clifp
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2006
- Messages
- 7,733
After re-reading the article and some of the comments here, I'm coming around to give Tom, the featured worker, a break.
My sense is the writer was trying to make a point and probably picked the wrong example of an older worker who has to work to even scrape by. I don't think Tom fits that category.
The article is interspersed with quotes from "experts", and I got confused by who was saying what.
Tom sounds like an affable guy who likes and needs people. He's working to keep that connection, more than anything. Sounds like he enjoys it more than really needs it. And the writer didn't say what Tom did during the 2009 panic. Did he sell low? Or is the writer just trying to make a point? Arghh!
"Financial Porn" indeed...
That is basically my conclusion also. Tom made choices obviously not always the smartest financial choices. However, he doesn't sound particularly miserable or even poor. Several of the Costco food demonstrators are over 65 and they for the most part seem happy to do the job because like Tom they like being around people. For the INTJ on the forum, yes those weird extrovert types exist. The man has a good attitude and great health and two low stress part time jobs. So what that he can't enjoy 1st class business travel, I know for many people any type of business travel is miserable if you do it a lot.
88% of household make under 100k, if you didn't save while making that kinda of money, guess what you can't spend that much in retirement. In other news the sky is blue.