54 & Zero retirement. I had to pull it all to pay for medical bills and keep the family going. Left with nothing now. Gen X’rs do what we always do, use our latch key upbringing to never give up. Much ❤🤘
54 and in good health but working jobs with garbage wages I have barely survived especially when I lived in California. I can save money but the truth is we have been getting screwed over before we even entered the work force. Now with all of the woke garbage it's even more difficult to navigate through the work place without some smooth brain getting offended.
No, you don't. Stop believing the boomers as to what life should be like. Their life is unatainable. Cut your expenses, starting with rent, which should be no more than 1/3 of your income. Look for cheaper trailer parks, or maybe rooms for rent. Lower budget than that? Craigslist. Look for garages and closets and sheds for rent. The listings will be vague because you're venturing intro illegal housing like most of us. Live in your car if you have to. If you do that check out the many vanlife forums for tips to make that easier.
We were the victims of the crack epidemic, lost our homes in the bank bail out, fought in the two longest wars, had many of our jobs move overseas, and are paying for the boomers in retirement.
Sweetie, Gen Xers accepted back in 1991, the fact that we would never cash in a social security check in our old age. We are in two different groups, either the job pension, 401K, and IRA retirement plan or the work until we die retirement plan. Every time we look at a paystub and read the numbers in that SSI Witholding space. We just view that as more income taxes we get to pay. We have no expectations of ever seeing a penny from social security benefits. You said " something terrible is happening to Gen X".... That's been our generation's motto since our first day of Kindergarten.
Exactly, Gus. The evening news in the 80s & 90s occasionally reported how the USA current social security system won't be able to take care of future aging generations. They had charts and formulas. Boomers were raised to chase the money, and most did that at the expense of doing almost nothing to slow down the destruction of living standards for future generations. Jobs with pensions were already nearly gone. Inflation was rising too quickly. Back then, Gen Xers knew that unless things improved, the gap between minimum wages and the bare minimum living expenses to survive would continue widening. If we didn't inherit wealth or win scholarships, we were on our own to survive. Either you lucked out with accessing a good job and having good health to actually thrive, or you spent your life surviving. I've worked since I was age nine. I'm so tired of working to survive. I have no idea how I'll eat and sleep after I can no longer work. I refuse to depend on my loved ones who deserve a small chance (I doubt larger opportunities will be typically available) to do more than survive plus take care of us old people. Will there be room in the government funded nursing homes for all the poor elderly who will be on their way to homelessness?
That is exactly how I look at SSI.. I look at it as stolen money, I will never see again. I knew I would have to work like crazy to make up for the money stolen from me.
That's why 1965 was a set in stone break between the previous (they WILL get SS, at least a little) boomers and us. There is no 'approx. such-and-such a year' for the start of our generation...none of us will ever see a penny, and we will be the first since FDR to have that bleak, poverty-ridden old age again. Even if our children are around, they are too broke paying off the student loans for the college that we demanded of them (brainwashing the next 2 generations after us that they MUST have that worthless piece of paper, or live in constant poverty themselves, yet just the opposite ACTUALLY happened), that they will not even be able to consider helping take care of us. YAY boomers, they went all nuclear on their descendants and we will pay heavily for the privilege's that they got and denied to us, with the 'I earned it' badge of honor...and telling us that we didn't.
We’re the youngest Gen Xers. They sent us a letter when we entered the workforce and told us we were paying into something that would not be there for us. We have accepted it as income tax to pay for our aging parents.
I am the first Gen Xer; will turn 60 in May. Was doing alright until I hit 55. I worked at the same company for 31 years and I was expected to and more. Won awards, perfect attendance; you name it. The company was sold and within a couple of years almost everyone from the VP down was slowly eliminated. Then covid hit and my mother, who is the last of the WW2 generation, became very sick along with other family issues. Yes with all the economic crises along with the cost of everything going vertical? Sorry I just needed to vent a bit.
@@gary9933 Not that I am aware of. It was a smaller company but they sold it again in 2021 or 2022 thus the reason for the purge. The sale was to happen in 2020 but was delayed due to Covid
@@autumngrace8541 Please read the original post before committing. I stated that I will turn 60 in May. The next month of May occurs in 2025! Yes, I was born in May of 1965. God all mighty help us......
Yep. Those were some great, great buying opportunities in the stock market. My 401k is sitting pretty today having invested consistently through those drops without overreacting and listening to the news claim that this time it was different and that the world would shortly be ending...
@@BryanJohnson-mn9ed Rigged to go up over time. Sure. It's a great rigged system. Or pout and cry and by frustrated that people who budget and work hard get ahead. It's a free country. (Unless you live in Russia, I guess.)
I'm 56 and I've basically given up on retirement. I got sick of worrying about it. SS is scheduled to go bankrupt right before I collect. My last scan said "severely blocked arteries" so I figure I got less than 10 years left anyway. I'm not liquidating my 401k or anything, just not worrying about it anymore. Focusing on having fun now and I'll just work until I die. I actually feel better now that I've accepted it. It's liberating. I'd rather face reality than cling to false hopes. I'm not gonna be like one of these selfish boomers that cling on in their 80's and show up to the polls to vote down everything that's good for the young. If I reach a point where I'm no longer able to work and I go broke, I'll just end it. I'd rather that than be a burden to everyone. I had my time and I enjoyed it.
This might sound silly but have you looked into any natural supplements for your arterial health? Resveratrol, coq10, scutellariae baicalensis, allicin max.
This comment makes me sad. It hurts to see someone feel this way. I wish you good luck and many blessings. Yes. Our country needs to address this retirement crisis.
There are some things we can not change such as SSA going bankrupt. I'm glad to read you are over worrying about the future since there is not much you can do about it. But there are things we can change such as our health and our mental and physical outlook. Bud - You are a Gen Xer, you are resilient. You have an obstacle you find a way and overcome it. You know you don't whine and cry about it. Get your health under control as soon as possible. Who or what happened in your life to make you feel it would be better to end it than to be a burden? Sounds like someone sucked the drive out of you. FInd your purpose and your passion in life and pursue your interests.
As a genXer it was clear to me at a young age there would be no inheritance and no hand outs. I would have to earn for myself. Not entirely true though, at a young age I did get.a hand out, good advice. Someone who I can't even remember said to me, it's not so much how much you earn, it's more how much you save. For some reason that stuck in my head and I always lived below my means and saved the rest. I'm very grateful for that little piece of advice.
I mean with the Boomers clinging on to everything like grim death and deciding to pile up everything they've "earned" and have a great bonfire before they die . . . yeah.
@@kontrarien5721 My dad (boomer) left us kids with a funeral bill. He didn't have sh1t when he died. No life insurance neither. Us boys didn't complain. We did what he had to do and paid the bill.
I'm on the tail end of GenX (I'll be 45 in April) - I was doing well. I had a business, I was making about 250k/yr and saving everything I could put away. Then I got sick. I lost my business, burned through my savings just trying to get by and pay my bills. Now, at the age of 44, I'm starting over from scratch. I currently have $19 in my checking account and $13 in my pocket. I figure I have about 15 years left to rebuild my retirement and eventually sell my current business.
I had a similar situation, had a nice retirement fund going, then I got sick with a chronic illness, and lost it all. Trying to rebuild as a disabled 52 year old
We bought 20 acres and are setting up a homestead/farm. That is our retirement. We are raising chickens and goats. We are growing fruits and vegetables. We are not even counting on social "security" on being there. Get self sufficient people. God bless to all my fellow Xers
I’m a millennial and thats my plan also. Itll keep my body moving, i cant make a little cash and provide my community snd family with fresh food. Thats all you can ask for and good health of course
@@emceeboogieboots1608 I've barely "worked" a day in my adult life then! I was saying, farming and animal care is physically demanding labor. Not everyone at retirement age (70, for GenX) will be able to retire the same was as the original poster.
I’m a millennial and following your lead. I think a lot of my generation is. I’m an 85 birth so somewhat older millennial. Self sufficiency is the way!!
A lot of retirees live with less anyway. The boomer generation found this out after many of them spent their money on material items during their yuppie years. Now they're getting SS and perhaps a pension, but that alone isn't enough to live on.
Boomers love the trickle down economics scam, deny climate change, and believe in government control of our lives. They get to die being generally free of the worst effects of all that, while Gen X and beyond have to live with the consequences.
I wish that were possible.. though I have lots of hobbies I hope to do well in to retirement.. I'd sell it all if I was assured to have enough to afford rent, food, necessities and health care. I can live on surfing youtube, watching tv/movies and never eating out again.. staying home if need be. But right now, even middle aged and 20 years to retirement.. the cost of living is so high that I will be forced to move to the mid west.. and then fight for a basic $15 an hour job.. and that may not even be enough. All these Gen Xers thinking they'll just keep working.. but with AI replacing a shit ton of jobs and the "we always come up with new jobs/careers/industries" basically NOT happening like it used to.. I hate being right but we are truly becoming a country of rich and poor. The rich will do ok.. the poor will fight for table scraps. What I am curious about is the rich you thrive off middle/lower income folks.. what happens once their money train runs out because jobs are replaced with AI givingt he middle to lower class no money to buy stuff or do things in the economy.
I’m trying to drag a 22 year old nephew through life in the trades. Has no idea of the opportunity staring him in the face right now. I’m at the end of my career (55), we’re making a base of 129,000 with $189k as the OT potential. Had to get him to sign up for deferred comp, take the max for the pension, we pay nothing out of pocket for insurance. He just wants to get his tow business going, which I get but he’s now making that much doing tows. He’s not seeing the end game for some reason, instant gratification is engraved in their brains
Millennial here, we’ll be fine. By the time we get old we’d acquire what the boomers had since they currently occupy almost everything and are the most populated generation.
The problem is that most parents of Gen X didn't teach their kids anything about money. Combine that with loss of pensions and you now have a catastrophic situation about to hit.
Didn't teach us anything about money? Not in my case. I got an education, as well as constant shaming for being underemployed while sick with chronic fatigue, C-PTSD, and being a single parent for almost two decades. My retirement savings is nill, not because I am stupid or ignorant of finances, but because my parents did absolutely nothing to help me when life kicked out all my teeth.
@northwoodsdad7506 I disagree. We were taught about fiscal responsibility and hard work. Other people were taught how to cheat the system. Some people were taught to completely rig the system, for their benefit. Let's stop pretending this is a good, just and balanced world. The complacent and control-obsessed boomer generation, suddenly aware of their own mortality in the 2020s, didn't help much either.
@@houndmother2398Exactly. My mom and stepfather taught me nothing about finances. My father even less, as he chose to be a heroin addict. Because I know how to read, I had to figure it out for myself. The family that raised me could only give me what they themselves had to give. It wasn't my fault when I was young, but it is my responsibility as an adult to do the best I can do with what I have
Didnt see the mention that pay went down while education requirements went up. Weird how not paying people enough for a modest lifestyle forces them to make hard choices... House or savings for retirement... Oh yeah. No PTO, old car, no eating out or entertainment.
How many 70 year olds do you see in the workplace? If they don’t retire on their own, they are forced out because they can’t keep up or their health is too bad. Thats what I’ve seen.
I've noticced that too. All of my friends who own their own houses all received help from their parents or an inheritance. I don't have either and raise three kids by myself after leaving my alcoholic ex-husband who abused me. So I'm glad to see that so many people had awesome wives that worked out well for them but that's just not the reality for everybody. And if you're not one of those people please don't beat yourself up because it's not realistic for most of us. Most of us have to bust our ass and hope that we can keep a roof over our head. It sucks that people assume that just because they had it easy everybody else should do. So delulu
@@bradleygraves5915 I invested well and got a 2.25 percent interest in my mortgage. I'm 57 now and will still have a mortgage payment for 26 years, but I make way more in investments than I would paying off my house. Be smart and you don't have to win the lottery.
Your right, when the owners sold to a large investment LLC my rent has tripled plus they are charging extra for services that used to be included. Infuriating!
I waited till I was 43 to buy my first house with USDA assistance, because I got no inheritance and I had finally recovered from the bankruptcy that was caused when I lost everything in the 2008 crash. I had a stable remote job and sold all my possessions to cross the country to buy a house in the Ohio valley where houses are cheaper. I lost my job a few months ago and now I wonder about draining my meager retirement accounts that I've been able to accumulate since 2008 in order to keep my home...
My boomer dad is doing his best to spend every dime, living like a king in the Philippines. Buying himself a huge house today with separate maid quarters. Because they have a maid. He just bought a new pickup, keeps his girlfriend in a year-old car. And this is on half an enlisted Navy pension - my mom who divorced him after he retired, gets half. My mom has been suffering the last 15 years from a lifetime of bad eating and being a jerk so she's very sick and lives with her sister, every dime to medicine. They didn't help with school expenses, past jr. high. I'll see nothing after they die. My parents used to love that "He who dies with the most toys, wins" bumper sticker that was so popular among Generation Jones Boomers.
In my working lifetime, we have had 1987, 1991, 1998, 2008, and 2020 collapses. Not to mention the dollar in 1970 would buy 7.81 today and with inflation we have had 680% cumulative price increase, but wages sure haven't increased that much. Factor in many are raising kids AND caring for elderly boomer parents. Most of us will work at least until 70.
GenXer here... don't worry about us, we already knew that we were expected to work until we die and we know how to work. You should worry about the younger generations who think they are entitled to everything.
@@Contessa6363 Yep. We all have a social security number, basically once we get our number, we become slaves. Some of us beat the system though, if you're smart enough.
I was let go from a corporate job I had for 20 years. I suspect my age was factored in when the decision was made. Nearing 50 and tell you no one wants to hire a 50 year old in corporate management. Saying that I have been fortunate to have a 401K and pension buyout to roll into a Roth IRA account. Investing in your 50s is scary. Working crap jobs and feeling old around my co workers. Side hustle reselling online and saving what I can. The latch key generation is in trouble. Most of my friends are not married and working several jobs. We all know we will be working until we physical cannot.
58 years old, got sick and hospitaized in 2019. Lost my job, lost my father, blew througg $44k I had in my 401k, moved in to take care of my mother. She has a reverse mortgage so there will be nothing left from her house. Im ubering when I can, this is definitly the worst time of my life. I just hope I die before Im on the street eating ketchup packets out of garbage cans.
it's sad though that foreigners always say they are bemused at the lack of universal healthcare in the US, but then the US commenters jump on and say things like "if it's so terrible, why does everyone want to move here?" or "it's not free healthcare. It's paid by your taxes!" But if they compared the tax rates and wages in these countries they would see that life is far less stressful. Half the government revenue is coming from companies and resource revenues anyway (it should be much more but corporate tax revenue has fallen to one of the lowest levels ever in the US). Also, the average 58 year old Australian had around $240,000 in our version of a 401K (superannuation) in recent years. That's about $161,000 US. When I was a non-taxpaying college student I was baby sitting my friends daughter and she stood on a bench and flipped it breaking an arm. I took her to the hospital and they did everything necessary without even getting my ID. Just asked her name and phone number etc. They put on the cast and gave us the x-rays to give to her parents and some painkillers and we walked out without paying a single cent. I wish Americans would rise up in protests and old their politicians accountable. The US Food and Drug Administration released the faulty "low fat" food guidelines in 1977ish and the population has got more obese, sick and cancerous ever since. US citizens need to rise up and say "We aren't spending our savings on staying alive after we were taught your faulty food pyramid, contaminated with carcinogens like PFA's from your military bases and your lax EPA laws, whilst politicians get health insurance that outlasts their employment and cushy jobs peddling insider information after leaving."
@@SunFrame I'll bet good money on: "I make poverty wages for a living." Hard to save when you don't even earn enough to cover your basic living expenses.
WEF - you will own zhe nothing and eat zhe bugz -- Just remember the more they take - the less you have to loose. And the older we get - life in prison become less and less scary -- and Frankly in Denmark the prison food is much better than they give the pensioners in homes.
I’m a younger Gen X-er. ALL my savings and xtra $$ went to medical bills for my severe health conditions and surgeries over my adult years, since I was 20 & got colon cancer. It’s been non-stop, since. I finally had to stop working, which devastated me, cuz I loved my job in Cardiovascular Surgery / Cath Lab. Currently, I get $800 per month for my SS benefits, TOTAL, including disability. That’s less than $10,000 per year for my full income. I wasn’t able to work long enough to build up ANY 401-K savings, or any decent level of salary earnings. It’s not even enough to cover my groceries each month, much less my house payment, car, bills, etc. It’s definitely not enough to live off of, comfortably (even very conservatively) nowadays- esp with the crazy high prices of inflation & basic cost of living, currently. Everything is just sooo crazy expensive! Ugh 👎🏼😩😭💔
Well Howdy, fellow long term chronic illness sufferer, & former healthcare worker. That's exactly my story too, just different med profession, & additional diagnosis. Just saying Hi, & wanted to tell you I think we're handling our situation a lot better than Most👍🏼💚
@@avril.227keep looking for resources honey, it's all we got. It'd be Nice if Specialists felt like cracking a medical book, & offering Any Help, but for Now; keep searching out resources anytime you're able to get online & look🥰
Yall make me feel like I’m in great shape to tackle the future with all the potential doom and gloom but it reminds me that I must pray for everyone everyday so we turn the pity party into a retirement party. Not sure how my life will end but l do love my wife more than ever.
The average 65 YO does not "need" 58K to live. That individual does not "need" to travel frequently, purchase new vehicles frequently, dine out frequently, etcetera. AND... Anyone who mentally struggles to limit spending for "wants" to less than 30% of their income is beyond human aid.
Ill take the $5000 Louis Vuitton bag, but all my money is not sitting in my wallet, its working FOR ME, invested in real estate and the markets. Thats why I can afford LV🤷🏼♀️
Dude I don’t know what world you’re living in but Gen X-ers do not intend on retiring at age 65. For most that would be impossible. So work will continue.
I am Gen X... My goal is 60. But if my kids need help because they got screwed by the Boomers' decisions on how they handled just about everything dealing with the economy ... I will work until I am 65.
@@kasmstamps1897 No genx messes with bitcoin. Genx will be the old men who plant seeds whose shade they will never sit in, and will be forgotten in history. Whatever, I don't care.
What really impacted GenX in a unique way was how the transition from pension plans to other options like 401k/403b rolled out. In the early days enrollment was not automatic at many companies and many people left a LOT of money on the table because they didn't enroll and didn't get employer contributions/matching. They lost out on the cash at the time and 2-3 decades of compound growth.
And where would that be? Every town, city, province/state and country is in debt. I don't know who they are in debt to, but they are in debt and continuing to waste money.
When I hear a story like this I get scared. Not because I didn't save anything, but because I'm a Gen X'er who worked hard and saved. I can see them stealing my resources, sadly.
I absolutely agree. Those among us still clinging onto their "Everything is going to be okay because things always work themselves out." mentality are going to be screwed the most in the end. The story of the Three Little Pigs we were told as children is pure fantasy. Reality has a different ending.
First year millennial here. So my folks taught me to live in less than I make and don’t rely on Gov. for anything. Focus on retirement and investing. We shove as much into retirement as possible. We live in a modest house. Modest cars. I know it sounds easier said than done but my wife and I had over 80k in student loans and 160k in mortgage. It took us 6 years at the start of our marriage to pay off everything. No vacations. No car payments. No credit cards. Our motto for date night was free and fun. It is possible to do it’s just really hard.
I was born in 1970. I retired 5 years ago at 49. I did 2 jobs most people don't want, but I got 2 pensions out of it. Deputy sheriff and army before that. I did develop disability from my 2 combat tours, so I have a full pension plus insurance for me and my wife from the sheriff's department, and a full pension plus insurance through the VA for us both. My monthly is around $8000 plus my wife still works as a cancer nurse. She's going to retire in 5 years at 58. I know it's a little too late for most people, but I highly recommend you retire as soon as you can. I picked my career because I could retire early. I couldn't see working until I was too old to enjoy life without a job. And I'm not sure how long I'm going to live, so I'm taking social security as early as possible. Life goes by fast, you will never look back and wish you spent more time at work. Quit as early as possible.
"I did develop disability … so I have a full pension plus insurance" You are one lucky guy if you did not experience decades of draining battles with your insurance company. Regularly a huge problem for people with invisible disabilities like PTSD.
@@amerubix185 I have a lot of issues relating to very early arthritis, joint pains, stomach issues, sleep problems, and on and on. I was rated through VA under 'Gulf war syndrome '. Took 10 years to get a dime through VA, then took another 4 to get a complete/correct rating. The other private insurance is through work and retirement. I don't normally go to the VA, the one in Phoenix really sucks, but several places will take the VA and Blue Cross. I earned it, I don't feel like I'm getting charity. I'm 54 and not in great shape. I'm retired, but I went from running 30 miles a week to not being able to walk a half mile.
@@ConfusedIceberg-vd7qc I appreciate that. I hurt my back in Iraq, and it turned into a life long issue. I was right next to the burning oil fields for 2 weeks breathing soot and smoke all day. Not sure if that contributed to the other issues I have or the injections and pills we were given or what. Several other people from my unit have similar issues, and a handful have passed already in their 40s and 50s. I keep in touch with about 30 people I served with.
Lol 52 years old I took over my dad's commercial sign business 20 years ago and had viable clientele and I had to leave it all behind because we moved to the in-laws due to fires and fire insurance. I couldn't take the business with me. My husband and I went back to the regular grind and lost a ton of money went bankrupt and now we are lucky to rent from family who aren't raising the rent on us every damn year. Paycheck to paycheck. I'm privileged to have family and probably a good thing I didn't have any children. We are absolutely freaking elated that my husband works for a university and we get good health benefits. We just live simply and get our free teeth cleanings. Could be better could be worse but don't ask us to put 10% away in this climate.
I'm a boomer. I remember the bad feeling I had when President Ford passed legislation allowing corporations to go from the Defined Pension to the 401k. It felt wrong and ominous. But I came from a strong union family. And worked in a job that offered defined pension so I was not worried. All of my cousins are Gen X and I was always trying to get them to apply my place of work, none ever did. Now I am retired and well set. One cousin came by to visit me and I flat out told him You are in trouble you are in your fifties, you are paid well but you have nothing saved. He is an electrician. Get a union job with defined pension. He did. He had to move but now he will have a small retirement check.
Corporate lobbying has screwed workers. I blame the baby boomers who enabled this to happen. They've been greedy and hedonistic as a generation. The WWII silent generation built infrastructure (schools, highways, libraries, etc.) and handed it to the boomers. And like pigs at the trough, they kept saying "more," without giving back. Now we have crumbling infrastructure, gutted social safety nets, and polarized politics.
@SooooT1red I am so sorry they did that to you and your peers. GOP huh?! That makes me mad🤬 We have a rot issue in the government that needs to be addressed
Hey, can I ask what ballpark figure he might have in his 401K? In Australia the average 55 to 59 year old has about US$162,000 in our version and future generations will have comparatively more when they get there as the rates of compulsory contribution have increased. When Gen Xérs started on the program it was only 3 - 4 % that we were required to sequester. Now it's about 11.5% I believe with companies forced to match dollar for dollar in contributions (on top of our wages).
I like 401K because it encourages saving & investment. A pension alone isn't enough for most people these days, and union jobs are outdated. Look at the rust belt for proof of this.
@@brianbrasch3639 yes and let that first owner take the big hit. I've been doing that the whole time I've been driving. I also keep my cars for about 10 years. I get a chuckle when I get a car and people wish me well on the "new" car... sure, it's new to me lol, thank you. All of these cars come with an OEM warranty which I always extend to the max. I won't discuss dollars here, but I assure you that I'm ahead of the game at this point and I've always had a nice, reliable ride.
There are exceptions... during covid, Dodge was so scared about selling vehicles that I bought my dream Challenger for 0% interest. Why pay cash up front if it costs the exact same spread out over 6 years?
I'm GenX. I was doing pretty well until the family courts wiped me out several years ago during a divorce. It's the most corrupt system I've ever dealt with. I had to effectively start over financially in my 40s.
@@Will_0001 ironically we have same name and experiences divorced 8 years ago took everything I'm 48 I will die with nothing. How they can do this to men is sick. I won't go into it because you already know. But I've been single 8 years . If I would have known what I kniw now man I would have avoided fee males from the jump. It's pointless dealing with them. I've never been happier being ALONE. 🤣🤣🤣 better late than never. She's on her second marriage since me 49 still trying to have her first kid 🤣🤣 the Dr told her SHE caint have kids. But naaah it's gotta be the man. Even though I have a kid 🤭🤭🤭🤣🤣
I'm Gen-X but I'm not worried about it since I knew since I was very young I'd never make it to retirement because of the upcoming rapture! Time is up! Get right with Jesus! Money won't buy you into heaven!
Everyone here is bragging about how much they saved but I wonder how many of those splurged along the way. You're not rich if you missed out on the opportunities of your youth. Vacationing after 60 is not the same as vacationing in your 20s, 30s, and 40s.
Yes, i always kept that in mind. I think the biggest thing to think about is what make a person happy. I have a firend super wealthy will not retire because he likes EVERYTHING FIRST CLASS. Myself i am way more laid back in the middle of the pack. Poor people would call me Rich and Rich People would call me poor... hmmm strange times we live in. Many of us have taken the middle path some fun some savings. Might retire in the next few years.
@@RajDeelish That is a good point you bring up I’ve traveled the world. Dove the barrier reef, snow skied etc. But then there are the other things. Divorce, child support, having my 401 molested. It’s been a rich life with ups and downs. I thank the Lord that I’ve gotten the life I have had. I do agree that life should be enjoyed when you’re young, well at least the risky stuff. Older doesn’t work well with bones 😉
My sister thinks like you do. She wastes so much money. I have been taking multiple vacations yearly, however, there is a way to do it where you aren't wasting money. Vacation during off-peak times when you can get cheaper hotels, food etc. People who fail to plan, plan to fail.
Plenty of people managed to enjoy life all this time (including travel) AND still invest & save for retirement. It's not a zero-sum game. I suppose if you want to reminisce about how much more coin you blew in your 20's/30's while eating ramen and picking up hours at Wendy's in your 70's . . . have at it.
@@RajDeelish a vacation every year likely isn't wise but I take a big vacation every five years and a couple of weekends away a year. Keeps it so my life is rich but I'm not poor. Balance
It's intentionally hard to save money. Every aspect of life in the US, has been engeneered by various corporations to syphon away as much money as possible from every single person. Most large corporations are reporting record breaking profits quarter after quarter, which is exactly the same as saying that US citizens have record breaking debt and lack of savings.
I retired at age 53, so I am in my early 60s. Many of them resisted me because they couldn't understand the idea of not working if it wasn't necessary. I considered the phases of my life. I worked very hard to achieve what I have now, but in my last years, I owe it to myself to "stop and smell the roses." In my instance, I departed the nation after retiring and currently reside in Latin America. It made it possible for me to appreciate my new surroundings while escaping all the bad things that were going on in America. Nobody that I know of regrets retiring has yet to come to me.
Nice way to retire. For me, I believe retirees who struggle to meet their basic needs are the ones who could not accumulate enough money during their active years to meet their needs. Retirement choices determine a lot of things. My wife and I both spent same number of years in the civil service, she invested through a wealth manager and myself through the 401k. We both still earning after our retirement fund has grown way more than it would have with just the 401(k). Haha.
It's unfortunate most people don't have such information. I don't really blame people who panic. Lack of information can be a big hurdle. I've been making more than a million dollars by just investing through an advisor, and I don't have to do much work. Doesn't matter if the economy is misbehaving; great wealth managers will always make returns.
I think this is something I should do, but I've been stalling for a long time now. I don't really know which firm to work with; I feel they are all the same but it seems you’ve got it all worked out with the firm you work with so i surely wouldn’t mind a recommendation.
I definitely share your sentiment about these firms. Finding financial advisors like Kathie Daisy Bosco who can assist you shape your portfolio would be a very creative option. There will be difficult times ahead, and prudent personal money management will be essential to navigating them.
This started with my grandparents, the greatest generation. My grandpa retired well at 55 and lived to 91 on ElectroMotive pension. What a time to be alive, progressively getting worse down the line.
I always find this argument fascinating. If they were so great, why didn’t they raise their kids to be better? The kids became what the generation before raised them to be. C’mon people, use your brains.
Us Gen-X'ers never expected to live to retirement age. But we have always known there was not going to be anything for us if we made it that far. Our survival instincts will get us through as it always has.
The nerve of him telling us to save money and budget our way out of this mess. How are we supposed to save money when we have to pay for a house that costs four times more what our parents paid? For health care costs? For inflation? Gas prices? Lower incomes and no pensions? Jobs gone overseas? I love the way he sits on his deck with trees behind him, while we have to crowd in our tiny apartments and condos, with a smirk on his face, telling us how we're doomed. Thanks man! Personally, I inherited nothing when my parents died, and have had my share of costly health issues. But I guess I'm just supposed to save and work harder, while you sit there and fail to put the blame on your own generation where it belongs. The entire motivation behind him making this video was just to instill fear in us so we give him a call so he gets more business.
Yeah, don't you love it how the boomers voted in all the trickle-down jerks that created this predatory economic hell scape that they benefit from, then they blame us for what they did to us. Too many lattes my a$$. I don't even drink coffee. So sick of hearing that crap.
@Kaotiqua no, I'm a young gen x, almost a millennial who bought my first house in 2005. Kids today have a legit complaint, if you are gen x and don't own a house, what have you been doing with your life?
hard to save after being financially burned over and over again. College?, the '87 crash wrecked that before I was out of high school. no decent jobs to be had for years, when I finally thought I was making enough over bare sustinance (and I do mean bare) to start saving 9/11 came along and hammered the local economy, no work for over a year. I lost everything and had to move back in with my folks. once I was getting comfortable enough to move out, the '08 crash hit, While I didn't lose my job there, my income was seriously curtailed. I ended up supporting my parents after they lost their jobs. Eventually I ended up moving out, into a camper. 12 years later, still in said camper, the lot rent is higher than my old mortgage. I drive a 25 year old vehicle, not that I'm unhappy with it. I'm now making more money in dollars than at any other point in my life in dollars but inflation has set me back to less actual money than I was making 20 years ago. hard to save when trying to keep a roof over your head, a car in the driveway, healthcare expenses going through the roof, and, maybe some food on the table
As a Gen Xer who in his mid twenties had less than $100 in my bank account when I started grad school, I made a promise to myself that once I finished getting my masters degree I would scrimp, save and invest- no matter how difficult it was. I’m glad I made that commitment because being poor is no picnic. If you wait until you’re in your mid fifties, it’s too late.
For 8 years when I was in college I could barely afford gas to get to school and work in my hand me down 1976 Toyota Corolla that my mom bought for $2000 new. When I got my first job I thought the money was a fluke and it wouldn't last. I saved 100% non essential income for 5 years and I was able to buy my first house. I still remained frugal and was able to pay that house off by the time I was 45.
@wildcard2058 The collapse of civilization has been wrongly predicted often over the last 50 years or more. The ones who ignored the stream of Flat Earth conspiracy nuts are the ones who are actually doing fine and retiring early.
As my late father, a baby boomer told me in the early 2000's , "my generation (the boomers" sold out our own kids the minute we favored Reagan's economic and environmental policy". He was right and unfortunately us Gen Xers were too apathetic to do much about it..... My health is going downhill at 51... I probably won't make it to retirement age which SUCKS!
I'm a GenXer and have made sacrifices in my quality of life (working hard at jobs I don't like) because I have always been afraid of not having enough money at retirement. I've looked around me at my peers and wondered how they could live so carefree, oblivious to the fact that one day they will have to retire. I am set up VERY well financially and have little sympathy for those that are not. I will be enjoying my later years with plenty of money.
Gen Xers also were the first divorce generation. You know....wives became "I'm just not happy." The rule is divorce sets you (me) back 10 years. I recovered (remarried with prenup) but...I'm working until age 67.
@@DrunkenUFOPilot My guess is that our metabolisms slow down and burn less energy. I know my appetite has gone down over the years. I could easily do with two good meals a day, but it is a habit to have three.
We were never prepared for today’s financial landscape of crippling student loans or investing for retirement. I got no education from my parents about investing at all, because really, my boomer parents didn’t know anything about it. There were no 401k plans, no IRAs. Their plan was to find a good job with a pension, and that worked back then. My brother and I were basically latchkey kids too, left to largely try and figure things out for ourselves. This is true for a lot of my peers. We screwed up a lot in our 20s and 30s, failed marriages and bankruptcies, learning everything the hard way. And some of us in our 50s still don’t have our lives together. Thank god I am lucky enough to have 20+ years of pension benefits built up (and hopefully at least 10 more) and am on the right track now, but so many of us had it so hard… and now in our 50s, some of my friends are coming down with health issues, medical bills bankrupting them, getting laid off, having trouble finding work. A lot of us are out here struggling to live, let alone thinking about retiring.
On the younger Gen X side, I never seen or had a job that offered a pension. Companies catered to shareholders and pissed on us with a 401(k). Therefore, all the responsibility was laid onto the employee, removing any responsibility that a company would owe its employees.
Good advice. I live overseas and live comfortably, not eating caviar every day, but very comfortable. Once you get a home paid off, and no debts, life is much easier.
@@rowannicklous6397 Not in my name, in my wife's name, she is Peruvian. I have legal residency here though. We've been together since 2007 and she hasn't kicked me out yet. She even bought me chocolate chip cookies today. 😃
Agree with this, even though we have a strong portfolio. Plan to ‘slow travel’ in various parts of the world for 4-5 years. Guess what? Travel in the region is much cheaper when you don’t have to cross oceans! 😉
Key is living within your means. I'm 72 live on about $2000/mnth. My house was paid off. I have a Toyota truck, a couple of motorcycles. I'm very comfortable with my SS and a small pension. If I had to, I could live on just my SS. I don't have kids or a wife. Got a dog. live in the woods with everything paid off. This guy is saying you need a million dollars to retire. What kind of life style is he talking about maintaining? I must be living on another planet. I hate when I wake up and I'm on another planet. got to find my dog
I think he is saying a net worth of $1 million. Average home price is now $400k. 6% interest on 600k is $36000 per year, say $24,000 in SS your looking at $60k, then take taxes. In a metro area that is not a lot, it's liveable but not opulent.
@@bluebird3027 👏👏👏. I have 3 dogs I’m 63 house almost paid off still working plan on til approx 67. I like ur life style. It’s mine now and I live in the woods also
I'm 75 and live on $767.06/month, my pension. I have no debt. My SSI check is $1825/month. I invest it all. My brokerage acct is at $276K and grows about $30K/year. I never made much, and had to retire at 58 but I was careful. I live in a paid for 2 bedroom home valued at $125K and drive a beater.
If that were me, I would take a portion of the SSI and buy some precious metals, even if it were just an ounce or two of silver per month. Eggs in one basket...
I'm a gen xer, I've known since the 90s the social security wouldn't be around for me or anybody younger. What moron actually believes that social security is going to be there for them??
Even boomers on SS can’t live on it alone. My father gets a $800 dollar check per month, I think, or less. That’s not even enough to cover a single mortgage payment, much less groceries and necessities. 😢. While my grandfather retired with a pension and it transferred to my grandma when he died as well. We’ll likely never see both.
This. As soon as I got in a long term job (been there for 16 years) I started a 401k & contribute the max. Came into some $ & have it in mostly high dividend yield stocks. Hoping I might be able to retire a few years early. At no point am I counting on Social Security, I fully believe it will be gone within the next 20 years.
Older gen X here. The fear of being homeless, brought on by being a latch key kid I guess, caused me to save. Unless your making g a lot of money, you would have had to start saving early and be consistent to be okay today. I cashed out money in my early 30s to go back to school during the financial crisis 2008, now saving max allowed per yr plus IRA and dabble stocks on my own too, and at 67 will have almost 2M. I paid off 120K student laons as well. 🥵. Its been solid work for the past 10 yrs. Worth it? We shall see but I am guessing yes. Dont give up. If your older with no savings, find out what your SS check will be amd start to live on that budget now! Pay things off and buy cheap housing if you can.
I like this, had always work when i keep it like that, i discover 7 years ago that “pretty cute woman” is my weakness and the reason i set myself back. Im 48 and planing on staying single for the rest of my life
We are not going to have any situation near Weimar Republic. That only happened b/c the rest of the 1st world countries made it happen. You really need to study economics/history more. If anything, we need to be worried more about Japan-style stagflation, but I seriously doubt that will happen either.
Sadly I think you are right. I'm 48 and have already lost several friends to cancer, alcoholism, and drug overdoses. We are a damaged generation, physically and mentally. But hey, at least if we go out early we don't have to worry about paying for retirement.
@@aprilflynn …yeah 50% of the people i knew in high school are currently dead. Not much from heroin. Lots of oxy+benzo. Lots of car wrecks. Lots of cancer. Lots of suicide. A few random "died in his sleep"s. A few died in Iraq or afghanistan, most of the rest who joined also offed themselves or died another way. A couple were murdered. A few even took to trainhopping, and dissapeared - likely also murdered. i was born in ‘73 and went to a top tier private high school
Look at what it costs us to live.... And each generation gets it worse. The average job doesn't pay enough to even save $100 by retirement, and owning your own home is now a complete joke. Even "high skills" jobs pay under $20 an hour typically. Which if wages had kept up with cost of living typical jobs would pay around $27-$30 an hour, and high-skills jobs would pay no less than $40.
We're all going to roommates and let the good times roll...luckily we're easily entertained...good music, a good movie or book, a bbq in the backyard...
I didn't realize how valuable my pension was. Apparently, I saved too much money and should have bought myself a huge house and spent lavishly instead of saving so much. I'm less than 2 years from my full pension age, so I can go then, and basically do whatever I want. I just gotta stay healthy.
…good on ya! Glad to see a bunch of us that have opted for early retirement. As a UAL Flight Attendant for 22 years I finagled a no healthcare retirement package in 2012 when I was 42 with evolving ailments but Kaiser has been a lifesaver in the Bay Area. Having known and invested with a few early key players in the Silicon Valley and a couple of rentals afforded me to pay off my home in Atherton where I have lived happily on my own.
Nah. BECAUSE we're Gen X (didn't live a soft life nor cushioned by political correctness or cancel culture) we will figure it out & survive regardless)
Nobody should accept that Social Security will go bankrupt. This type of rhetoric just sounds like propaganda to me. GenX has paid into Social Security. The government doesn't have the option to let it disappear.
I retired last year at 57. Amen. My Defined Benefit pension, savings, investments and eventual federal pension has left me fairly comfortable as a single, no debt, homeowner.
As a Xennial (born 1982) I grew up knowing no one was going to take care of me but me. I'm in a good financial position, good enough to be able to help others who need it. Its going to be harder for Millenials and the younger generations. I think wealth is being squeezed out of ordinary families.
I appreciate you calling yourself a xennial lol. That's what I call myself too (born in 83), but I'm told by people to just call myself a millennial. I just feel too disconnected to millennials to call myself one.
Born in 65. It’s not about savings alone. It’s about, did you work to earn other pensions besides your old age pension or others depending on your country. The system was rigged against us for saving. I feel for my brothers. I did the Gen x thing and have a military pension, and worked hard to build equity in a home. When you only have to pay property tax, utilities, and upkeep to have a roof over your head. Young people take note.
lol. All my genx peers who scoffed at me sacrificing everything to buy a house in 2000. Two of them are now living in cars, and the car is crap. It was an attitude thing of the generation. I’ve never earned more than poverty level but I own my house. Could see it coming a mile away, the world was going nuts with money, prices were definitely going up. I went miles away to afford a house and thank god I did.
Me too. Headed to Europe or back to Mexico. I lived and worked as an expat American in Mexico City and if I am being honest prefer my life there immensely more. Culture, food cost of living all improvements over the US. Lived in Europe as a kid (parents European)….and much prefer life there as well.
@@ApriliaRacer14 Same I lived all my adult life in Italy. Had to come back to care for elderly relatives. 2K a month in Italy you live an upper middle class life, very comfortable, great food, no processed junk, quality products for everything, People are less angry. Everything in the usa is so expensive and garbage quality.
My boss is Gen X and in his mid-50's. Neither he nor his wife have any retirement funds; they JUST started putting into the company 401k this past year. He says he'll likely just have to work until he dies and slaps a smile on his face that reads, "I'm dead inside."
I think this applies to a lot of people, not just Gen X. Think of how insanely high home prices are-how many people under 50 at this point can afford a home and have one paid off by retirement age? Millions of people are going to be renters forever. I think Gen X was the last generation that could afford a home. Luckily my home is paid off and I'll never have to pay rent, which will help. Expecting the average person to have almost a million saved up for retirement is unrealistic. Life is really expensive.
Wife and I are Dave Ramsey Gen Xers. Working Stiffs but at 56, paid for home, 1.5M saved/invested so far. Kids off payroll with no BS Student Loans. We plan on retiring in 4 years at 60, as at 60 we have 35 GREAT Years into Social Security. Wont take it till 67, but when we turn on we get over 50K a year. How did we do it, One Spouse, One House and always invested 15% into mostly the S&P 500 Index, (some Roth, some Traditional, some Brokage). Kids are Engineers and went to In-State-State-College and worked part time, and NEVER Lease Cars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@FIRED13Althgouh I can not speak for @littlered4122, as someone whose numbers are close, 57 years old, $2.1 Million saved, zero debt, two pensions plus social security, I do not plan to retire at 60. Here is my plan. Work until I turn 62 then ask myself if I want to work one more year. If yes, repeat each year. I have no desire to retire today. I’m living where I want to live, doing what I want to do. We travel internationally once or twice a year, and have a nice boat thats the perfect size to entertain eight, feed four, and sleep two,… just us two. We dont take vacations to impress others, don’t dress to impress others, don’t do anything to impress others. We do what we want, and I enjoy what I do for my carrier and my hobbies blend into my carrier. I have a side gig consulting, and I’m enjoying every moment of it. You ask why not retire? My answer is “Because I don’t want to, thats why.”
@@FIRED134 years of wait may not be wasted. Depends on what they're doing with their time and their particular decisions about life. Let's not be too hasty in throwing the judgment
1968 GenX'er here. I'm not going to pretend we all hung around in high school talking about how pensions were disappearing. However it was not a secret and was understood by those of us who paid attention. We were aware retirement was going to be laid more on our shoulders than it was on our grandparents. We also thought SS would be gone by now too. Some of us took the data seriously and prepared; others didn't. Now I'm 56 and my retirement papers are in for next month. Both public and private entities did screw us, but that didn't mean we couldn't do the work to overcome these setbacks. As with everything else, personal choice and responsibility has a lot to do with life.
🙌@Shep68. Summer of 69 X here - shot out of high school learning about investments and personal finance, reading magazines and newspapers at the library (before days of computers and smartphones). My young goal was to hit $1M by 30; instead, got hit by Y2K and the Great Financial Crises/Recession. However, boneheaded me just kept plowing savings into investments, rain or shine. Fast forward, landed a job that provided not just a 401k (with a small match) but a private pension (too young/naive when hired to realize this benefit until almost 7-10 years into the job !). Then the big layoff came (replaced by cheaper oversea labor - what a unpatriotic move that was from Big Corp)! Looked up, and realized all the 'work' meant we were fortunate to not have to keep looking for work like the rest of my former coworkers, some who had been with the Company over 20 years, lots in their 40 and 50s (a few were older)... Sad situation. I am just grateful I was there for my family when The Pandemic hit, that I was not chained to work.
Same. I'm 56. I've got another 10 years before I want to retire but I'm semi retired now working 3 days/week. 6 homes, 5 of which are rentals. My own IRA and an inherited IRA are doing well. It's all about planning for that future, and sacrificing the moment.
@@DIVISIONINCISIONthe problem is is 1 minute you think you're set for retirement and the next minute a loaf of bread is $500... the 2 million you saved is now worth 15 grand.. There's no solidity in the system it's not backed up by gold or anything and we're kind of in uncharted Territory.. But I'm a gen xer and you know we're going to try to make the best of it.. good luck to all
I turn 50 in January. I've been disabled for 20 yrs, getting about 1,100 a month for my back injury from the post office. Got divorced that same year, lost everything. My new wife has a good job, but I'm basically at the whim of how long her and my kids can help. My daughter is 7, and son is 2. I have no retirement, savings, and have been going downhill since the injury. I have no plan. We're borrowing just to make it, going to the food pantry. Not much option when your disabled. Kills me that our country gives illegals way more than I get. Literally hurts my back thinking about it.
You could have done everything right, everything! And still not be looking at a retirement. It only takes ONE illness or major injury and that could wipe all of the “nest egg” away in a heartbeat. I’m gonna be 53 and already I’m one of the healthiest of the people I grew up with. Back surgeries, neck surgeries, cancer, other illnesses, car accidents and even divorces have left so many people I knew with little or nothing. There will be no retirement for me unless I win a lottery. 🤷🏻♂️ it makes me wonder how many are truly living in a house of cards. I’m betting quite a lot!
"If you owe the bank $100, that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem." Similarly, if one Gen-X doesn't have money saved for retirement, that's his problem. If 65 million Gen-X don't have money saved for retirement, that's a massive societal problem. Ah, I'm sure it'll all work itself out.
@@shaunsteele6926 Except we're the smallest generation, so it's likely that we will just get forgotten in our old age. Gen Alphas and whoever's next will ask their parents "Why are there so many old hoboes sleeping on the sidewalk everywhere?" and they will just shrug and say it must be because we spent all of our money on lattes.
Not one word about getting out and staying out of debt ? Not one word about coupling a debt free existence with living as a minimalist ? That’s just as important as having enough assets to retire with.
I was born poor, and will die poor. In high school they told us there would be no Social Security. Since I was not able to get anything considered a livable wage. Savings is a laugh for low income jobs. I have a collage certificate. They make a great place-mat.
2001-2002 crash hurt me bad early in my career. 2008 was a significant setback. Having to work through contract agencies for the first decade after college made it difficult to save.
I'm a younger gen x and I plan on working all my life, not be because I have to, because I want to. Once you stop pushing and striving it's over, no matter what age you are.
So glad I never had that bizarre mentality, so much more better things to do... Off out for a 4hour bike ride later... Keep on working champ, doing a great job there....
That's not true. I have more hobbies to keep me busy than I have time for when working. You don't have to lay down and die because you aren't working at a 9-5.
It is absolutely true... I am a nurse practitioner and as soon as people stop moving and living a comfortable life things start falling apart with their bodies. U can work and still have a great time doing it.
We are gen x . We do not rely on government. Setting out garden and fruit trees. Avoid g debt and credit cards as a plague, following Dave Ramsey book” total money makeover “. Saving and investing
It's better to vote for policies that would lead to a better retirement. Self reliance often makes people ignore opportunities to help others, and in this case, yourselves. Society is a group effort. Arthritis and back injuries ruin a lot of self sufficient plans.
Those numbers from the bureau of labor statistics are nonsense. The average person needs $78,000 a year to get by? The average salary before taxes are taken out is in a little over $59,000. That leave you with around $45K.
Gen X here. I’m basically broke,but own a house and two cars, have two kids. At least I’m doing my part when it comes to population replacement. The rest of my generation failed.
54 & Zero retirement. I had to pull it all to pay for medical bills and keep the family going. Left with nothing now. Gen X’rs do what we always do, use our latch key upbringing to never give up. Much ❤🤘
Bless you friend
Same. I am only 45 but still have no savings.
54 and in good health but working jobs with garbage wages I have barely survived especially when I lived in California. I can save money but the truth is we have been getting screwed over before we even entered the work force. Now with all of the woke garbage it's even more difficult to navigate through the work place without some smooth brain getting offended.
You guys should buy a little BTC… it won’t hurt. 👍🏽
54 year old Latchkey kid here since age 10 😁
We're going to have to work up until the day of our funeral. There is no safety net for us. It's just like the way it's always been. We're on our own.
Yes we are on our own, but we also need to be smart with our money.
I can no longer be on my own. I'm 52, alone and tired.
We've been preparing for this our whole life.
No, you don't. Stop believing the boomers as to what life should be like. Their life is unatainable. Cut your expenses, starting with rent, which should be no more than 1/3 of your income. Look for cheaper trailer parks, or maybe rooms for rent. Lower budget than that? Craigslist. Look for garages and closets and sheds for rent. The listings will be vague because you're venturing intro illegal housing like most of us. Live in your car if you have to. If you do that check out the many vanlife forums for tips to make that easier.
We were the victims of the crack epidemic, lost our homes in the bank bail out, fought in the two longest wars, had many of our jobs move overseas, and are paying for the boomers in retirement.
''sandwich'' generation. can't retire! supporting our parents and children whom can't move out!!
I hear you !!! My goal.. just keep making more and more money. I am going to inflate my earnings out of the problem. its working so far.
Exactly!
Yep!! 😢
Yes. I can relate as I pull my hair out.
THIIIIIIS
Sweetie, Gen Xers accepted back in 1991, the fact that we would never cash in a social security check in our old age.
We are in two different groups, either the job pension, 401K, and IRA retirement plan or the work until we die retirement plan.
Every time we look at a paystub and read the numbers in that SSI Witholding space. We just view that as more income taxes we get to pay. We have no expectations of ever seeing a penny from social security benefits.
You said " something terrible is happening to Gen X"....
That's been our generation's motto since our first day of Kindergarten.
Exactly, Gus. The evening news in the 80s & 90s occasionally reported how the USA current social security system won't be able to take care of future aging generations. They had charts and formulas. Boomers were raised to chase the money, and most did that at the expense of doing almost nothing to slow down the destruction of living standards for future generations. Jobs with pensions were already nearly gone. Inflation was rising too quickly. Back then, Gen Xers knew that unless things improved, the gap between minimum wages and the bare minimum living expenses to survive would continue widening. If we didn't inherit wealth or win scholarships, we were on our own to survive. Either you lucked out with accessing a good job and having good health to actually thrive, or you spent your life surviving. I've worked since I was age nine. I'm so tired of working to survive. I have no idea how I'll eat and sleep after I can no longer work. I refuse to depend on my loved ones who deserve a small chance (I doubt larger opportunities will be typically available) to do more than survive plus take care of us old people. Will there be room in the government funded nursing homes for all the poor elderly who will be on their way to homelessness?
This is why socialism sucks
That is exactly how I look at SSI.. I look at it as stolen money, I will never see again. I knew I would have to work like crazy to make up for the money stolen from me.
That's why 1965 was a set in stone break between the previous (they WILL get SS, at least a little) boomers and us. There is no 'approx. such-and-such a year' for the start of our generation...none of us will ever see a penny, and we will be the first since FDR to have that bleak, poverty-ridden old age again. Even if our children are around, they are too broke paying off the student loans for the college that we demanded of them (brainwashing the next 2 generations after us that they MUST have that worthless piece of paper, or live in constant poverty themselves, yet just the opposite ACTUALLY happened), that they will not even be able to consider helping take care of us. YAY boomers, they went all nuclear on their descendants and we will pay heavily for the privilege's that they got and denied to us, with the 'I earned it' badge of honor...and telling us that we didn't.
We’re the youngest Gen Xers. They sent us a letter when we entered the workforce and told us we were paying into something that would not be there for us. We have accepted it as income tax to pay for our aging parents.
I am the first Gen Xer; will turn 60 in May. Was doing alright until I hit 55. I worked at the same company for 31 years and I was expected to and more. Won awards, perfect attendance; you name it. The company was sold and within a couple of years almost everyone from the VP down was slowly eliminated. Then covid hit and my mother, who is the last of the WW2 generation, became very sick along with other family issues. Yes with all the economic crises along with the cost of everything going vertical?
Sorry I just needed to vent a bit.
I hear you.
Gotta ask..were the new owners private equity?
1965 to 1980 is a a Gen X. If you are 60...you are a Baby Boomer. Look it up, its on Wikipedia
@@gary9933 Not that I am aware of. It was a smaller company but they sold it again in 2021 or 2022 thus the reason for the purge. The sale was to happen in 2020 but was delayed due to Covid
@@autumngrace8541 Please read the original post before committing. I stated that I will turn 60 in May. The next month of May occurs in 2025! Yes, I was born in May of 1965. God all mighty help us......
Everyone who reads this, we don't know each other and probably never will but I wish you all the best in life and all the luck in the world!
Thank you and same to you! ❤️
Back at you my friend
👍
You too. Remember Gen X was the best generation no matter what!
Thank you
Early 90's recession, Dot Com crash, 9/11, 2008, Global Financial Crisis, Covid Pandemic. That's all I have to say.
Yep. Those were some great, great buying opportunities in the stock market. My 401k is sitting pretty today having invested consistently through those drops without overreacting and listening to the news claim that this time it was different and that the world would shortly be ending...
Rigged system.
Agree 1,000 percent.
@@chaleej5571 You are extraordinarily lucky to have had enough excess money to put into a 401k and not need every penny to keep the bills paid.
@@BryanJohnson-mn9ed Rigged to go up over time. Sure. It's a great rigged system.
Or pout and cry and by frustrated that people who budget and work hard get ahead.
It's a free country. (Unless you live in Russia, I guess.)
I'm 56 and I've basically given up on retirement. I got sick of worrying about it. SS is scheduled to go bankrupt right before I collect. My last scan said "severely blocked arteries" so I figure I got less than 10 years left anyway. I'm not liquidating my 401k or anything, just not worrying about it anymore. Focusing on having fun now and I'll just work until I die. I actually feel better now that I've accepted it. It's liberating. I'd rather face reality than cling to false hopes. I'm not gonna be like one of these selfish boomers that cling on in their 80's and show up to the polls to vote down everything that's good for the young. If I reach a point where I'm no longer able to work and I go broke, I'll just end it. I'd rather that than be a burden to everyone. I had my time and I enjoyed it.
This might sound silly but have you looked into any natural supplements for your arterial health? Resveratrol, coq10, scutellariae baicalensis, allicin max.
This comment makes me sad. It hurts to see someone feel this way. I wish you good luck and many blessings. Yes. Our country needs to address this retirement crisis.
At 56 it is far from too late to turn your health around. Be more active and eat better, lose weight, big changes over a few months of dicipline.
There are some things we can not change such as SSA going bankrupt. I'm glad to read you are over worrying about the future since there is not much you can do about it. But there are things we can change such as our health and our mental and physical outlook. Bud - You are a Gen Xer, you are resilient. You have an obstacle you find a way and overcome it. You know you don't whine and cry about it. Get your health under control as soon as possible. Who or what happened in your life to make you feel it would be better to end it than to be a burden? Sounds like someone sucked the drive out of you. FInd your purpose and your passion in life and pursue your interests.
I think some others have missed the point. There is no point in trying to live longer when there will be nothing to live on and you can't work.
As a genXer it was clear to me at a young age there would be no inheritance and no hand outs. I would have to earn for myself. Not entirely true though, at a young age I did get.a hand out, good advice. Someone who I can't even remember said to me, it's not so much how much you earn, it's more how much you save. For some reason that stuck in my head and I always lived below my means and saved the rest. I'm very grateful for that little piece of advice.
I mean with the Boomers clinging on to everything like grim death and deciding to pile up everything they've "earned" and have a great bonfire before they die . . . yeah.
Great advice- I wish more people would grasp that concept.
@@kontrarien5721 My dad (boomer) left us kids with a funeral bill. He didn't have sh1t when he died. No life insurance neither. Us boys didn't complain. We did what he had to do and paid the bill.
Preach it Loud
@@SteveFugere-q6p me too. Earn a dollar save a quarter. Buy and hold
I'm going to live on my good looks. That's something people always forget. Gen X-ers are good looking people.
Albeit a bit on the chunky side😊
Under appreciated and underrated positive.
Excellent point. Thanks for the reminder
Just not as good looking as we once were.....
Sounds like they are also delusional.
I'm on the tail end of GenX (I'll be 45 in April) - I was doing well. I had a business, I was making about 250k/yr and saving everything I could put away. Then I got sick. I lost my business, burned through my savings just trying to get by and pay my bills. Now, at the age of 44, I'm starting over from scratch. I currently have $19 in my checking account and $13 in my pocket. I figure I have about 15 years left to rebuild my retirement and eventually sell my current business.
Jesus sorry
Carnivore Diet.
Dr Ken Berry.
I am an elder GenX. If I ever win the lotto, I'll look you up. So sorry it happened.
I had a similar situation, had a nice retirement fund going, then I got sick with a chronic illness, and lost it all. Trying to rebuild as a disabled 52 year old
Damn
As a gen x born in 66. I've already accepted the fact that retirement is a fairytale.
I'm right there with you. Also born 66 and in the UK I'm working till I'm 67.
It's so depressing.
I’m an old GenXer, we were on our own. You either helped yourself or you’re screwed
Another old GenXer and, yep, we learned that we had to fend for ourselves.
Yup😂
True. Started in my late 20s and live debt free.
It’s always been that way for us
Latch-key kids for sure. I still harken back to the days of coming home to en empty house and watching MTV. Both parents works.
Well, in typical GenX fashion, I expect the GenX response would be .... "don't worry about it, I can take care of myself."
you guys are so high on yourselves...its fascinating.
@@saucyrossy3698.....the facts speak for themselves there Saucy.....🤷♂️
@@saucyrossy3698don’t worry you didn’t hurt our feelings . We aren’t triggered by data
We just don't expect everyone around us to drop what they're doing to give us emotional support when we get a paper cut 🤣 (just teasing you)
@@saucyrossy3698 sure.. whatever..
We bought 20 acres and are setting up a homestead/farm. That is our retirement. We are raising chickens and goats. We are growing fruits and vegetables. We are not even counting on social "security" on being there.
Get self sufficient people. God bless to all my fellow Xers
So, you'll be working in retirement?
I’m a millennial and thats my plan also. Itll keep my body moving, i cant make a little cash and provide my community snd family with fresh food. Thats all you can ask for and good health of course
@@danm9006It's not work if you love what you do
@@emceeboogieboots1608 I've barely "worked" a day in my adult life then!
I was saying, farming and animal care is physically demanding labor. Not everyone at retirement age (70, for GenX) will be able to retire the same was as the original poster.
I’m a millennial and following your lead. I think a lot of my generation is. I’m an 85 birth so somewhat older millennial. Self sufficiency is the way!!
The way we operate is unsustainable. The collapse has already started. We’ll all be in the same boat.
Gen X isn’t screwed… we will just start living with less, like we did growing up.🤫
A lot of retirees live with less anyway. The boomer generation found this out after many of them spent their money on material items during their yuppie years. Now they're getting SS and perhaps a pension, but that alone isn't enough to live on.
lol I’m 48 and growing more minimalistic by the day …stuff is just stuff…the simple life really is where it’s at 😉
Boomers love the trickle down economics scam, deny climate change, and believe in government control of our lives. They get to die being generally free of the worst effects of all that, while Gen X and beyond have to live with the consequences.
I wish that were possible.. though I have lots of hobbies I hope to do well in to retirement.. I'd sell it all if I was assured to have enough to afford rent, food, necessities and health care. I can live on surfing youtube, watching tv/movies and never eating out again.. staying home if need be. But right now, even middle aged and 20 years to retirement.. the cost of living is so high that I will be forced to move to the mid west.. and then fight for a basic $15 an hour job.. and that may not even be enough. All these Gen Xers thinking they'll just keep working.. but with AI replacing a shit ton of jobs and the "we always come up with new jobs/careers/industries" basically NOT happening like it used to.. I hate being right but we are truly becoming a country of rich and poor. The rich will do ok.. the poor will fight for table scraps. What I am curious about is the rich you thrive off middle/lower income folks.. what happens once their money train runs out because jobs are replaced with AI givingt he middle to lower class no money to buy stuff or do things in the economy.
I could definitely go Amish with no problem. FK what BS is on the Internet
If you think Gen X is screwed, *just wait* til the younger generations get older.
won't be seeing them though, they'll be huddled in their safe spaces :P
Socialism is on the way
I’m trying to drag a 22 year old nephew through life in the trades. Has no idea of the opportunity staring him in the face right now. I’m at the end of my career (55), we’re making a base of 129,000 with $189k as the OT potential. Had to get him to sign up for deferred comp, take the max for the pension, we pay nothing out of pocket for insurance.
He just wants to get his tow business going, which I get but he’s now making that much doing tows. He’s not seeing the end game for some reason, instant gratification is engraved in their brains
The younger generations are investing earlier at least.
Millennial here, we’ll be fine. By the time we get old we’d acquire what the boomers had since they currently occupy almost everything and are the most populated generation.
The problem is that most parents of Gen X didn't teach their kids anything about money. Combine that with loss of pensions and you now have a catastrophic situation about to hit.
Mine just told me to save for an emergency it’s a good thing I listened to
Didn't teach us anything about money? Not in my case. I got an education, as well as constant shaming for being underemployed while sick with chronic fatigue, C-PTSD, and being a single parent for almost two decades. My retirement savings is nill, not because I am stupid or ignorant of finances, but because my parents did absolutely nothing to help me when life kicked out all my teeth.
@northwoodsdad7506 I disagree. We were taught about fiscal responsibility and hard work. Other people were taught how to cheat the system. Some people were taught to completely rig the system, for their benefit. Let's stop pretending this is a good, just and balanced world. The complacent and control-obsessed boomer generation, suddenly aware of their own mortality in the 2020s, didn't help much either.
A lot of boomers didn't get taught anything by their parents either. You have to figure it out for yourself.
@@houndmother2398Exactly. My mom and stepfather taught me nothing about finances. My father even less, as he chose to be a heroin addict.
Because I know how to read, I had to figure it out for myself.
The family that raised me could only give me what they themselves had to give. It wasn't my fault when I was young, but it is my responsibility as an adult to do the best I can do with what I have
Didnt see the mention that pay went down while education requirements went up. Weird how not paying people enough for a modest lifestyle forces them to make hard choices... House or savings for retirement... Oh yeah. No PTO, old car, no eating out or entertainment.
Sounds like you needed a better paying job.
Gen X here. Most of my friends say they expect to work until they die. :-(
Ouch. Working is not bad if it's for enjoyment but if it's because u have too. It's gotta be stressful
How many 70 year olds do you see in the workplace? If they don’t retire on their own, they are forced out because they can’t keep up or their health is too bad. Thats what I’ve seen.
@@tmusa2002 none. Saw one 68 year old and they were about to fire him when he retired.
@@deanrotering879 Yes, it’s a bad plan to work until you die. It sounds good when you’re younger and don’t understand how aging takes its toll.
@@tmusa2002 also how they like to get rid of higher salaries when things get tight.
When rent is 50% , where is that 30% for vacations. There is nothing to cut. Most of the people I know who own homes got them via an inheritance.
You cannot have rent or a mortgage and retire in comfort. Unless you hit the lottery.
I've noticced that too. All of my friends who own their own houses all received help from their parents or an inheritance. I don't have either and raise three kids by myself after leaving my alcoholic ex-husband who abused me. So I'm glad to see that so many people had awesome wives that worked out well for them but that's just not the reality for everybody. And if you're not one of those people please don't beat yourself up because it's not realistic for most of us. Most of us have to bust our ass and hope that we can keep a roof over our head. It sucks that people assume that just because they had it easy everybody else should do. So delulu
@@bradleygraves5915 I invested well and got a 2.25 percent interest in my mortgage. I'm 57 now and will still have a mortgage payment for 26 years, but I make way more in investments than I would paying off my house. Be smart and you don't have to win the lottery.
Your right, when the owners sold to a large investment LLC my rent has tripled plus they are charging extra for services that used to be included. Infuriating!
I waited till I was 43 to buy my first house with USDA assistance, because I got no inheritance and I had finally recovered from the bankruptcy that was caused when I lost everything in the 2008 crash. I had a stable remote job and sold all my possessions to cross the country to buy a house in the Ohio valley where houses are cheaper.
I lost my job a few months ago and now I wonder about draining my meager retirement accounts that I've been able to accumulate since 2008 in order to keep my home...
Im a gen x in healthcare and theres no pension. I don't believe my funds will be accessible by the time I retire. I just don't trust any of it.
We were sold out by corporatists & their cronies.
* capitalists.
Yep. Many GenX won't even inherit anything.
The retirement mega-industry is looking after that!
I wouldn’t say anything, we might inherit our boomer parents’ debt!
Inflation will eat any inheritance away. That's what the US gov was counting on, inflating there way out of debt.
My boomer dad is doing his best to spend every dime, living like a king in the Philippines. Buying himself a huge house today with separate maid quarters. Because they have a maid. He just bought a new pickup, keeps his girlfriend in a year-old car.
And this is on half an enlisted Navy pension - my mom who divorced him after he retired, gets half.
My mom has been suffering the last 15 years from a lifetime of bad eating and being a jerk so she's very sick and lives with her sister, every dime to medicine.
They didn't help with school expenses, past jr. high. I'll see nothing after they die. My parents used to love that "He who dies with the most toys, wins" bumper sticker that was so popular among Generation Jones Boomers.
Your dad will be having the time of his life over there - those Filipino girls take care of everything , they make you feel young again!
In my working lifetime, we have had 1987, 1991, 1998, 2008, and 2020 collapses. Not to mention the dollar in 1970 would buy 7.81 today and with inflation we have had 680% cumulative price increase, but wages sure haven't increased that much. Factor in many are raising kids AND caring for elderly boomer parents.
Most of us will work at least until 70.
Yup! Working does keep us active and learning new skills is helpful.
And the recession of the early 2000s...
Well said, and I remember each collapse.
Don’t forget the 2000 tech bubble crash.
GenXer here... don't worry about us, we already knew that we were expected to work until we die and we know how to work. You should worry about the younger generations who think they are entitled to everything.
Work until you die? That sounds like slavery to me.
Amen to that!! The younger generation is petulant and entitled because of being online from birth!
@@lamarravery4094Have you ever heard of the term Wage Slave? WE ARE ALL SLAVES IN THIS SYSTEM! 😮😮😮
@@Contessa6363 Yep. We all have a social security number, basically once we get our number, we become slaves. Some of us beat the system though, if you're smart enough.
@@chriszavos Funny how our generation was labeled as the slacker generation. That's the new generation, they're the slacker-entitled generation.
I was let go from a corporate job I had for 20 years. I suspect my age was factored in when the decision was made. Nearing 50 and tell you no one wants to hire a 50 year old in corporate management. Saying that I have been fortunate to have a 401K and pension buyout to roll into a Roth IRA account. Investing in your 50s is scary. Working crap jobs and feeling old around my co workers. Side hustle reselling online and saving what I can. The latch key generation is in trouble. Most of my friends are not married and working several jobs. We all know we will be working until we physical cannot.
58 years old, got sick and hospitaized in 2019. Lost my job, lost my father, blew througg $44k I had in my 401k, moved in to take care of my mother. She has a reverse mortgage so there will be nothing left from her house. Im ubering when I can, this is definitly the worst time of my life. I just hope I die before Im on the street eating ketchup packets out of garbage cans.
We all hope good things for you. It’s gotten so tough
I'm so sorry. Bloody awful.
It's time for a revolution.
❤❤❤
it's sad though that foreigners always say they are bemused at the lack of universal healthcare in the US, but then the US commenters jump on and say things like "if it's so terrible, why does everyone want to move here?" or "it's not free healthcare. It's paid by your taxes!" But if they compared the tax rates and wages in these countries they would see that life is far less stressful. Half the government revenue is coming from companies and resource revenues anyway (it should be much more but corporate tax revenue has fallen to one of the lowest levels ever in the US). Also, the average 58 year old Australian had around $240,000 in our version of a 401K (superannuation) in recent years. That's about $161,000 US.
When I was a non-taxpaying college student I was baby sitting my friends daughter and she stood on a bench and flipped it breaking an arm. I took her to the hospital and they did everything necessary without even getting my ID. Just asked her name and phone number etc. They put on the cast and gave us the x-rays to give to her parents and some painkillers and we walked out without paying a single cent. I wish Americans would rise up in protests and old their politicians accountable. The US Food and Drug Administration released the faulty "low fat" food guidelines in 1977ish and the population has got more obese, sick and cancerous ever since. US citizens need to rise up and say "We aren't spending our savings on staying alive after we were taught your faulty food pyramid, contaminated with carcinogens like PFA's from your military bases and your lax EPA laws, whilst politicians get health insurance that outlasts their employment and cushy jobs peddling insider information after leaving."
It feels like we're being driven to end our own lives. Love from the UK.
@@SunFrame I'll bet good money on: "I make poverty wages for a living."
Hard to save when you don't even earn enough to cover your basic living expenses.
Correct. How long will people put up with it?
@@LamarcusElwoodi have been asking this for over a decade. 🤷 It pisses me off..
WEF - you will own zhe nothing and eat zhe bugz --
Just remember the more they take - the less you have to loose. And the older we get - life in prison become less and less scary -- and Frankly in Denmark the prison food is much better than they give the pensioners in homes.
That’s the grand plan…
I’m a younger Gen X-er. ALL my savings and xtra $$ went to medical bills for my severe health conditions and surgeries over my adult years, since I was 20 & got colon cancer. It’s been non-stop, since. I finally had to stop working, which devastated me, cuz I loved my job in Cardiovascular Surgery / Cath Lab. Currently, I get $800 per month for my SS benefits, TOTAL, including disability. That’s less than $10,000 per year for my full income. I wasn’t able to work long enough to build up ANY 401-K savings, or any decent level of salary earnings. It’s not even enough to cover my groceries each month, much less my house payment, car, bills, etc. It’s definitely not enough to live off of, comfortably (even very conservatively) nowadays- esp with the crazy high prices of inflation & basic cost of living, currently. Everything is just sooo crazy expensive! Ugh 👎🏼😩😭💔
I hope you have housing assistance or family to help. I have autoimmune and working is killing me. Take care.
Well Howdy, fellow long term chronic illness sufferer, & former healthcare worker. That's exactly my story too, just different med profession, & additional diagnosis. Just saying Hi, & wanted to tell you I think we're handling our situation a lot better than Most👍🏼💚
@@avril.227keep looking for resources honey, it's all we got. It'd be Nice if Specialists felt like cracking a medical book, & offering Any Help, but for Now; keep searching out resources anytime you're able to get online & look🥰
Yall make me feel like I’m in great shape to tackle the future with all the potential doom and gloom but it reminds me that I must pray for everyone everyday so we turn the pity party into a retirement party. Not sure how my life will end but l do love my wife more than ever.
The average 65 YO does not "need" 58K to live.
That individual does not "need" to travel frequently, purchase new vehicles frequently, dine out frequently, etcetera.
AND... Anyone who mentally struggles to limit spending for "wants" to less than 30% of their income is beyond human aid.
One can have a $300 handbag with $10 in it or a $10 handbag with $300 in it. Take your pick.
I will remember this analogy. Thank you for sharing!
That's no longer the case for some. Everything is so much more expensive. Don't get me started on the rents.
Ill take the $5000 Louis Vuitton bag, but all my money is not sitting in my wallet, its working FOR ME, invested in real estate and the markets. Thats why I can afford LV🤷🏼♀️
nice I love the way you put that
i have a free wallet with nothing in it, what now smarta55?
Dude I don’t know what world you’re living in but Gen X-ers do not intend on retiring at age 65. For most that would be impossible.
So work will continue.
My tradespeople network and friends will retire just fine
True, and with boomers all retired, they'll need us more than we need them. I've seen it already...
I am Gen X... My goal is 60. But if my kids need help because they got screwed by the Boomers' decisions on how they handled just about everything dealing with the economy ... I will work until I am 65.
F that. 59.5.
@@chiaralisticaHa, ha, nope!
In the future. History Will be defined as before gen X and after Gen X.
Those that bought Bitcoin or Tesla or, something else or, nothing.
Haha History will not mention Gen X...
@@jennifercarr6451 I've already seen gen X getting skipped on things. We don't give much of a f*&% LOL
@@kasmstamps1897 No genx messes with bitcoin. Genx will be the old men who plant seeds whose shade they will never sit in, and will be forgotten in history. Whatever, I don't care.
More like pre-boomer and post-boomer. The boomer generation gets most of the attention and then the millennials.
What really impacted GenX in a unique way was how the transition from pension plans to other options like 401k/403b rolled out. In the early days enrollment was not automatic at many companies and many people left a LOT of money on the table because they didn't enroll and didn't get employer contributions/matching. They lost out on the cash at the time and 2-3 decades of compound growth.
Many will be leaving the US to a country not destroying its currency.
I'm already accepting that as a reality and am almost fine with it.
yup
And where would that be? Every town, city, province/state and country is in debt. I don't know who they are in debt to, but they are in debt and continuing to waste money.
Every other place is destroying their currency too, we need to go back on the gold standard as individuals, use it in transactions.
That island Tom Hanks lived on for awhile. There's resources there; coconuts and a volleyball @@artvandelay6100
When I hear a story like this I get scared. Not because I didn't save anything, but because I'm a Gen X'er who worked hard and saved. I can see them stealing my resources, sadly.
We were bamboozled the worst .
Get creative. Make them pry it from your cold dead fingers!
@@johncostello2948 trust me, I am. It's our responsibility to protect what we worked for from thieves
It's called "equity"
- yes, the majority have no or low savings so will vote in politicians who will plunder those with high savings.
This country is in steep decline. This is merely one symptom of a very large problem.
I absolutely agree. Those among us still clinging onto their "Everything is going to be okay because things always work themselves out." mentality are going to be screwed the most in the end. The story of the Three Little Pigs we were told as children is pure fantasy. Reality has a different ending.
And evidence it started with gen X, not millenials. They were just bigger cry babies. We were used to being undervalued at home.
That problems has a label; "Late Stage Capitalism"
First year millennial here. So my folks taught me to live in less than I make and don’t rely on Gov. for anything. Focus on retirement and investing. We shove as much into retirement as possible. We live in a modest house. Modest cars. I know it sounds easier said than done but my wife and I had over 80k in student loans and 160k in mortgage. It took us 6 years at the start of our marriage to pay off everything. No vacations. No car payments. No credit cards. Our motto for date night was free and fun. It is possible to do it’s just really hard.
I was born in 1970. I retired 5 years ago at 49. I did 2 jobs most people don't want, but I got 2 pensions out of it. Deputy sheriff and army before that. I did develop disability from my 2 combat tours, so I have a full pension plus insurance for me and my wife from the sheriff's department, and a full pension plus insurance through the VA for us both. My monthly is around $8000 plus my wife still works as a cancer nurse. She's going to retire in 5 years at 58. I know it's a little too late for most people, but I highly recommend you retire as soon as you can. I picked my career because I could retire early. I couldn't see working until I was too old to enjoy life without a job. And I'm not sure how long I'm going to live, so I'm taking social security as early as possible. Life goes by fast, you will never look back and wish you spent more time at work. Quit as early as possible.
"I did develop disability … so I have a full pension plus insurance" You are one lucky guy if you did not experience decades of draining battles with your insurance company. Regularly a huge problem for people with invisible disabilities like PTSD.
@@amerubix185 I have a lot of issues relating to very early arthritis, joint pains, stomach issues, sleep problems, and on and on. I was rated through VA under 'Gulf war syndrome '. Took 10 years to get a dime through VA, then took another 4 to get a complete/correct rating. The other private insurance is through work and retirement. I don't normally go to the VA, the one in Phoenix really sucks, but several places will take the VA and Blue Cross. I earned it, I don't feel like I'm getting charity. I'm 54 and not in great shape. I'm retired, but I went from running 30 miles a week to not being able to walk a half mile.
Same, took a job I despised because it offered a pension. Didn’t want to work until I expired at my desk.
That sucks that you were injured during your tours(to say the least…). Thanks for your service. You deserve all the safety net in your later years!
@@ConfusedIceberg-vd7qc I appreciate that. I hurt my back in Iraq, and it turned into a life long issue. I was right next to the burning oil fields for 2 weeks breathing soot and smoke all day. Not sure if that contributed to the other issues I have or the injections and pills we were given or what. Several other people from my unit have similar issues, and a handful have passed already in their 40s and 50s. I keep in touch with about 30 people I served with.
Lol 52 years old I took over my dad's commercial sign business 20 years ago and had viable clientele and I had to leave it all behind because we moved to the in-laws due to fires and fire insurance. I couldn't take the business with me. My husband and I went back to the regular grind and lost a ton of money went bankrupt and now we are lucky to rent from family who aren't raising the rent on us every damn year. Paycheck to paycheck. I'm privileged to have family and probably a good thing I didn't have any children. We are absolutely freaking elated that my husband works for a university and we get good health benefits. We just live simply and get our free teeth cleanings. Could be better could be worse but don't ask us to put 10% away in this climate.
I'm a boomer. I remember the bad feeling I had when President Ford passed legislation allowing corporations to go from the Defined Pension to the 401k. It felt wrong and ominous. But I came from a strong union family. And worked in a job that offered defined pension so I was not worried.
All of my cousins are Gen X and I was always trying to get them to apply my place of work, none ever did.
Now I am retired and well set.
One cousin came by to visit me and I flat out told him You are in trouble you are in your fifties, you are paid well but you have nothing saved.
He is an electrician.
Get a union job with defined pension.
He did. He had to move but now he will have a small retirement check.
Corporate lobbying has screwed workers. I blame the baby boomers who enabled this to happen. They've been greedy and hedonistic as a generation. The WWII silent generation built infrastructure (schools, highways, libraries, etc.) and handed it to the boomers. And like pigs at the trough, they kept saying "more," without giving back. Now we have crumbling infrastructure, gutted social safety nets, and polarized politics.
@@danm9006Very true. Dropping facts, they left nothing. Lol
We've known all along....
@SooooT1red I am so sorry they did that to you and your peers.
GOP huh?! That makes me mad🤬
We have a rot issue in the government that needs to be addressed
Hey, can I ask what ballpark figure he might have in his 401K? In Australia the average 55 to 59 year old has about US$162,000 in our version and future generations will have comparatively more when they get there as the rates of compulsory contribution have increased. When Gen Xérs started on the program it was only 3 - 4 % that we were required to sequester. Now it's about 11.5% I believe with companies forced to match dollar for dollar in contributions (on top of our wages).
I like 401K because it encourages saving & investment. A pension alone isn't enough for most people these days, and union jobs are outdated. Look at the rust belt for proof of this.
The problem is usually spending rather than earning. People finance 50k-100k vehicles. Being stupid is expensive.
Keeping up with the Jones is expensive too.
Buy used car w/ low miles.
@@brianbrasch3639 yes and let that first owner take the big hit. I've been doing that the whole time I've been driving. I also keep my cars for about 10 years. I get a chuckle when I get a car and people wish me well on the "new" car... sure, it's new to me lol, thank you. All of these cars come with an OEM warranty which I always extend to the max.
I won't discuss dollars here, but I assure you that I'm ahead of the game at this point and I've always had a nice, reliable ride.
There are exceptions... during covid, Dodge was so scared about selling vehicles that I bought my dream Challenger for 0% interest. Why pay cash up front if it costs the exact same spread out over 6 years?
@@stevejones6802 keeping that $ in the bank will earn interest while you pay off the note interest free. That's the only way that works.
I'm GenX. I was doing pretty well until the family courts wiped me out several years ago during a divorce. It's the most corrupt system I've ever dealt with. I had to effectively start over financially in my 40s.
Blessings, stay strong soldier
@@Will_0001 ironically we have same name and experiences divorced 8 years ago took everything I'm 48 I will die with nothing. How they can do this to men is sick. I won't go into it because you already know. But I've been single 8 years . If I would have known what I kniw now man I would have avoided fee males from the jump. It's pointless dealing with them. I've never been happier being ALONE. 🤣🤣🤣 better late than never. She's on her second marriage since me 49 still trying to have her first kid 🤣🤣 the Dr told her SHE caint have kids. But naaah it's gotta be the man. Even though I have a kid 🤭🤭🤭🤣🤣
@@williambrucesanders6878you had no kids with her yet she took everything? How does that work?
Did your ex not work? How many kids did have with her?
Too many of us have been there and done that brother. Its much harder doing this in our 40's. God speed and good luck.
49 year old gen-x here.
Whatever.
😂😂
You CRUSHING it?
😎😎
Meh.
Yesssss
Squall is that you?
You mean “ Whatever, never mind…” 🎼 🎶
I'm Gen-X but I'm not worried about it since I knew since I was very young I'd never make it to retirement because of the upcoming rapture! Time is up! Get right with Jesus! Money won't buy you into heaven!
Maybe the infrastructure bill will repair and build bridges so we'll have places to sleep in 20 years.
57 year old Gen X here. Two pensions, Social Security and a Roth. I also live within my means. Retiring at 60.
Fist bump!! You put your a$$ into it!!
Are they earned pensions or stolen (government) pensions?
@@prm7216 How is a gov't pension stolen? Please provide your reasoning.
They are earned. I'm a Gen Xer. Earned my shit!
Military and Government civilian entity ?
Everyone here is bragging about how much they saved but I wonder how many of those splurged along the way. You're not rich if you missed out on the opportunities of your youth. Vacationing after 60 is not the same as vacationing in your 20s, 30s, and 40s.
Yes, i always kept that in mind. I think the biggest thing to think about is what make a person happy. I have a firend super wealthy will not retire because he likes EVERYTHING FIRST CLASS. Myself i am way more laid back in the middle of the pack. Poor people would call me Rich and Rich People would call me poor... hmmm strange times we live in. Many of us have taken the middle path some fun some savings. Might retire in the next few years.
@@RajDeelish That is a good point you bring up
I’ve traveled the world. Dove the barrier reef, snow skied etc. But then there are the other things. Divorce, child support, having my 401 molested. It’s been a rich life with ups and downs. I thank the Lord that I’ve gotten the life I have had. I do agree that life should be enjoyed when you’re young, well at least the risky stuff. Older doesn’t work well with bones 😉
My sister thinks like you do. She wastes so much money. I have been taking multiple vacations yearly, however, there is a way to do it where you aren't wasting money. Vacation during off-peak times when you can get cheaper hotels, food etc. People who fail to plan, plan to fail.
Plenty of people managed to enjoy life all this time (including travel) AND still invest & save for retirement. It's not a zero-sum game. I suppose if you want to reminisce about how much more coin you blew in your 20's/30's while eating ramen and picking up hours at Wendy's in your 70's . . . have at it.
@@RajDeelish a vacation every year likely isn't wise but I take a big vacation every five years and a couple of weekends away a year. Keeps it so my life is rich but I'm not poor. Balance
It's intentionally hard to save money. Every aspect of life in the US, has been engeneered by various corporations to syphon away as much money as possible from every single person. Most large corporations are reporting record breaking profits quarter after quarter, which is exactly the same as saying that US citizens have record breaking debt and lack of savings.
Most Gen Xers won't ever afford to retire,
they will work till the day they die and probably a few weeks after.
Yep to pay for our burial!! lol
Yep I’m working till I die
I retired at age 53, so I am in my early 60s. Many of them resisted me because they couldn't understand the idea of not working if it wasn't necessary. I considered the phases of my life. I worked very hard to achieve what I have now, but in my last years, I owe it to myself to "stop and smell the roses." In my instance, I departed the nation after retiring and currently reside in Latin America. It made it possible for me to appreciate my new surroundings while escaping all the bad things that were going on in America. Nobody that I know of regrets retiring has yet to come to me.
Nice way to retire. For me, I believe retirees who struggle to meet their basic needs are the ones who could not accumulate enough money during their active years to meet their needs. Retirement choices determine a lot of things. My wife and I both spent same number of years in the civil service, she invested through a wealth manager and myself through the 401k. We both still earning after our retirement fund has grown way more than it would have with just the 401(k). Haha.
It's unfortunate most people don't have such information. I don't really blame people who panic. Lack of information can be a big hurdle. I've been making more than a million dollars by just investing through an advisor, and I don't have to do much work. Doesn't matter if the economy is misbehaving; great wealth managers will always make returns.
I think this is something I should do, but I've been stalling for a long time now. I don't really know which firm to work with; I feel they are all the same but it seems you’ve got it all worked out with the firm you work with so i surely wouldn’t mind a recommendation.
I definitely share your sentiment about these firms. Finding financial advisors like Kathie Daisy Bosco who can assist you shape your portfolio would be a very creative option. There will be difficult times ahead, and prudent personal money management will be essential to navigating them.
Thank you for this Pointer. It was easy to find your handler, She seems very proficient and flexible. I booked a call session with her.
This started with my grandparents, the greatest generation. My grandpa retired well at 55 and lived to 91 on ElectroMotive pension. What a time to be alive, progressively getting worse down the line.
I always find this argument fascinating. If they were so great, why didn’t they raise their kids to be better? The kids became what the generation before raised them to be. C’mon people, use your brains.
Us Gen-X'ers never expected to live to retirement age. But we have always known there was not going to be anything for us if we made it that far.
Our survival instincts will get us through as it always has.
The nerve of him telling us to save money and budget our way out of this mess. How are we supposed to save money when we have to pay for a house that costs four times more what our parents paid? For health care costs? For inflation? Gas prices? Lower incomes and no pensions? Jobs gone overseas? I love the way he sits on his deck with trees behind him, while we have to crowd in our tiny apartments and condos, with a smirk on his face, telling us how we're doomed. Thanks man! Personally, I inherited nothing when my parents died, and have had my share of costly health issues. But I guess I'm just supposed to save and work harder, while you sit there and fail to put the blame on your own generation where it belongs. The entire motivation behind him making this video was just to instill fear in us so we give him a call so he gets more business.
Yeah, don't you love it how the boomers voted in all the trickle-down jerks that created this predatory economic hell scape that they benefit from, then they blame us for what they did to us. Too many lattes my a$$. I don't even drink coffee. So sick of hearing that crap.
If you are genx, you should have bought that house 20+ years ago.
Everyone's life doesn't go like yours did.@@Marcus-id5ur
@@Marcus-id5ur Okay, boomer.
@Kaotiqua no, I'm a young gen x, almost a millennial who bought my first house in 2005. Kids today have a legit complaint, if you are gen x and don't own a house, what have you been doing with your life?
hard to save after being financially burned over and over again.
College?, the '87 crash wrecked that before I was out of high school.
no decent jobs to be had for years, when I finally thought I was making enough over bare sustinance (and I do mean bare) to start saving 9/11 came along and hammered the local economy, no work for over a year. I lost everything and had to move back in with my folks. once I was getting comfortable enough to move out, the '08 crash hit, While I didn't lose my job there, my income was seriously curtailed. I ended up supporting my parents after they lost their jobs. Eventually I ended up moving out, into a camper. 12 years later, still in said camper, the lot rent is higher than my old mortgage. I drive a 25 year old vehicle, not that I'm unhappy with it.
I'm now making more money in dollars than at any other point in my life in dollars but inflation has set me back to less actual money than I was making 20 years ago.
hard to save when trying to keep a roof over your head, a car in the driveway, healthcare expenses going through the roof, and, maybe some food on the table
100%
As a Gen Xer who in his mid twenties had less than $100 in my bank account when I started grad school, I made a promise to myself that once I finished getting my masters degree I would scrimp, save and invest- no matter how difficult it was. I’m glad I made that commitment because being poor is no picnic.
If you wait until you’re in your mid fifties, it’s too late.
For 8 years when I was in college I could barely afford gas to get to school and work in my hand me down 1976 Toyota Corolla that my mom bought for $2000 new. When I got my first job I thought the money was a fluke and it wouldn't last. I saved 100% non essential income for 5 years and I was able to buy my first house. I still remained frugal and was able to pay that house off by the time I was 45.
@wildcard2058 The collapse of civilization has been wrongly predicted often over the last 50 years or more.
The ones who ignored the stream of Flat Earth conspiracy nuts are the ones who are actually doing fine and retiring early.
I just married someone who was a lot more financially savvy than I am lol
As my late father, a baby boomer told me in the early 2000's , "my generation (the boomers" sold out our own kids the minute we favored Reagan's economic and environmental policy". He was right and unfortunately us Gen Xers were too apathetic to do much about it..... My health is going downhill at 51... I probably won't make it to retirement age which SUCKS!
0:26 For someone with a paid-off house and car, $1,900 a month in free money can go quite a ways.
Is that your experience?
That's like living in Seattle, saying "I'm going on vacation to Miami!". Car breaks down in Atlanta... that's pretty good, right???
@@aaronjennings8385 it's mine. but i live in Australia and we have free healthcare here.
Free? So you're the one person who didn't pay into the system your entire working life?
The average property taxes on that paid off home in NYS are hovering around 6000$ a year. That 1900 a month doesn’t go as far as you think.
I'm a GenXer and have made sacrifices in my quality of life (working hard at jobs I don't like) because I have always been afraid of not having enough money at retirement. I've looked around me at my peers and wondered how they could live so carefree, oblivious to the fact that one day they will have to retire. I am set up VERY well financially and have little sympathy for those that are not. I will be enjoying my later years with plenty of money.
Some people are ants, and others are grasshoppers.
You can't take it with you, young Highside. You only need about a $1M to retire on provided your expenses are low and you have good health insurance.
Gen Xers also were the first divorce generation. You know....wives became "I'm just not happy."
The rule is divorce sets you (me) back 10 years.
I recovered (remarried with prenup) but...I'm working until age 67.
Why are you so sure you'll make it long enough to enjoy all that money? What's a life of living in fear of a day that may never come?
Yea but you did waste your young years. Never get that back.
Older people spend much less, and many eat only twice per day
Because they choose to, or because they're forced to?
@@DrunkenUFOPilot My guess is that our metabolisms slow down and burn less energy. I know my appetite has gone down over the years. I could easily do with two good meals a day, but it is a habit to have three.
I eat once a day
The older you get, the less you need to eat, and the less OFTEN you need to eat. I only eat 2 meals a day, and that's more than enough for me.
Yes at 64 I eat 2 meals a day and a snack in the afternoon. Also my portion size has gone down considerably.
We were never prepared for today’s financial landscape of crippling student loans or investing for retirement. I got no education from my parents about investing at all, because really, my boomer parents didn’t know anything about it. There were no 401k plans, no IRAs. Their plan was to find a good job with a pension, and that worked back then. My brother and I were basically latchkey kids too, left to largely try and figure things out for ourselves. This is true for a lot of my peers. We screwed up a lot in our 20s and 30s, failed marriages and bankruptcies, learning everything the hard way. And some of us in our 50s still don’t have our lives together. Thank god I am lucky enough to have 20+ years of pension benefits built up (and hopefully at least 10 more) and am on the right track now, but so many of us had it so hard… and now in our 50s, some of my friends are coming down with health issues, medical bills bankrupting them, getting laid off, having trouble finding work. A lot of us are out here struggling to live, let alone thinking about retiring.
On the younger Gen X side, I never seen or had a job that offered a pension. Companies catered to shareholders and pissed on us with a 401(k). Therefore, all the responsibility was laid onto the employee, removing any responsibility that a company would owe its employees.
Advice to Genx. Retire overseas, you will live like a king or queen overseas, Asia and the Caribbean provides cheap living and good quality of life
Good advice. I live overseas and live comfortably, not eating caviar every day, but very comfortable. Once you get a home paid off, and no debts, life is much easier.
Can you actually own one there
@@rowannicklous6397 Not in my name, in my wife's name, she is Peruvian. I have legal residency here though. We've been together since 2007 and she hasn't kicked me out yet. She even bought me chocolate chip cookies today. 😃
@@EudociaJanampanice!
Agree with this, even though we have a strong portfolio. Plan to ‘slow travel’ in various parts of the world for 4-5 years. Guess what? Travel in the region is much cheaper when you don’t have to cross oceans! 😉
Key is living within your means. I'm 72 live on about $2000/mnth. My house was paid off. I have a Toyota truck, a couple of motorcycles. I'm very comfortable with my SS and a small pension. If I had to, I could live on just my SS.
I don't have kids or a wife. Got a dog. live in the woods with everything paid off. This guy is saying you need a million dollars to retire. What kind of life style is he talking about maintaining?
I must be living on another planet. I hate when I wake up and I'm on another planet. got to find my dog
Me too
Your dog is pooping on my kitchen floor. I guess I shouldn't have fed him that chocolate.
I think he is saying a net worth of $1 million. Average home price is now $400k. 6% interest on 600k is $36000 per year, say $24,000 in SS your looking at $60k, then take taxes. In a metro area that is not a lot, it's liveable but not opulent.
@@bluebird3027 👏👏👏. I have 3 dogs I’m 63 house almost paid off still working plan on til approx 67. I like ur life style. It’s mine now and I live in the woods also
No wife and No kids is the key.
As long as people are dedicated to their cult leader right left democrat republican nothing will ever change. And change doesn't come about by voting.
I'm 75 and live on $767.06/month, my pension. I have no debt. My SSI check is $1825/month. I invest it all. My brokerage acct is at $276K and grows about $30K/year. I never made much, and had to retire at 58 but I was careful. I live in a paid for 2 bedroom home valued at $125K and drive a beater.
Why didn't you choose a career that paid more so you wouldn't have had to sacrifice so much?
sounds like you lived it up😢😢
@@DIVISIONINCISION Maybe the career choices were limited where he lived. I mean the house is only worth $125k.
@@dpayneless1962 If you are smart, you move to where the jobs are. That's life.
If that were me, I would take a portion of the SSI and buy some precious metals, even if it were just an ounce or two of silver per month. Eggs in one basket...
I'm a gen xer, I've known since the 90s the social security wouldn't be around for me or anybody younger. What moron actually believes that social security is going to be there for them??
My elementary school teachers told us flat out that there would be no social security for us. No surprise. At least the boomers were honest.
Even boomers on SS can’t live on it alone. My father gets a $800 dollar check per month, I think, or less. That’s not even enough to cover a single mortgage payment, much less groceries and necessities. 😢. While my grandfather retired with a pension and it transferred to my grandma when he died as well. We’ll likely never see both.
Exactly. same as you, so ive been saving since high school, so 27 years later i got a nest egg im happy with
This. As soon as I got in a long term job (been there for 16 years) I started a 401k & contribute the max. Came into some $ & have it in mostly high dividend yield stocks. Hoping I might be able to retire a few years early. At no point am I counting on Social Security, I fully believe it will be gone within the next 20 years.
SS should never be intended as a primary income source unless you're content living in a cardboard box and having no life.
Older gen X here. The fear of being homeless, brought on by being a latch key kid I guess, caused me to save. Unless your making g a lot of money, you would have had to start saving early and be consistent to be okay today. I cashed out money in my early 30s to go back to school during the financial crisis 2008, now saving max allowed per yr plus IRA and dabble stocks on my own too, and at 67 will have almost 2M. I paid off 120K student laons as well. 🥵. Its been solid work for the past 10 yrs. Worth it? We shall see but I am guessing yes. Dont give up. If your older with no savings, find out what your SS check will be amd start to live on that budget now! Pay things off and buy cheap housing if you can.
The only way to have money is not to let any know and live below your means
And not let anyone know very important
I like this, had always work when i keep it like that, i discover 7 years ago that “pretty cute woman” is my weakness and the reason i set myself back. Im 48 and planing on staying single for the rest of my life
My neighbor calls that "keeping a low profile". lol
All these people talking about their 7 figure savings like we aren’t about to go full Weimar Republic.
HA!
You’re part of a small percentage of the population that know and understand the situation.
around 800 comments, and 80% are multi-millionaires who retired at 50. Insert "Sure Jan" meme here.
Society will collapse completely before any of that money can be taken out.
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”
They gonna be back after those accts get zeroed.out stolen. 😂😅😂😅
We are not going to have any situation near Weimar Republic. That only happened b/c the rest of the 1st world countries made it happen. You really need to study economics/history more. If anything, we need to be worried more about Japan-style stagflation, but I seriously doubt that will happen either.
Most of us will be lucky to even live to 62-65 years old
I'd consider it a mercy to go out that early.
@@KudukUngol
I think you are right
I'm 45 and I feel like I'm at death's door some days lol. Maybe I should hit the gym.
Sadly I think you are right. I'm 48 and have already lost several friends to cancer, alcoholism, and drug overdoses. We are a damaged generation, physically and mentally. But hey, at least if we go out early we don't have to worry about paying for retirement.
@@aprilflynn …yeah 50% of the people i knew in high school are currently dead. Not much from heroin. Lots of oxy+benzo. Lots of car wrecks. Lots of cancer. Lots of suicide. A few random "died in his sleep"s. A few died in Iraq or afghanistan, most of the rest who joined also offed themselves or died another way. A couple were murdered. A few even took to trainhopping, and dissapeared - likely also murdered.
i was born in ‘73 and went to a top tier private high school
Look at what it costs us to live.... And each generation gets it worse.
The average job doesn't pay enough to even save $100 by retirement, and owning your own home is now a complete joke.
Even "high skills" jobs pay under $20 an hour typically. Which if wages had kept up with cost of living typical jobs would pay around $27-$30 an hour, and high-skills jobs would pay no less than $40.
We're all going to roommates and let the good times roll...luckily we're easily entertained...good music, a good movie or book, a bbq in the backyard...
I'm all for a Golden Girls type situation, lol. Just got to find the right fit for roommates.
I guess I’m doing alright. Retired at 58. Own my home outright. Have a pension coming in and my 401 is doing good.
No debt.
I didn't realize how valuable my pension was. Apparently, I saved too much money and should have bought myself a huge house and spent lavishly instead of saving so much. I'm less than 2 years from my full pension age, so I can go then, and basically do whatever I want. I just gotta stay healthy.
Me 2 my friend. Zero debt, pension. Just got my 1st soc. sec. Check 2 months after I turned 62 in July. Life is good
…good on ya! Glad to see a bunch of us that have opted for early retirement. As a UAL Flight Attendant for 22 years I finagled a no healthcare retirement package in 2012 when I was 42 with evolving ailments but Kaiser has been a lifesaver in the Bay Area. Having known and invested with a few early key players in the Silicon Valley and a couple of rentals afforded me to pay off my home in Atherton where I have lived happily on my own.
When my father in law was alive and living in Sanfrancisco he swore by kaiser.
We're on the same schedule. I'll be selling, retiring and going home at 58. Assuming we make it another few years. Looking dicey!
Nah. BECAUSE we're Gen X (didn't live a soft life nor cushioned by political correctness or cancel culture) we will figure it out & survive regardless)
Nobody should accept that Social Security will go bankrupt. This type of rhetoric just sounds like propaganda to me. GenX has paid into Social Security. The government doesn't have the option to let it disappear.
I agree. They'll just push out the retirement age. Full retirement age is 65 for some. For me, it's 67.
Uh, ever heard of inflation? Sure yoi'll get ypur SS check. Good luck buying a loaf of bread with it.
@@jaygordon4053 Inflation affects the working, too. So, what are you talking about?
I retired last year at 57. Amen. My Defined Benefit pension, savings, investments and eventual federal pension has left me fairly comfortable as a single, no debt, homeowner.
As a Xennial (born 1982) I grew up knowing no one was going to take care of me but me. I'm in a good financial position, good enough to be able to help others who need it. Its going to be harder for Millenials and the younger generations. I think wealth is being squeezed out of ordinary families.
I appreciate you calling yourself a xennial lol. That's what I call myself too (born in 83), but I'm told by people to just call myself a millennial.
I just feel too disconnected to millennials to call myself one.
Born in 65. It’s not about savings alone. It’s about, did you work to earn other pensions besides your old age pension or others depending on your country. The system was rigged against us for saving. I feel for my brothers. I did the Gen x thing and have a military pension, and worked hard to build equity in a home. When you only have to pay property tax, utilities, and upkeep to have a roof over your head. Young people take note.
just pray no one gets sick or is a victim of a natural disaster.
lol. All my genx peers who scoffed at me sacrificing everything to buy a house in 2000. Two of them are now living in cars, and the car is crap. It was an attitude thing of the generation. I’ve never earned more than poverty level but I own my house. Could see it coming a mile away, the world was going nuts with money, prices were definitely going up. I went miles away to afford a house and thank god I did.
57 this month. I've been priced out of being an American, so I'm leaving.
Cheap living in SEA. Me koh Samui, Thailand. $1.000 gives me a comfy life away from the tourists.
Me too. Headed to Europe or back to Mexico. I lived and worked as an expat American in Mexico City and if I am being honest prefer my life there immensely more. Culture, food cost of living all improvements over the US. Lived in Europe as a kid (parents European)….and much prefer life there as well.
@@ApriliaRacer14what did you do in 🇲🇽?
@@ApriliaRacer14 Same I lived all my adult life in Italy. Had to come back to care for elderly relatives. 2K a month in Italy you live an upper middle class life, very comfortable, great food, no processed junk, quality products for everything, People are less angry. Everything in the usa is so expensive and garbage quality.
That's the new "American Dream", leave the country to be able to afford to live.
My boss is Gen X and in his mid-50's. Neither he nor his wife have any retirement funds; they JUST started putting into the company 401k this past year. He says he'll likely just have to work until he dies and slaps a smile on his face that reads, "I'm dead inside."
GenX has been thru like 4 economic downturns and recessions. This has always tanked our compounded net worth.
I think this applies to a lot of people, not just Gen X. Think of how insanely high home prices are-how many people under 50 at this point can afford a home and have one paid off by retirement age? Millions of people are going to be renters forever. I think Gen X was the last generation that could afford a home. Luckily my home is paid off and I'll never have to pay rent, which will help.
Expecting the average person to have almost a million saved up for retirement is unrealistic. Life is really expensive.
Wife and I are Dave Ramsey Gen Xers. Working Stiffs but at 56, paid for home, 1.5M saved/invested so far. Kids off payroll with no BS Student Loans. We plan on retiring in 4 years at 60, as at 60 we have 35 GREAT Years into Social Security. Wont take it till 67, but when we turn on we get over 50K a year. How did we do it, One Spouse, One House and always invested 15% into mostly the S&P 500 Index, (some Roth, some Traditional, some Brokage). Kids are Engineers and went to In-State-State-College and worked part time, and NEVER Lease Cars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seems REALLY great setup. So, what is preventing you from RE now vs waiting until 60 ? Four years wait is four years a wasted.
@@FIRED13Althgouh I can not speak for @littlered4122, as someone whose numbers are close, 57 years old, $2.1 Million saved, zero debt, two pensions plus social security, I do not plan to retire at 60.
Here is my plan. Work until I turn 62 then ask myself if I want to work one more year. If yes, repeat each year.
I have no desire to retire today. I’m living where I want to live, doing what I want to do.
We travel internationally once or twice a year, and have a nice boat thats the perfect size to entertain eight, feed four, and sleep two,… just us two.
We dont take vacations to impress others, don’t dress to impress others, don’t do anything to impress others. We do what we want, and I enjoy what I do for my carrier and my hobbies blend into my carrier.
I have a side gig consulting, and I’m enjoying every moment of it.
You ask why not retire? My answer is “Because I don’t want to, thats why.”
@@FIRED134 years of wait may not be wasted. Depends on what they're doing with their time and their particular decisions about life. Let's not be too hasty in throwing the judgment
Looks like you're sorted. Congratulations.
You won’t get any SS after 2030, take it now.
0:53 real estate brokers in Latin America and Southeast Asia are ready…
1968 GenX'er here. I'm not going to pretend we all hung around in high school talking about how pensions were disappearing. However it was not a secret and was understood by those of us who paid attention. We were aware retirement was going to be laid more on our shoulders than it was on our grandparents. We also thought SS would be gone by now too. Some of us took the data seriously and prepared; others didn't. Now I'm 56 and my retirement papers are in for next month. Both public and private entities did screw us, but that didn't mean we couldn't do the work to overcome these setbacks. As with everything else, personal choice and responsibility has a lot to do with life.
🙌@Shep68.
Summer of 69 X here - shot out of high school learning about investments and personal finance, reading magazines and newspapers at the library (before days of computers and smartphones). My young goal was to hit $1M by 30; instead, got hit by Y2K and the Great Financial Crises/Recession. However, boneheaded me just kept plowing savings into investments, rain or shine. Fast forward, landed a job that provided not just a 401k (with a small match) but a private pension (too young/naive when hired to realize this benefit until almost 7-10 years into the job !). Then the big layoff came (replaced by cheaper oversea labor - what a unpatriotic move that was from Big Corp)! Looked up, and realized all the 'work' meant we were fortunate to not have to keep looking for work like the rest of my former coworkers, some who had been with the Company over 20 years, lots in their 40 and 50s (a few were older)... Sad situation. I am just grateful I was there for my family when The Pandemic hit, that I was not chained to work.
@@FIRED13 Yes, but can you retire comfortably, though?
Same. I'm 56. I've got another 10 years before I want to retire but I'm semi retired now working 3 days/week.
6 homes, 5 of which are rentals. My own IRA and an inherited IRA are doing well.
It's all about planning for that future, and sacrificing the moment.
@@DIVISIONINCISIONthe problem is is 1 minute you think you're set for retirement and the next minute a loaf of bread is $500...
the 2 million you saved is now worth 15 grand..
There's no solidity in the system it's not backed up by gold or anything and we're kind of in uncharted Territory..
But I'm a gen xer and you know we're going to try to make the best of it..
good luck to all
@@DIVISIONINCISION Yes. So far so good. Been over 5 years since I cut the cord. Next step is partner will quit s soon as next year.
I turn 50 in January. I've been disabled for 20 yrs, getting about 1,100 a month for my back injury from the post office. Got divorced that same year, lost everything. My new wife has a good job, but I'm basically at the whim of how long her and my kids can help. My daughter is 7, and son is 2. I have no retirement, savings, and have been going downhill since the injury. I have no plan. We're borrowing just to make it, going to the food pantry. Not much option when your disabled. Kills me that our country gives illegals way more than I get. Literally hurts my back thinking about it.
Why are you having children you cant physically or financially take care of??? You're not disabled if you can run after a 2 year old.
You could have done everything right, everything! And still not be looking at a retirement. It only takes ONE illness or major injury and that could wipe all of the “nest egg” away in a heartbeat. I’m gonna be 53 and already I’m one of the healthiest of the people I grew up with.
Back surgeries, neck surgeries, cancer, other illnesses, car accidents and even divorces have left so many people I knew with little or nothing.
There will be no retirement for me unless I win a lottery. 🤷🏻♂️ it makes me wonder how many are truly living in a house of cards. I’m betting quite a lot!
"If you owe the bank $100, that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem."
Similarly, if one Gen-X doesn't have money saved for retirement, that's his problem. If 65 million Gen-X don't have money saved for retirement, that's a massive societal problem.
Ah, I'm sure it'll all work itself out.
got my popcorn ready for the downfall of civilization
@@shaunsteele6926 Except we're the smallest generation, so it's likely that we will just get forgotten in our old age. Gen Alphas and whoever's next will ask their parents "Why are there so many old hoboes sleeping on the sidewalk everywhere?" and they will just shrug and say it must be because we spent all of our money on lattes.
Not one word about getting out and staying out of debt ? Not one word about coupling a debt free existence with living as a minimalist ?
That’s just as important as having enough assets to retire with.
It's like my bassist says:" My retirement is an aneurysm onstage."
😂😂😂😂 yessir!!
I was born poor, and will die poor. In high school they told us there would be no Social Security. Since I was not able to get anything considered a livable wage. Savings is a laugh for low income jobs. I have a collage certificate. They make a great place-mat.
2001-2002 crash hurt me bad early in my career. 2008 was a significant setback. Having to work through contract agencies for the first decade after college made it difficult to save.
I went through the same. All these braggerts yakking on about their millions, never once went through what we did.
I'm a younger gen x and I plan on working all my life, not be because I have to, because I want to. Once you stop pushing and striving it's over, no matter what age you are.
So glad I never had that bizarre mentality, so much more better things to do... Off out for a 4hour bike ride later... Keep on working champ, doing a great job there....
That's not true. I have more hobbies to keep me busy than I have time for when working. You don't have to lay down and die because you aren't working at a 9-5.
pushing and striving for what? to pay your bills?
It is absolutely true... I am a nurse practitioner and as soon as people stop moving and living a comfortable life things start falling apart with their bodies. U can work and still have a great time doing it.
@@shaunsteele6926 there will always be bills ansd when u die the tax man still comes to collect what u owe,
We are gen x . We do not rely on government. Setting out garden and fruit trees. Avoid g debt and credit cards as a plague, following Dave Ramsey book” total money makeover “. Saving and investing
According to the video, you're the minority
If you really want a chance to be ok, once out of debt and with a 3-6 month emergency fund, hop off the Ramsey train and hop onto the JL Colins train.
@@dpayneless1962 we are actually at this stage now with Jl Collin’s:)
Canned 21 pints of tomatoes so far this year, froze 20lb of potatoes and still eating squash, beans, etc. from last year.
It's better to vote for policies that would lead to a better retirement. Self reliance often makes people ignore opportunities to help others, and in this case, yourselves. Society is a group effort. Arthritis and back injuries ruin a lot of self sufficient plans.
Those numbers from the bureau of labor statistics are nonsense. The average person needs $78,000 a year to get by? The average salary before taxes are taken out is in a little over $59,000. That leave you with around $45K.
I'm fine. Had zero kids and retired at 50. It's easy as a childless cat dude!
I'm 62, same deal, just bought a new vette for cash.
Absofuckinlutley!
👍🏼🌴🐈🐈🐈🐈🌴🏴☠️
@@user-fv3vq4qq7meveryone dies alone. People with kids just find solace in the fact that someone might be looking at you when you do.
Sad life.
Gen X here. I’m basically broke,but own a house and two cars, have two kids. At least I’m doing my part when it comes to population replacement. The rest of my generation failed.