A lot of reasons:
- huge debts incurred from previous medical procedures.
- put multiple kids through college.
- living in an area where real estate costs are shy high.
- wage increases each year from 1-3%
The biggie for me was medical - 200k in bills.
Those are valid. Especially in your case. Hope things are going well for you now. On all fronts.
“The biggie for me was medical - 200k in bills”
I know friends that were quite wealthy. She owned a real estate company. He was the president of another company that made hand tools. Their grand daughter came down with childhood leukemia. Her mom had no health insurance.
Then the EPA came down on the former site of the tool company. It is now a superfund clean up site. They had to financially start over again in their 50’s.
The friends I was referring to in my previous post had one of these prior to the SH&T hitting the fan:
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1991/Tayana-55-3072292/Charleston/SC/United-States?refSource=browse listing#.W4Rcz420VD8
They used to call him the “mayor of C dock” at Wentworth Marina in New Castle, NH. When you have a 55’ sloop. You make a lot of friends. The boat when bye, bye when their granddaughter was diagnose with leukemia. She is alive, well today and has children of her own.
You left one off (for many seniors)
- Those multiple kids they put through college moved back home and never left. Mom and Dad still going to work in their 70s while middle-aged son or daughter lives rent-free, trying to figure out what to do with that gender studies degree. Actual plan: wait for parents to die, and battle siblings for what’s left.
My Dad gave me a suitcase for Christmas my senior year in high school. I took the hint and learned to take care of myself.