a day in the life of a baby boomer - please give some info

nearlyrich

I was never a BB before born in 1961 but according to this I am now.

I still work but plan to take early retirement at around 55, I have been saving and planning this since I was 28. I have brought up 2 children and along with my DH bought and paid for a house. I own a decent car outright and I don't buy anything I can't afford, pay my credit card bill in full every month etc.

When I started work I could retire on a state pension at 60 but now it will be 66 if there is anything left in the pot, I never got any extras for being a single parent not even 25% council tax reduction, missed out on Tax Credits, had to pay the fees for uni and everytime the rules changed it was not in my favour.

Sometimes I read posts on here from people who want it all and they want it now and I smile and think there were people like that in my younger days they might end up with more support from the state than I get but I quite like being independent.

We have always worked hard and I think we deserve what we have, both me and DH have lost assetts in divorces but working together we have got back to a decent standard of living.

chucky

nearlyrich wrote: »

Sometimes I read posts on here from people who want it all and they want it now and I smile and think there were people like that in my younger days they might end up with more support from the state than I get but I quite like being independent.

We have always worked hard and I think we deserve what we have, both me and DH have lost assetts in divorces but working together we have got back to a decent standard of living.

great post - they all seem to have chips on their shoulders to about life not being fair...

each generation has it's own challenges and it's up to the individuals to overcome them - some do, some won't.
those that plan and work hard have more chance to get it right...

complaining on various internet forums trying to convince others isn't going to help their cause...

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

2010 wrote: »

Ha the great life of being a BB.

Working hard, long hours for thirty odd years and paying 15% mortgage rates, not to mention a hefty chunk of your wages towards your pension.

This is how most BB have got where they are now.

No one GAVE them it

---

they worked for their home, pension and current lifestyle.

Unlike the "have now pay later" brigade of today.

Have to agree.
We'd be classed as BBs since I'm 56,my husband 59.
We started off married life me at 16 him 20 with nothing,not even a place to live.
My husband worked for less than the dole to get in a company he wanted to work for and has worked there since.He started at the bottom and worked his way up.
We have three adult children all in their mid to late thirties and what with bringing up three kids we could'nt afford to buy a house until we got into our 30s.
We did without holidays ect for many years to get it paid off and we now have a holiday home in Italy too.
My husband retires in 6 years and he has a good pension which he decided to take last year and then stay in work.
We have no debts and quite a bit of savings so are always happy to help our children and grand-children out with things they need.
Everything we have is through the hard work and extremely long hours my husband has put in,nothing was given to us on a plate.

p00hsticks

2010 wrote: »

paying 15% mortgage rates

I remember that - but you also have to remember that inflation was running at the same sort of level, so (employed) people were generally getting regular pay increases every six months or so, and also seeing their mortgage debt deflating rapidly as their house rose in value.

Personally;

Plus points - free university education, good job security once I'd managed to eventually secure a job, final salary pension, was able to get on the property ladder in my mid twenties.

Negative points - spent the better part of a year unemployed after finishing university as one of Maggies 'one in ten'. Living standards were generally a lot lower - no holidays abroad, no credit cards, no car, no TV.

I think if you compared SOAs from then and now, the big change would be how much people spend on things like mobiles and Sky TV.

twadge_face

OK, I'm taking this a little off-topic, but please bear with me as it has implications for all of us.

chucky wrote: »

great post - they all seem to have chips on their shoulders to about life not being fair...

I would certainly be one to say that life simply is not fair - never has been, never will be. There endeth that frickin' cliche.

However, to say anyone has "chips on their shoulders" is a tad inflammatory as well as unfair.

There are nasty grumpy sorts on both sides of the fence, i.e. beneficiaries with intents (BTL landlords doing very well thanks to government assistance, THANKS!!!) and their unwilling benefactors (priced-out tenants, wondering what the point of it all is).

Equally I know of BTL landlords who are of my age (twenties) as well as so-called boomers who are utterly scrubbled for dosh with no savings and pensions.

Pointing the finger at other humans and saying they're whining is pretty uncool, dude.

I think the core problems which we discuss on this wonderful sub-forum can be thought to be very, very simple as I saw Dara O' Briain explain with meticulous eloquence on the Mock the Week Christmas Special (below link, from 13:50 onwards) comparing chocolate to gold to property:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00x246c/Mock_the_Week_Series_9_Christmas_Compilation_2010/

Here's a sketchy transcript:

Dara_O'_Briain wrote:

A commodity has been snapped up in enormous quantities [...] cocoa beans [...] one mystery man owns 7% of the world's cocoa beans.

All he needs now is a glass elevator and some oompa loompas. [lols ensue]

It is a story that will explain economics to people who are a bit "meh" about banks, and didn't really get what was going on.

If you say to them: "One guy bought all the chocolate, and now the chocolate is going to be more dear."

They say: "That's a disgrace."

[You respond:] "I know! Imagine if somebody did that with, like, gold, or property?"

[They say:] "They WOULDN'T DO THAT!"

[You say:] "They HAVE!"

[Them:] "AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!"

But anyway, back to Chucky's wisdom...

each generation has it's own challenges and it's up to the individuals to overcome them - some do, some won't.
those that plan and work hard have more chance to get it right...

Yes, yes, yes and I'm sure in your own way this is your small way of helping out with the awareness of that ongoing dilemma, the human condition.

Great contribution, dude. </sarcasm>

EDIT: Apologies to you, Chucky ole chum. I was looking too hard at the bit I've now emboldened. I posted in the heat of the moment. A flare of sexy passion. Not sexual. Sexy. 'Sdifferent. Of course you're right about planning and, ridiculously, there is no accounting for luck.

complaining on various internet forums trying to convince others isn't going to help their cause...

I dunno. Al Qaeda organised a lot on forums. Look what they achieved.

*balaclava*

Also it is much, MUCH better than either repressing these thoughts by watching escapist trollop like X-Facto and listening to its joyless musical spawn.

(Final paragraph is just an example of consciousness-killing activities. I appreciate Simon Cowell is a very hard working man/lizard.)

FATBALLZ

2010 wrote: »

Ha the great life of being a BB.

Working hard, long hours for thirty odd years and paying 15% mortgage rates, not to mention a hefty chunk of your wages towards your pension.

This is how most BB have got where they are now.

No one GAVE them it

---

they worked for their home, pension and current lifestyle.

Unlike the "have now pay later" brigade of today.

Posts like this don't really help the BBs cause when they try to claim they've had a terrible time of things, lots of rhetoric but complete lack of meaningful facts. For example:

"Working hard, long hours for thirty odd years" - members of every generation have done this, are in the process of doing this or will be doing this in future

"paying 15% mortgage rates" - meaningless without more information like what house prices were at the time, disposable income, etc etc.

"hefty chunk of your wages towards your pension." - as per the first one, members of every generation have done this, are in the process of doing this or will be doing this in future. Although quite a lot of BBs have benefitted from non-contributary pensions that subsequently closed to younger workers.

"No one GAVE them it

---

they worked for their home, pension and current lifestyle." - And Filipino rice farm workers work for their mud hud, zero pension provision and short life expectancy. Are you suggesting this is because this is all they deserve? Completely meaningless statement.

"Unlike the "have now pay later" brigade of today."- Considering we have another thread on this same board highlighting the plight of BBs who have got themselves into debt and carried it over to retirement, to suggest it's only the younger generations that have members guilty of this is quite frankly deluded.

lostinrates

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

My husband worked for less than the dole to get in a company he wanted to work for and has worked there since.He started at the bottom and worked his way up.......

There was a discussion about work over the generations last week on Radio 4. From what was said its actually harder for younger workers (younger than me!) now. The proportion of ''full'' pay given to young workers is smaller now, with substantial numbers of young people working for free to try and get a foot hold in their jobs. If you are a childless, single person with aspiration there is not much top up help financially.

Everything we have is through the hard work and extremely long hours my husband has put in,nothing was given to us on a plate.

I think that is the same for the majority, when ever you were born post war...I think it has to be. ATM I really envy families where the work hours directive holds :this last week while dh is on holiday, he has worked 36 ''billable'' hours. We're thrilled its been such a light week.., but still, 36 hours of sleep, working here, or just being togetheron his time off. And we're happy its been ''light''. I think DH is earning his keep. I can't remember what his billable hours were the week before (he came home the Tuesday before Christmas, late at night) to work from home but the wednesday he was working by six....and worked through till about 2 am Christmas eve. I think that counts as long, hard hours.

lostinrates

FATBALLZ wrote: »

"hefty chunk of your wages towards your pension." - as per the first one, members of every generation have done this, are in the process of doing this or will be doing this in future. Although quite a lot of BBs have benefitted from non-contributary pensions that subsequently closed to younger workers..

I know a fair few people who are saving for a home or paying a mortgage and whose pension suffers. Noone who we've spoken to puts anything like what my dad put away for pension. They can't afford to and also are scared by the scare stories that occurred to our generations parents. My dad was determined to save for a safe retirement and, having worked since mid teens, put the maximum he could away. Shame it went over the side of a yacht. His pension subsequent to that was part of a less well known pension swizz. He should have felt like a very comfortably off man in retirement:(

I would like to get more advice from some of the investment peeps here in the next two years, because I want to have more control over the money for our future but its something I find very hard to get my head around.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

FATBALLZ wrote: »

Posts like this don't really help the BBs cause when they try to claim they've had a terrible time of things, lots of rhetoric but complete lack of meaningful facts. For example:

"Working hard, long hours for thirty odd years" - members of every generation have done this, are in the process of doing this or will be doing this in future

"paying 15% mortgage rates" - meaningless without more information like what house prices were at the time, disposable income, etc etc.

"hefty chunk of your wages towards your pension." - as per the first one, members of every generation have done this, are in the process of doing this or will be doing this in future. Although quite a lot of BBs have benefitted from non-contributary pensions that subsequently closed to younger workers.

"No one GAVE them it

---

they worked for their home, pension and current lifestyle." - And Filipino rice farm workers work for their mud hud, zero pension provision and short life expectancy. Are you suggesting this is because this is all they deserve? Completely meaningless statement.

"Unlike the "have now pay later" brigade of today."- Considering we have another thread on this same board highlighting the plight of BBs who have got themselves into debt and carried it over to retirement, to suggest it's only the younger generations that have members guilty of this is quite frankly deluded.

I'd have to agree with everything you say however it's not the fault of the BBs as to the circumstances they found/find themselves in.
Every generation has it's plus and negative sides there's just no reason there should be any bitterness at all.
It's swings and round-a-bouts,we all win some and lose some.
Life is'nt fair in some aspects to every generation but I do have to say that the way some of the younger generation whine about BBs is rather pathetic and makes them seem like spoilt brats.
Too much of the green eyed monster I think.

lostinrates

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

I'd have to agree with everything you say however it's not the fault of the BBs as to the circumstances they found/find themselves in.

This is the absulte truth. Likewise my generation is lucky to have cheap tat and t'internet.However the failure for BBs to admit this luck and put the next generations' lack of this down to pure laziness/lack of hard work/drive etc also seems the other side of the coin you go on to describe, IMO.