Thursday · November 11 2004
How to Avoid Living Like a Poor Student at Age 70
I am going to make this really simple. It is fine to have no money when you're young. It is not fine to have no money when you're old. It is even fun to be poor when you're in college or right out of it. But to be retired and in your 70's and not know how you are going to pay your bills - that is terrifying. In fact, it's a grotesque nightmare.
For real. Government policy on Social Security and drug benefits for seniors are important topics, but not as important as making sure you have a plan. A few hundred dollars on a possibly non-existent Social Security check can be made up by getting your shit together now. Kegz, are you listening?
Anyone who wants to talk finance or mutual funds, this is my disgusting obsession. I would be happy to chat! Whenever I consult friends and family of our age, I always encourage them to assume no SS.
Oh, I dunno. I have some friends who are old and not seated upon impressive nest eggs, and some of them seem really happy. It's not a question of comfort, really, because beyond a certain age, comfort is out the window, no matter how much money you've got. As far as I can tell, the only way to age gracefully is to embrace the joke life is playing on you and laugh along with it.
We all end up helpless and humbled, no matter how much we save. If you can dig the idea of dependency on the kindness of strangers and try to see the good in that, you stand a chance of finding peace, y'know?
Or, to paraphrase Thoreau, I refuse to waste the most productive period of my life saving money to benefit the least productive period of my life.
Meanwhile, be nice to old people, and live well enough to brag about it when it's over.