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While I’m trying not to think about it too much, it’s tough not dwell a little on my retirement fund (401-K) losses from the last year–the last few months in particular. Everything looked so great a year ago; like many other people at my day job, I even kicked around ideas of trying to retire when I hit 55. Now, who knows?
This article in the New York Times explains that my pondering is nearly universal for those of us that have been in the workforce for a while.
How are the rest of you Rentonites feeling? Do you feel prepared for possible tough times ahead? Do you think you will be able to rebuild before your planned retirement? Will you be working until age 95?
Randy, you’re two generations away from the Great Depression and one generation from WWII’s rationing.
Just living to age 55 is a luxury 90% of the world never will get.
Keep thing in perspective – your 401k is still much larger than what you put into it. The rest of the world barely has working banks, let alone 7% return year after year.
Pah! We Americans and especially our respective generations don’t realize how good we have it! My generation especially.
…
You have better health care than Henry VII, better travel opportunities than Leonardo Da Vinci, better food than Apicius, a happier family than Einstein, more freedom of religion than Martin Luther, better education than Socrates and access to more music than Mozart could ever find.
If you have to work ’till you’re 95 – count yourself lucky!
Great perspective Ben!
Pardon if I ramble on a bit…
I suffer from a permanent dissatisfaction of my own state – I’ll try not to be too maudlin:
There’s a strong benefit to not resting on one laurauls – you achieve more, you give more and by doing the best that you can – you help uplift your children and the people around you.
But… at the same time, not appresciating what you have leads (for me) to jealousy and all the problems that come after it: selfishness, greed and hatred.
The trick for me is to view other people as inspriations and rather than some childish jellous viewpoint.
…
I’m sure some guy, probably some obsuce monk or somthing has already dealt with this: OH! Here it is, lost in the couch: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_way
Darn- I don’t get to start my own religion.
Re: Pardon if I ramble on a bit…
Thanks Ben
I see people all around me getting bent out of shape over the economy or politics. . .Stuff that they have no real control over.
Help someone unselfishly (and anonymously) and unburden yourself with 10 unnesessary things every day is my new goal for the rest of the year.
When I was in last year of high school (1976) Ray Bradbury was a guest on Tom Snyders Late Show. . .Tom asked him if he had any advice for young people. He said basically do not watch local television news and stay away from the newspapers: There is nothing in either that DIRECTLY affects your life.
I have tried to follow that and when doing so have had a more peaceful and productive life. . .And do not intend to retire until unable to move.
Re: Pardon if I ramble on a bit…
That’s awesome, it sounds like you’ve found peace in a complex world.
Re: Pardon if I ramble on a bit…
I absolutely agree with your assessment, Ben. I feel very fortunate to live in the top 99.9% of the world’s economy. I don’t have to try to find a mosquito net to protect against malaria, I don’t spend my days scavenging for scraps of wood or dung for fuel, and I haven’t seen my home burned to the ground by bloodthirsty sectarians.
As I told my mom by email yesterday (after she reported that she’d lost a quarter of her retirement savings):
“The worse that could happen here is that we go back to a Depression-era economy, in which people focus on the basic necessities, barter their skills for goods, and help their neighbors in need weather the storm. People like you, with a good deal of liquidity, no mortgage payment, and a guaranteed income, are in the best possible position. While I’m getting by on Top Ramen and kale from the garden, you’ll still be taking vacations to far off lands. Might as well spend your cash now, before massive inflation sets in.”
Different take
Randy – Just wanted to let you know that I’ve read your livejournal for a while now and think it’s a great service to the community. This kind of transparency and dialogue with our elected officials is something we should strive for at all levels of government.
I’m a 25-year-old law student at Seattle University. I grew up in Renton in a middle-class household, moved away for college, but moved back to the area for law school. I like Renton; I’ve thought about moving back when I’m done with school. But the truth is I’m really worried about my financial future, and I don’t know what impact this ecomony will have on my future plans.
Part of my problem is that, unlike most law students, I really hope to do public sector work when I graduate. It doesn’t pay as well as some other jobs law grads tend to get, but I find it more rewarding to give something back. (The work environment and hours are way better too!) Unfortunately, state and local governments are facing budget shortfalls, non-profits are finding it more difficult to raise money, and private sector hiring has slowed down too. Every year, law schools in Seattle graduate 500 law students, and this year there just aren’t going to be that many jobs.
I’m a pretty optimistic guy, so ordinarily I’d be content to wait it out, knowing that eventually things will work out. The problem is that I’ll have about $60,000 in student loan debt to start paying back soon. That’s less than a lot of law students leave school with, but still, I think I can forget about owning a home for a good while. Oh yeah – I don’t have health insurance either.
I recognize that my problems aren’t as dire as those many others face, and I’m grateful that as a young man whose family helped him get a world class education in the world’s richest country, I have it better than most. Still, I wanted to convey that there’s real apprehension among people my age about what their economic future will be like. Nobody I know is particularly happy about this being that time that we’re finally almost done with school.
Anyway, thanks for the opportunity for a late night vent!
– JP
Re: Different take
JP, have you looked into getting an inexpensive, high-deductible individual health insurance plan that’ll cover catastrophic illnesses, lab tests, and emergency room visits? You can get one through LifeWise WA starting at around $80 a month.