran through his savings due to 3 hospitaliztions in 5 years (diabbetes-related) and hasn't worked since september. (more medical problems)
Throw in a ICU visit, and a 2 week stay in the hospital with no insurance, and it pretty much ruins you financially. Fortunately, I am able to help fiancially during this difficult period.
I'm sorry. I just saw your post. Absolutely. Good employees should not have to worry about job security as they age. I don't see this problem much though. Retention on the other hand... Now the first thing some people want to know is how much are you going to pay me before they even know anything about the job. A better deal comes around and they are gone. My grandmother used to tell me how people fought for jobs during her time. I don't see it nowdays.
On one of my recent jobs, I was replaced by THREE H1-B's...
Perhaps, but not everyone can/wants to retire at 59. It's not that old, perhaps he still has kids in college. Plenty of people actually like to work and want to, well into their 60s and 70s. This is not like years past, when you were more than likely going to be dead by 65 or 70. Many are living well into their 90s and beyond. 30-40 years of retirement takes ALOT of money and is a long time to remain idle, as well.
Well, that's $24,000/year. I can't believe that someone can't find a way to save 5% of his income. Yes, I was there once, right out of school, not saving **by choice** because I wanted the new car. Here are a couple (of MANY) ways to do it:
1) Don't eat out every day - $5/day times 260 working days/year = $1300/year. Instead put $4/day in the bank and spend $1 bringing your lunch.
2) Buy a 25 year old diesel VW Rabbit (pickup truck or sedan) for $2000. It will run forever and get 44 mpg (learn how to work on cars if you have to). If you drive 20,000 miles per year rather than an F150 pickup you will save about $1500/year. Put that in the bank.
Bing! Bing!
The I've got mine club just dropped in, welcome.You people make me sick.
Now all you poor people out there stand by for a lesson on what you should have done.
Great post! Straight forward and true...
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