Ten Things retirees Won't Tell You
 

Article on Yahoo Finance

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-thi...181829631.html

What do you think of this article?

Makes me feel very fortunate to live here in The Villages. Overall, we are much better off than this article would indicate for the average Americans. We need to think of that before we go off on little episodes of complaining.

IMHO, I believe our representation in Washington needs to start taking steps to help our own people who have made this country what it is. Possibly using some of the funds sent to other countries to accomplish this, I am not saying to stop helping other countries but let's divert a % of that money to our own country.

The lonely part was one of the major factors that spurred me to move here. I saw how isolated my mother became and I didn't want that to happen to me. Here I get so much more socialization than I would back where I moved from.

I think much of it is true. When I was a financial planner, I was able to look into the balance sheets of many people. Very few had saved adequately for retirement.

We also moved here for the socialization factor alone. We looked at many other retirement communities and felt like we would be going there to die. The minute we stepped foot in TV we knew we were coming here to live.

Yes, financial stress in retirement affects many. I watched my mother and other family members go through it. I also watched them spend money unnecessarily during their working years and living beyond their means. They all regretted it and said they should have saved more for the retirement years. It was a valuable lesson for me and decided I would not live the golden years stressed out, due to finances.

Moving to The Villages does not insulate a retiree any of those 10 factors listed in the OP's article and various residents have been visited by at least one of the 10 listed issues to support my statement. There have been for instance a number of foreclosures. There are examples of residents living above their means, of not sticking to a financial plan and other types of counterproductive behavior

Additionally when subject matters such as this come up someone invariable suggests that the government needs to step in. It is a canard because too much government is the problem that plague Americans today.

There certainly are some people who through no fault of their own fall on hard times, never had a chance from the start. Conversely there are also far too many people who are simply terrible at managing their lives or their finances. These people are easy to spot demand instant gratification and or have an entitlement mentality.

I have been repeatedly amazed at the number of residents who actually believe that moving to The Villages provides them the safety of a bubble

Thanks for posting 2BNTV!

I found the article interesting (not yet retired) and helpful. The goal is always to learn from those that have gone before and hopefully avoid (most of) the pitfalls.

I think this is a perfect example of how skewed our veiws are about any particular generation. Those that are 70 and over are from the generation that suppusedly saved and was always prepared. That was not the case for many. Same goes for the next generation behind them. They are the ones that "got rich" in the 80s and lived the perfect suburban life. But many have less than $100,000 in the bank. If did save and prepare, you deserve what you have. If you didn't, you're not taking my retirement to pay for yours. I work hard and am saving and doing the right thing and shouldn't be penalized for the lack of effort by others. I think that is the intent of the information, I could be wrong. I am told I was once.

6. We’re coming after your jobs
How true will that be if the minimum wage goes to $15.00.

Another thank you to 2BNTV for posting this article. The person whose retirement I am most familiar with is my that of my dad, who retired 22 years ago the week after he turned 62. He was always a very good saver, and when he turned 70 1/2 he was not too happy that he had to start taking money from his IRA. I wish I would have inherited more of his money saving ways.

Since my mom passed away in 1997, he has been a widower during most of his retirement, so undoubtedly he has some moments of loneliness, but I also think he enjoys the peace and quiet of his house most of the time. I know winter really drags for him, but he has deep roots in Iowa where he has lived all of his life, so I don't see him ever becoming a snowbird.

There have been some health issues that have popped up in the past year that concern him (and me), but overall, his health is fairly good. In the past year he has finally come to terms with the fact that at 84 it may be time for him to cut back on some home maintenance chores (snow blowing and cleaning the gutters) and have someone else do them.

Now if I could only convince him to get one of those alert alarms that can be worn around the neck in case he has a problem and can't get to the phone . . .

Laura:

I use to take care of my mom's needs and I found when a person reaches a certain age, you can't convince them of hardly anything. They have lived 80 plus years and feel they know it all.

One must give up doing certain chores that may be dangerous to one's health, like climbing ladders, etc.

Hopefully, your dad will realize your concerns, and do the right thing for himself and you.

Some interesting facts about Retirement

The eleventh thing retirees won't tell you is how they felt about retiring in the first place . Many like me were afforded a choice because of a personal situation. For me retirement was never going to happen I miss my work

How true that is. A few years ago I told one of my nieces that when her grandfather passes away I was going to put on his tombstone "Father always knew best." She thought I was serious.

I just hope a few years down the road that my sisters and I don't have to have the "giving up the car keys" conversation with him.