Jeff Stahler for March 20, 2014

To a great extent, it all depends upon just what your expectations are. If they are reasonable, and you do not expect to live as well as you did in the prime of your life, then you can have truly golden years. But if continued increase of your material expectations is your goal, then it is entirely possible that you will live out a very miserable existence!

But they had 2 new cars every year, a large house, many kids they sent to college, vacations every year, eating out 6 days a week, refinanced their house to another 30 year loan to pay off their helocs, credit cards, student loans etc. Living the life of the rich left them poor.

I retire a second time next week. I expect to make more being retired than working.

I remember a 2-panel cartoon from ages ago: the first panel had a banker and a young guy, the banker saying “if you invest with us you can be a millionaire by the time you retire.” The second panel showed an old guy standing in front of a pay phone (yes, a pay phone) with a sign that said “deposit $35,000 for the first three minutes.”

Yes if you aren’t a CEO, Government worker or teacher, you probably have to save a lot for your retirement.

That works if life never happens. No horrible disease to fight or accidents, divorces that wipe out all your finances and savings of the past 30 years…..2008 stock market crash to wipe out what you managed to save after the divorce….

That’s assuming your investments don’t go sour and you find yourself in a dire financial situation requiring you do dip into your retirement savings.

Either I am (or wAS in 1962) far more wise than most here, or just plain lucky. I have been married to the same wonderful loving and kind woman for almost 51 years (51 as of March 29, this year). So, that your problem is one that goes in exactly the opposite direction with me, so I am indeed sorry for your own situation. I also both am and have the greatest support, and live with my total immediate family with my daughter, son-in-law, and two beautiful grand children in my large two bedroom apartment in the San Fernando Valley. Sometimes we have stress and problems, but in general I have the incredible good fortune to be surrounded by love and laughter, and that , my online friend, is what retirement (plus many relatively inexpensive things to keep my mind very active) a happy retirement is all about. Could I use more funding? Sure, but that is not really that important to me anymore. The total pursuit of wealth and material things just for their own sake is not for me, and I am very contented that it isn’t!!

Everything has consequences and what you do affects not only yourself, it affects your parents and your children and grandchildren. My parents were frugal, lived within their means and kept a healthy lifestyle. That benefited them, benefited their children and benefited their grandchildren.