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View Poll Results: Financially I’d Rather Be?
My current age with the assets and financial knowledge I have (thank you very much). 56 70.89%
30 years old or 30 years younger with the assets (inflation adjusted) and financial knowledge I had then EXCEPT AGE 30 IN 2012. 20 25.32%
Other... 3 3.80%
Voters: 79. You may not vote on this poll

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Poll: I'd rather be 30 years younger ± ...
Old 05-24-2012, 11:15 AM   #1
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Poll: I'd rather be 30 years younger ± ...

This is NOT a poll asking if you'd like to be younger, it's more a poll on your long term financial outlook.

It stems from a debate on another forum where an OP states "If there is any segment of the population that is being exceptionally punished by the policies that have been embraced by past and current administrations, it is the retired class which sits by passively as their wealth is being transferred to other parties."

While I can think of legitimate grievances for retirees or any other group, I don't see where retirees are "being exceptionally punished" to an extent greater than any other group. To me it's a no-brainer, but I've been wrong before (today and every day). Who better to ask than this group?

I am not looking for a political assessment AT ALL, I'm looking for poll results more than anything else...

If you're 35 or less, you should probably vote "other" or abstain IMO.
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Old 05-24-2012, 12:29 PM   #2
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The job market is much tighter now than it was when I was 30. At age 30 I was making big career moves/job changes to drive up my salary. Now people are clinging to their jobs - and if they lose a job, they end up taking one that pays less.

At least in my market and field.
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Old 05-24-2012, 12:35 PM   #3
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I haven't given this enough thought to answer, but I am glad to be alive.
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Old 05-24-2012, 01:09 PM   #4
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The job market is much tighter now than it was when I was 30. At age 30 I was making big career moves/job changes to drive up my salary. Now people are clinging to their jobs - and if they lose a job, they end up taking one that pays less.

At least in my market and field.
+1
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Old 05-24-2012, 01:16 PM   #5
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Wouldn't change a thing.
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Old 05-24-2012, 02:00 PM   #6
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I've loved my life and would love the chance to live it again. It's been, is and I believe will be fun!!!!!!!!!!But......I wouldn't change a think in my life now......I'm very lucky.
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Old 05-24-2012, 02:03 PM   #7
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The job market is much tighter now than it was when I was 30. At age 30 I was making big career moves/job changes to drive up my salary. Now people are clinging to their jobs - and if they lose a job, they end up taking one that pays less.

At least in my market and field.
+2 I could always get a job when I was 30, and the opportunities for going into a field of one's choice seemed endless. Now, it seems that there is a feeling of financial insecurity that is almost palatable for those still in the working years. The doors of good-paying and secure jobs appear to be closing, and have for quite some time.

I savor my life now, and feel confident that we will have enough money to carry on. I enjoy steeping myself in day to day experiences today; when I was in my 30's, it seemed that time just skipped along.
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Old 05-24-2012, 02:45 PM   #8
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Clueless re finances and a lot of other things when we were 30. Yet it all worked out.

Sometimes I wish we didn't know now what we didn't know then.

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Old 05-24-2012, 04:43 PM   #9
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But, but... I am age 30 in 2012

Edit: Ha, I didn't see "If you're 35 or less, you should probably vote "other" or abstain IMO." Oops.
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Old 05-24-2012, 05:10 PM   #10
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But, but... I am age 30 in 2012
So do you wish you were 60
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Old 05-24-2012, 05:40 PM   #11
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So do you wish you were 60
I don't... but it's quite a different picture when you're looking so far ahead and it's hard to imagine investments that far out. At least it's on my brain I suppose.
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Old 05-24-2012, 05:43 PM   #12
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Way back when, I managed to end up with quite a nice career, without a college degree. That'd be nearly impossible these days. I like where I'm at now, with our current finances.
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Old 05-24-2012, 05:55 PM   #13
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So do you wish you were 60
If you're handing out wishes, I'll take 60.......although 20 would be better.
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Old 05-24-2012, 05:56 PM   #14
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There will always be a lot of woulda/coulda/shoulda as we look back through time. Any change in my path at any point (career, personal, financial decisions, etc.) would have changed the person I am today, and not necessarily for the better. I'll do the bird in hand thing and appreciate who I am and what I have here and now.
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Old 05-24-2012, 05:57 PM   #15
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If you're handing out wishes, I'll take 60.......although 20 would be better.
If I could be 20 again, I wouldn't care if it was 1968 or 2012. That would be my dream come true.
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Old 05-24-2012, 06:06 PM   #16
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If I could be 20 again, I wouldn't care if it was 1968 or 2012. That would be my dream come true.
Yeah - I take 20 any time - I spent my youth in Vietnam re-education camp. If I could live my 20s here, wow imagine that. Just image that, already brings joy in my face :-)
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Old 05-24-2012, 06:24 PM   #17
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Yeah - I take 20 any time - I spent my youth in Vietnam re-education camp. If I could live my 20s here, wow imagine that. Just image that, already brings joy in my face :-)
Yes, after that experience I can imagine that you would really, really enjoy the chance to relive your 20's here.

Life was much kinder to me in my 20's, and I just want to live longer, myself. It would be nice to be young and strong again, too, and with my whole life stretched out ahead of me.
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Old 05-24-2012, 06:39 PM   #18
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The first line in post #1 seems to be getting lost. I couldn't figure out how to build it into the question more clearly...my fault. Guess the poll results will be inconclusive as intended anyway. Oh well, life goes on bra...
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Old 05-24-2012, 07:06 PM   #19
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So do you wish you were 60
Sometimes I wish I was further along in my savings plan and closer to retirement. Then I remind myself that if I were older, I might not have my parents around and I'd have fewer years left with DH.

Generally I'm happy wherever I happen to be on the timeline, although every year is better than the last. I hope the trend continues!
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Old 05-25-2012, 08:39 AM   #20
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Okay, I think the poll question could be "Which age group is most negatively impacted by the current Great Recession (or political decisions related to it)".

Somebody has claimed it's the older people because their assets "are being transferred" to others. Maybe they are thinking extremely low interest rates, (which I think do transfer income from older people with savings to younger people who are net borrowers).

I voted "other", and really meant "too complicated to know for sure". Young people have been hit by a rotten job market, 30 somethings by a collapse in house values, old people by lousy interest rates.

If I had to make a wild guess, it would be the young people because jobs are number 1 in terms of financial success.
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