I know this may sound so foreign to many, but I am 60 and never thought, honestly, that I’d live this long.
Let me give you a little background. I lost my mother and only sibling on Christmas Eve night when I was five due to an accident.
My father married a mentally disturbed woman and all the abuse and related incidences that can be imagined occurred. My father was passive, and eventually, angry that I survived as a reminder of his past life, became a willing abuser as well.
As a result, I grew up with all the expected psychological and self esteem stumbling blocks.
Eventually I recovered and thankfully developed my own self worth and identity.
However, it took so long, when I turned 60, it occurred to me, that even though I have worked hard and consistently all my adult life, I have completely failed to plan for my latter years.
What now? With Social Security hanging in the balance-no savings or 401k’s, I still work and support myself, but physical limitations have started to surface and frankly, I’m scared.
I do have children but I don’t want to burden them as I age....
Any suggestions from anyone already living ‘retirement’ in this predicament?
Start now looking into gov't subsidized housing. Pay off all debts, so you can go into retirement as financially sound as possible. Make and plan for 'low key living'...no huge purchases and no risky investments. Spend an hour with a financial consultant and you make be really surprised at what you can still tuck away and earn interest on, even though you're a little late to the party.
Surround yourself with positive friends and whatever family you feel will be a 'plus' in your life. You DESERVE a quiet, peaceful retirement.
You'll have SS. DH and I planned that we would not have it--so we saved and scrimped in a lot of areas..and lo and behold, SS is still around. It will be our primary income and actually, unbelievably to me--enough to support us fairly comfortably. We also have a large sum of money in an investment acct which we will draw from to supplement SS.
We do not spend unwisely and have no large ticket items (motor homes, 4 wheelers, etc). Living within our income for 45 years has paid off.
If you can work for 7 more years (maybe it's longer) you should get a decent monthly SS check. You can save enough to keep your from having to go to your kids.
The secret to happiness is to not compare yourself with others--and may I add, live within your means.
Bless you for not expecting your kids to step up. If they can see you are independent, they will more likely be around for you.
And bless you for having had a hard life and not sounding bitter about it. You're going to be OK!
((Hugs))
Please see my response to you above.
Thank you so very much for your time.
For financial information, read Dave Ramsey on getting out of debt and living frugally, www.Bogleheads.org on investing and Jane Bryant Quinn, especially Making Your Money Last in Retirement. It is NOT too late.
Thank you for your response.
I do work full time still and will do so as long as I am able. I have realized I have to focus on constant movement. It is a physical situation I’ve realized I must pay close attention to. It is simply frightening that someone like myself sees that may be difficult sooner, rather than later.
I surround myself with manual labor and inspirational people. This helps.
Thanks again for your response. Have a blessed day.
Thank you so much for your response.
Having passed through the phase of materialism. I no longer, (after much prayer), need ‘things’ as an emotional crutch. I live modestly and focus on my children, grandchildren and creating good memories.
Saving and preparing for my retirement have been two of the things I never learned. Unfortunately, now, I realize how very important they were-and that I was ‘worth’ those considerations.
Monetary management has been the most difficult life lesson; ‘saving’ proves hardest. I think that may be a lingering ‘issue’.
I so appreciate the input of the people here.
Thank you. I will definitely be re-reading these responses and using the advice.
My brother had money, but it was his "choice" once to live in a mobile home park in So Cal. It was a historic little park with mostly 70s trailers and was limited to those over age 50. It was both beautiful and wonderful, many activities, kind people, Sunday get togethers, and etc. His space cost 600 a month with utilities and his unit had cost him 30,000 when he bought, sold for 100,000 when he left, that being about the most expensive in park due to decking and etc. he had put in, garden; just a beautiful little unit. Some in the park lived almost completely on their Social Security.
What I am saying here is that there IS lower cost housing; it's just gruesome hard to find.
Start saving NOW. It is a way of life, this coupon clipping thing in which every single cent counts. You would be amazed over the course of a decade what you can put away. At this point it is unlikely you can invest in real estate, buy, sell and slowly work up a big nest egg, but you can do the best you can.
I suspect, with the aging population, we are going to see more and more "village" and "roommate" options coming in the next decade.
Just make the best of the time you have left. You can do no more.
I am glad you are thinking of this now. Stay well. With your health you can do anything.
I have been VERY blessed to have already found a small affordable house that I rent for 550.00 a month. It is all I need and am happy with it.
I am blessed to be healed mentally and as healthy as I am physically.
I will reread all the responses as I begin to apply them at this point.
I appreciate your feedback. Thank you again.
I was 62 when I started to collect. I received 700 a month. If I had waited till 66 I would have gotten 900. A 200 difference. In those 4 years I made approx 33,000. Divide that by the 200 difference of 700 at 62 and the 900 at 66...It would take me 16.5 years to make up that 33k that I had gotten. I would be 82. Would I still be here at 82? Whose to say, so I collected at 62.
I just posted a discussion about a friend of mine who never took advantage of the resources available. Find out what is available in your County. Office of Aging can help as can ur local Social Service office. Please don't berate yourself. Not all of us have a great paying job or someone to support us. A lot live from pay to pay. Raise kids alone. There just isn't that extra little bit.
This is your task to fix, and it is fixable, but you need to go full speed ahead on things from this point on.