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First post in this community. I'm a 65 year old cynical pragmatist, definitely conservative, but cursed by my openess to understanding how and why others come to their beliefs.
Currently I am attempting to figure out what might happen and when in the USA economy. I watch podcasts daily that are chosen from a wide variety of sources hoping to ascertain what I should be doing to protect my retirement assets.
I have found one that impressed me with its logic:

The Coming Retirement Crisis I would appreciate any discussion of this.
leslie 3 Mar 30
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The closer to retirement we get the most anxious I am about having enough to live comfortably on. Although my husband and I both are 100% vested in pension plans , have contributed to both IRA’s and 401k plans I know too many people now in their mid 70’s who thought they’d be fine and are now regrettably living on a tight budget due to inflation.

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Your post really grabbed my interest. I am 62 and will likely retire in the next three or four years. I have very similar concerns to yours. I’ve read the articles about what the average baby boomer has in 401💋 and it’s pitiful. My wife and I have an excess of 2 million in our IRA/401k savings. We are invested in 50% stocks and 50% bonds with about 100,000 in cash. I am considering getting even more conservative with my investments. I feel like it’s inevitable that the stock market will tank. We should start a group which could exchange ideas, articles, videos and strategies for retirement.

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Ah, the problems of human behaviors and motives for them. I think you might want to read Jonathan Haidt book, The Righteous Mind as a start. He and his students have done research in the area of the five categories of personality and how social and political associations result. The book is well written and not difficult to read.

As for economics, well, that is a crap shoot. If the world crashes and burns then no one's retirement is safe. What will happen in the future is speculation about the risks that could occur, that may occur, or that will occur. I fear that you will just have to sweat it out with the rest of us. On the other hand one can hedge one's bets by choosing where to retire. Don't speculate in crypto coins. Keep $10,000 in savings in your bank account. Spend less than you receive in retirement income. Keep your expenditures down. The list goes on and most is common sense.

So sit back and enjoy the rest of your life.

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Well, I'm a "boomer" who retired ten years ago, just as Obamacare was ramping up. Talk about scary---.
I had no delusions about retiring to cruise the world in luxury, in the twenty years prior I'd invested a lot in the family farm, so count on that to generate some addition income--- alas, property taxes have outpaced the capacity to earn income. Most of the proceeds from my IRA go to pay insurance premiums, because I refuse to become a pawn in the government healthcare experiment. Don't worry, unless you are measuring you happiness on the degree of wealth you have, you'll be fine--- we humans are a resourceful species, we find a way...

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The scariest statistic in this is that the average baby boomer doesn't have enough to retire on. If they're having a difficult time, what about their children and grandchildren? When I worked for Citigroup some years back, they estimated that for the average person to retire in 2020 (figuring in inflation) they would need to have approximately $1.6 million in both liquidable assets and investments, assuming that they would live to be in their early 80s. The man in the video is right. Many don't have nearly that much set aside. My mother used to joke that she ought to take up smoking cigarettes again because she wouldn't be able to afford to live into her 90s. Sad but true. As a generation-X'er, I was told that to live similarly to what I am doing right now (which is basically just my survival needs met - a roof over my head, food in the cupboard, fuel for the car), I would need to save around 3 million to retire by 2035. That's not happening unless I win the lottery.

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Cynicism and pragmatism are an almost art.
I struggle with figuring out my retirement as well.
Good luck.

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Its not bad to be open as long as you can think.

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Welcome oldster (I'm 64)

Thank you

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Hi, Leslie. Welcome.

Wow. Like he said at the end, there's a lot to digest. I will need to watch again and take notes next time. It is a bit scary to contemplate the rising number of retirees and how this is going to affect the US economy. Lots of pieces to fit into the puzzle with no real confidence in projected outcomes.

Thank you

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Welcome to IDW community ! People who are high in openness tend to fall on the left political spectrum. However, financial security at 65 might have something to do with you wanting to "lock in" order. The second part falls more into the right spectrum which is why you also identify as conservative. Nothing wrong with being high in openness as long as you are not into high agreeableness you're still on the right side. Anyway, i have no doubt that you'll have fun here.

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