Question for the 60 yr and over crowd

[CurlyDave]

I am 66 going on 67.

1. Do not neglect your family for your job or anything else. The rewards will be greater than anything you can imagine.

2. You will get older and retire someday -- the earlier you start planning for this the better off you will be.

3. Do not replace too much reliance on a job, your income will always be a the mercy of someone else. Don't put in extra hours hoping for advancement or a raise. Use the time to start a money-making sideline, and you will laugh all the way to the bank. Miraculously, I got this one right and retired early with more income than my boss or my boss' boss.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Some sage advice already given, but I might have a few things to add...Oh, BTW, I'll turn 75 my next birthday (Good Lord willing).

1. A loving, stable family has been one of the most important things in my life. You (and your wife) MUST make a full commitment to make it work...and that means you have to make some serious personal sacrifices for your relationship with your wife and to fully nurture, teach and protect your children. If the sins of the fathers are vested in their children, the virtues are also.

2. Irrational, troublesome and problematic people are just that...when you encounter people like that, keep them at arms length or better yet, get them out of your life completely. These sorts of people do not make good friends, but instead will suck up your energy and resources.

3. It's never too late to realize your dreams...I started to grad school at age 38...at night...and got my Doctorate at age 42, which led to a career that was more rewarding than I can imagine...not financially particularly, but in terms of personal satisfaction.

4. Last but not least, I have always tried to be as honest and straightforward as I know how to be. My father was a difficult individual, but he was very honest; I always admired that trait and it has never failed me.

5. P.S. Plan early and seriously for your retirement. It seems a long way away now, but one morning you'll wake up and it's here. This from hard experience.

Good luck and God Bless
Dennis

 

[YesDeere]

2. Irrational, troublesome and problematic people are just that...when you encounter people like that, keep them at arms length or better yet, get them out of your life completely. These sorts of people do not make good friends, but instead will suck up your energy and resources.

My father gave me this advice when I was 30. I'm 37 now. Very very good advice. I used to feel guilty and deal with those people. Now. No way. Cut em loose. Life's short spend time with quality people.

 

[Alien]

I am now 63 but it dosen't seem like that to me, as you will find out in time. I divorced when I was 51 and had no intention of ever getting married again. Anyway, the purpose of this is that I finished up with nothing and living in a unit. I started going out to karaoke with a mate and made a lot of new friends. Would you believe I met a girl about 5 years younger than me and it was just right so I changed my mind about getting married again. (eventually) Now this girl had been through a lot and I wanted to do my best for her. Fortunately I had a very good job and vehicle supplied etc. I still managed to buy a new car on the never never back then. My bank was nice to me.
To cut it short I wanted a house. I happened to see a block of land that really appealed to me and was dirt cheap. In fact 1/4 price to what it should have been at the time. An old lady owned it and had kept it for her grandkids but they didn't want it so she decided to sell it.
I talked to a builder and he said he could package the block with a new home.
Built a beautiful home and put all luxury fittings in it (thanks bank) then married my girl and she moved in. After 15 months we sold up as we spotted this property where we are now. 40 acres and cheap. House is not wonderful but who cares?
We made an awful lot of money on the new house and that got me back on my feet and paid for a big hunk of this place.
Looking back, I wish I had done it a few more times when I was younger as this is one way to move ahead and get some assets behind you.
We now own the place outright and have done all this in 12 years. We own our car and tractor and everything else but if I hadn't built that new home I would still be struggling.
What I am saying is, you are young enough to think about doing stuff like this and if you are careful it can be very rewarding.
We have considered selling here and moving further out in the country (where there is a friendly little pub) and putting a new home on a a 50 acre block. If we do, we should finish up with a very good bank balance and have a brand new home and maybe a new car too. I am now retired and have been for 3 years and life is wonderful.

 

[smstonypoint]

[SIZE=-1]The prospect of penury in age is so gloomy and terrifying that every man who looks before him must resolve to avoid it; and it must be avoided generally by the science of sparing. For, though in every age there are some who, by bold adventures, or by favorable accidents, rise suddenly to riches, yet it is dangerous to indulge hopes of such rare events; and the bulk of mankind must owe their affluence to small and gradual profits, below which their expense must be resolutely reduced.

Your humble servant,
Samuel Johnson LLD MA

[/SIZE]

 

[J_J]

Always be prepared to be or live single. You need to know how to take care of yourself with no help. People come and go at the worst times.

Monitor your health now as diabetes and heart condition can creep up on you .

If you smoke or chew,or drink to excess, quit right now.

Only maintain a few good friends.

Accept your mistakes and try to do better.

Prepare for retirement now, as it may be difficult in the future.

Girl friends are better than wives. It will also leave you in a better financial situation.

Be careful of who you trust.

Be careful of religion as there is no guarantee that it works.

Know yourself and try and know the intentions of others.

Do unto others as they would do it to you , but do it first. Good or bad.

 

[turnkey4099]

Start early with financial planning/savign for your future.

I saved, invested almost nothing except to count on companny reitiremtn plans. Doing great, Soc Scty, 21 year Military, IRA from a job I held for 10 years after the military, 16 year retirement from the Sheriff's office, Wifes disability and Soc. Flying high cranking money into savings. Then the roof fell in and I lost a major gamble.

I didnt' buy any "care" insusrance figuring the cost of the policy was too high...really wasn't too bad at that time.

Now? I could clear out everything and disappear with near 200K cash. Problem: Wife is in Alzheimers and I am doing my best to care for her at home. The instant she needs to go in the nursing home, I'll be a pauper - they'll take every dime I have and all future income.

So...Pay high insurance that probably will never be used or gamble like I did? I don't know the answer but I hope none of you ever wind up in this situation.

Harry K

 

[JDgreen227]

Turnkey4099--

Good point about the "care" insurance. Wife and I signed up ten years ago and much of the reason was we married late and don't have kids to watch after us when we get older. I do sleep a little better knowing if I go into a nursing home my wife will be reasonably well taken "care" of.

 

[Oaktree]

Girl friends are better than wives. It will also leave you in a better financial situation.

Not sure I agree with that. Before I met my wife I had any number of girlfriends that were in the long run more trouble than they were worth. Finally, a good one came along and I married her. No regrets.
Had anyone asked me what I was "looking for" in a woman, I'm not sure her qualities would be what I'd list, but we complement each other nicely. I guess my advice in this regard would be to be open-minded.

Statistically married men live longer than singles too.

Find the "sweet spot" in current technology. Don't be on the bleeding edge, but keep ahead of everyone else.

Seems a little contradictory. I find the older I get, the less I care about having the latest gizmo, and this is coming from someone who spent most of his working life in a tech job. One of the nice things about being over 60 is that there is a lot less pressure to "keep up". If technology makes your life better/easier, go for it but if all it does is add clutter save your time and money.

 

[Stick895]

#1 DON'T sweat the small stuff!
#2 It's ALL small stuff!
#3 You'll make plenty of enemies without even trying, so there's no use to try and make any
#4 If it's your fault, apologize and move forward; if it's not your fault, skip the apology and move forward.