Article: biggest decline in retirement is in the 55-59 age bracket

[skyking1]

Absolutely. And it also applies to any commercial vessel as well. Tie up and tie one on. Cheers

Kind of makes me wonder if you've ever tied up a ship.

In aviation it's 8 hours bottle to throttle, and either 8 inches throttle to bottle ( cooler between the seats ) or 8 minutes ( time to get to the airport dive bar )

 

[jollystomper]

"Pick well and don't divorce".

Did you know that when there is a divorce involving a college educated woman, 90% of the time it is the woman that files? That's a lot of men that never saw it coming.

I would not assume that.

If a woman is educated, and has a means or career of supporting herself, it is easier for her to flee what may be an abusive or untenable situation, than is she had no means or no ability to support herself.

The fact that a college educated woman starts a divorce might not be a case of her just up and deciding to leave. It might be a case of her in a bad situation, but with the means to get out of it.

Two anecdotal examples of friends of ours. In one case, a woman found out her husband was sexually abusing her daughter. In another case, the womans husband was not only having an affair, but was arrested for murdering the ex-boyfriend of the woman he was having an affair with. In both cases the woman eventually filed for divorce. I doubt that their husbands did not see that coming.

 

[jollystomper]

I am not arguing with the article; the author makes good points. My point was that while there have always been people who spend beyond their means (that happened in 1691, 1791, 1891, 1991 etc.), I think it is easier than ever to do that today. And I think social media plays a large role in that by giving people the impression that their lives can't be complete without whatever some "influencer" is promoting.

On the one hand, "The Ant and the Grasshopper" is a very, very, old fable, so this is not a new thing - kind of like each generation complaining about how lazy the next generation is through history .

On the other hand, I think the reason it is easier today is not just due to "influencers", but also due to people being less connected "in real life". The more you see and deal with the reality of life, including friendships, the less likely you are to spend beyond your means - because real friends are not as impressed at what you have as with who you are. Unfortunately, these days an increasing number of people life in the fantasy of the social media world, and thus try to live by its dictates.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

I would not assume that.

If a woman is educated, and has a means or career of supporting herself, it is easier for her to flee what may be an abusive or untenable situation, than is she had no means or no ability to support herself.

The fact that a college educated woman starts a divorce might not be a case of her just up and deciding to leave. It might be a case of her in a bad situation, but with the means to get out of it.

Two anecdotal examples of friends of ours. In one case, a woman found out her husband was sexually abusing her daughter. In another case, the womans husband was not only having an affair, but was arrested for murdering the ex-boyfriend of the woman he was having an affair with. In both cases the woman eventually filed for divorce. I doubt that their husbands did not see that coming.

You missed the part where I didn't say "all men".

So two criminals you know changes the 9-1 ratio how?

Anyways, I hope you never become part of the 9.

 

[jollystomper]

You missed the part where I didn't say "all men".

So two criminals you know changes the 9-1 ratio how?

Anyways, I hope you never become part of the 9.

First, what is this source for "90%" ? I am curious rearding the whole story, and calculation.

Second, you did not say "all men", but you said "a lot of men". Are you implying a "majority" with that? I would contend that "a lot of men" do not see divorce coming regardless of the womans education stature - look at the domestic violence rates involving estranged/divorced couples as a example.

Second, why are you upset at me using 2 anecdotes, when you yourself used 2 anecdotes to try to illustrate your points? How do your 2 anecdotes support your statistic?

There are few things that one can be sure about in life, but I am very happily married for 39 years to a college educated woman with more degrees than I have, thank you. If this is in conflict with your own personal experience, I apologize profusely .

Again, woman who has resources have a better support platform in case of a situation that may warrant divorce, a situation that they did not start in the marriage. The implication in your original post of "be careful when marrying college educated women" should really be more "make sure you know who you are marrying, regardless of their education and background". And that goes for BOTH men and women.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

After 36 years of Marriage, one learns to choose one's battles. DW beats me into submission when necessary and I do the same to her ... when necessary, but she is way smarter than I am. Then of course there is makeup sex, not that is as common as it used to be. She even fills in my absentee ballots for me.

We could not be happier.

 

[jollystomper]

After 36 years of Marriage, one learns to choose one's battles. DW beats me into submission when necessary and I do the same to her ... when necessary, but she is way smarter than I am. Then of course there is makeup sex, not that is as common as it used to be. She even fills in my absentee ballots for me.

We could not be happier.

Good for you!

Actually, one piece of advice I have given to folks who have asked what led me to marrying DW was "One reason was, I dated her long enough to see all of her moods and reactions to situations, especially those when she was treated unfairly, and I was able to at least tolerate the reactions". From my perspective, that is a big aid in determining which battles to choose .

Back on the retirement track... I see it as simple. If, in your late teens or early 20s, one is already thinking about early retirement, just do not get married and do not have children (since you can still have children without being married ). But I doubt the majority of us were thinking about retiring at that stage in life, instead we planned to conquer the world . My focus was on having a career I enjoyed and that had earning opportunity to support any family I planned to have. That is why I entered the IT field instead of becoming a club/radio DJ/Engineer . I was fortunate that things worked out (luck/design/whatever) to provide me the opportunity to choose early retirement, and then focus on planning how to maximize that opportunity.

 

[scrabbler1]

Back on the retirement track... I see it as simple. If, in your late teens or early 20s, one is already thinking about early retirement, just do not get married and do not have children (since you can still have children without being married ). But I doubt the majority of us were thinking about retiring at that stage in life, instead we planned to conquer the world . My focus was on having a career I enjoyed and that had earning opportunity to support any family I planned to have. That is why I entered the IT field instead of becoming a club/radio DJ/Engineer . I was fortunate that things worked out (luck/design/whatever) to provide me the opportunity to choose early retirement, and then focus on planning how to maximize that opportunity.

While I agree that if someone has his or her sights set on an early retirement, then choosing to be CF (childfree) is very helpful way of getting there. Getting married may or may not help toward that goal, but from my experience it will surely be tougher to find a mate if one already knows s/he is CF.

My timeline for being CF and seeing ER was reversed. I knew at age 20 I would be CF, 15 years before I saw ER as a doable financial goal. Being CF at such a young age, although I was seriously pressed on it until age 25, made it difficult to date, much less ever marrying. I simply parlayed my being CF into my ER at age 45, 14 years ago.

 

[Sunset]

These are late-end boomers, and early Gen-X'ers. They saw the removal of pensions - after they'd started working, and the early days of 401k which were not as competitive with matching as now. This is also the era when staying at the same company forever became not-a-thing anymore. Outsourcing and offshoring surged after they hit 35. Many corporate dynamics were different from 2000 on vs. prior years.



2008/9 impacted them when they were already well into their careers. They took layoffs, paycuts, and pay freezes in their prime earning years. They likely had mortages under-water homes for years as well. Many probably sold out what was left of their 401ks at the wrong time.



(So, while the child/marriage approach might be useful for general planning, it doesn't explain why this group is retiring at far lower levels than those before them.)

I also think the population boomer bulge is a factor as there are simply less folks to retire in age brackets compared to a decade or so ago.

 

[ncbill]

You missed the part where I didn't say "all men".

So two criminals you know changes the 9-1 ratio how?

Anyways, I hope you never become part of the 9.

Yep, I'm afraid Mr T. is right...wives get tired of their husbands of 20+ years after the kids are gone and want to move on to something else (and often someone else) from what I've seen.

OTOH, I plan to sponge off my spouse as long as she'll let me.

It wouldn't surprise me if she works until 70, but I doubt I'll ever be re-employed.

 

[MichaelB]

These generalizations that assign gender based blame to divorce are off topic and ruining what is otherwise an interesting discussion on early retirement.

 

[Sunset]

We now have more variety to waste it on, especially fast convenience like high priced coffee. There are better marketing machines at work today too.

To support your idea, I present the color TV. In 1954, RCA offered a 15" color TV for $1,000. Inflation adjusted, that's $11,000 today. You didn't need a monthly streaming fee to really eat the budget.

So, yeah, opportunities existed to waste money back in the day also.

Who had color tv?
My parents had b&w tv until 1976 when I bought a used hotel color tv for them.

I know our Daughter has about 8 streaming services at one time. It's all so easy to sign up to spend $$$, that lot's of folks do it without a thought. She also gets short of $ at times, but doesn't make the connection.

 

[skyking1]

These generalizations that assign gender based blame to divorce are off topic and ruining what is otherwise an interesting discussion on early retirement.

Indeed.

We are child free and it certainly has changed our view on retirement, no heirs is another side effect of that. We don't have a lot of Dough but it will be easier to Blow.

 

[Music Lover]

Indeed.

We are child free and it certainly has changed our view on retirement, no heirs is another side effect of that. We don't have a lot of Dough but it will be easier to Blow.

If you have kids it's easier (assuming that you have enough), what you don't spend they'll get. But people without kids have to balance saving for the unknown future and not leaving too much behind.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

If you have kids it's easier (assuming that you have enough), what you don't spend they'll get. But people without kids have to balance saving for the unknown future and not leaving too much behind.

Not really, 3 charities are the only recipients in our will. Easy Peasy.

 

[Tetto]

Stay single and don't have kids

No thanks. Who's going to scratch my back? Rub my feet?? lol jk But honestly, no way, love my wife too much and we are two peas in a pod.

 

[skyking1]

Not really, 3 charities are the only recipients in our will. Easy Peasy.

yes to that too. Easy as can be. We could choose to include nieces and nephews, or go that route above.

 

[Chuckanut]

Supposedly Covid has knocked two years of the average American lifespan Maybe that’s a reason people should retire two years earlier.

 

[Andre1969]

Who had color tv?
My parents had b&w tv until 1976 when I bought a used hotel color tv for them.

I know our Daughter has about 8 streaming services at one time. It's all so easy to sign up to spend $$$, that lot's of folks do it without a thought. She also gets short of $ at times, but doesn't make the connection.

Well, if you wanted to see Perry Como in color, you paid the $11K equivalent and were grateful for it. Supposedly, some programs in those days, like The Adventures of Superman, were filmed in color, in anticipation of being broadcast in color...one day. But, they were still being aired in black and white, until color became somewhat more common.

I'm sure there were others that came before, but "Bonanza" is the oldest show I can think of that was shown in color, starting in 1959 I think. At least, I've never seen a black and white episode of "Bonanza".

My grandparents bought a 1972 Zenith 25" console color tv for something like $700. It didn't have a remote control, only one speaker, but the cabinet was nice and solid, and it had a slate (or fake slate) top. It died around 1987-88. Granddad took the guts out and the sides off. The top sat down nicely on the base, and it made for a good coffee table. I used it as such for years, until eventually it got packed away in my garage, and I think I finally threw it out around 2015 or so.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Who had color tv?

I must have been one of the first. Definitely was on my street in the UK. I did my apprenticeship at a TV manufacturer and built one with all the parts that were discarded after testing. I cannot remember if it cost me anything, but I doubt it. The casings were a little ropey as I salvaged those also, but otherwise it worked well for ages, then I upgraded it from a 90 Degree tube to a 110 Degree tube at end of my time. I gave my older one to a younger apprentice.

 

[jgman]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jgman View Post
Stay single and don't have kids

No thanks. Who's going to scratch my back? Rub my feet?? lol jk But honestly, no way, love my wife too much and we are two peas in a pod.

My 22 yr old sugar baby

 

[Music Lover]

Not really, 3 charities are the only recipients in our will. Easy Peasy.

Sure, it's easy to leave it all to charity. But some people worked hard, sacrificed, and saved so that they could spend it on themselves.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Sure, it's easy to leave it all to charity. But some people worked hard, sacrificed, and saved so that they could spend it on themselves.

We do that too.

 

[bonvoyage]

I was able to retire at 58 a few years ago with no pension at all. My wife is still working but only because she really enjoys her work a lot - she won't get a pension either. I started working in the early 1990s and my wife started working a few years later. We accumulated our savings in the most boring possible way: We always maxed out our respective 401Ks and also invested money every month in a post-tax S&P index fund. We started with $500 per month and kept progressively increasing the amount as our salaries increased. We have lived in the same house for over 25 years and have modest cars. We put two kids through college and paid for them fully. We have got to be the dullest people in the country

 

[Bigdawg]

I started working in the early 1990s and my wife started working a few years later.

What did you do before age 30? I'm younger than you and I started working in the 70's (paper route and helped on a Christmas tree farm). I didn't start seriously saving towards retirement until (like you) the early (mid ) 90's.