How much is it to get health insurance through aarp and how much money can you save me? Do I need to keep mecare. Answer as soon as possible.
Francesca
of NC
@
Nov 29, 2008 15:32:05 PM
These miserly seniors you speak of have seen some TOUGH times in the last 75-95 years. Many lived through the depression and several wars that ment real sacrifice not inconvenience. When we see a credible safety net for our health care expenses we might dip into some of our savings. Our spendthrift children can't pay their own bills much less ours when we become destitute. Yes we can saddle them with tax burdens for our care by big brother. Those tax burdens are 10 times the real cost when you have government provide any product or service. Government is the most ineffecient delivery system known to man in the free world. I wonder why the children wring their hands when many of them will be the benefactor when the older generation passes. Yes some will leave wealth to charity but most will end up on the hands of the next generation.
WGL
of NE
@
Dec 12, 2007 13:35:16 PM
another viewpoint
But I think that the author does have a point that some seniors may be making things harder for themselves than needed. Take my grandma. She has a brokerage account that is in 7 figures. According my mom's cousin, her stockbroker, grandma has NEVER taken out a penny from the account (which is why it hit 7 figures in the first place). Grandma is otherwise on a fairly limited fixed income - her pension hasn't increased much at all, and the increases in social security don't always keep up with inflation. She has sometimes wanted to fix up her house a little, but she doesn't want to dip into her investments. The thing is, Grandma is now 90, and it seems to me that she can afford to spend a little. I'm not saying that she shouldn't continue to save if she wants (she says "7 figures just doesn't go very far these days"), but she doesn't really need to save every penny of her investment income either.
of VA
@
Dec 11, 2007 17:37:32 PM
save more money, unless your retired
It's too bad that those seniors who are financially responsible enough to do the right thing are being told they should be spending instead of saving. The odds are that most of us seniors will be faced with medical and other emergencies, and even called on to bail out our less-prudent children, and it only makes good sense for us to try to take care of our own future needs instead of living from payday to payday. Should we prefer to become a burden to our children or the community? Can any of us seniors be confident that Big Brother is ready to finance us when our ever-increasing needs exceed the cost of our everyday living? Do we really want that instead of independence? Big Brother is, after all, the government, which is, financially speaking, the taxpayers, who are, in turn, primarily our kids. Our kids, that is, who are unwilling to live within their incomes (as we their parents have wisely chosen to do) and are constantly clamoring for the government to reduce their taxes and to spend less on keeping those greedy seniors alive. The seniors who are considerate enough to try to be financially self-sufficient, and set an example for the next generation, should be applauded, not criticized. If the health of our economy depends on our seniors being irresponsible spendthrifts, there's something seriously wrong with our economic system, not with the seniors.
Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for U.S. News & World Report, writes about how to save money, avoid scams, manage debt, and be a savvy shopper. Send your personal finance questions to her for expert money advice.
Francesca of NC @ Nov 29, 2008 15:32:05 PM
WGL of NE @ Dec 12, 2007 13:35:16 PM
of VA @ Dec 11, 2007 17:37:32 PM
Charles Sears of OR @ Dec 11, 2007 16:22:24 PM
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