Posted on 06/30/2024 10:20:03 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
Agnes P. saved every penny she could for retirement. Now at 78, she’s got more money than she knows what to do with, but fewer happy memories than she’d like.
“I was so focused on saving that I forgot to actually live,” Agnes said. Her story shows why being too frugal can backfire.
Her entire life, Agnes watched what she spent. Growing up without a lot of money instilled the idea that she had to save every penny. She packed lunches, kept her old car, and rarely took time off. While her friends were taking vacations, Agnes put every extra dollar into her retirement accounts.
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” she said. “But I gave up too much of my life for a future that wasn’t guaranteed.”
Agnes shared that probably the number one thing she missed out on was fun with friends — even into her retirement. She said no to spendy dinners, Broadway shows, and trips (even to nearby locales) with friends to save money.
“I lost touch with a lot of people because I always said no,” Agnes shared. “Now I’m retired with fewer friends and not many good times to look back on.”
Agnes now has a problem many retirees would love to have: more money than she needs. Years of saving and compound interest left her with a huge nest egg.
“I’ve got plenty to live on for the rest of my life,” she said. “But I can’t buy back lost time or missed chances.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
So, she should start new chances/make new memories. It's not too late. Get going, girl!
Is that you John Kerry? ;)
“Sincerely
The woke deep-state.”
This is definitely what the younger folks are doing now. And nothing reinforces it like a 78-year old wishing she had spent more on “happenings” than saving for the future.
That would be an interesting poll of older folks. Wishing that they had saved more for retirement, or spent more when they were young. (And no - “BOTH” is not an option!)
One of the things that has stunned me in recent years is the total lack of intellectual curiosity of working class and young people.
The biggest example is basic consumer economics and the use of debt to basically enslave people.
How property taxes work.
How interest rates effect everything from credit cards, auto loans, home buying etc. and how much people are held captive by these companies that extend loans to people that have no clue what they are getting into.
Would you say that the masses are brainwashed to “live in the moment” and being into sensationalism so they can be duped into going into debt to achieve their temporary desires?
I think to some degree they are brainwashed, it’s also ignorance on basic consumer economics.
My wife and I go to the same restaurants and usually become friends with the bartenders/waitresses mainly because we leave good tips.
I’ve asked a number of them that either own a house or are thinking of owning a house, if they ever considered something like a 15-year versus a 30-year mortgage.
Universally they tell me a 15-year mortgage is more expensive and never considered it an option. Then on my phone I google a quick mortgage amortization calculator and run their numbers and compare the costs of a 15 versus 30-year mortgage, they are usually dumbfounded on the interest savings.
Then I tell them it’s ever worse for credit card and auto loan interest.
I remind them to add up the extra interest costs over a lifetime and its usually hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be theirs at retirement if they only made better consumer finance decisions.
I don’t know how many if any of them I convince I only hope it gives a few something to think about and begin to ask quesitons.
I have similar conversations with service workers (though my wife and I rarely eat out LOL). Some of them come to my financial small group that I lead at church and do change their lives.
The way consumer interest is used in commercials to convince people to take out loans that are terrible deals is insidious and could be considered evil.
spender, and
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