Did you see the article in yesterday’s USA Today titled, “Many Older Americans Expect to Help Kids Financially”?
If not, here are a couple sad realities from that article:
- “When the word ‘childcare’ first emerged, we didn’t imagine it lasting 50 years, but now, when you’re 85 years old, you may still be providing care to your 50-year-old child,” says Ken Dychtwald, founder of Age Wave
- According to a Pew Research Center study, in the new retirement world, more families are also moving in together
- Older Americans are resetting their retirement goals
What put me over the edge is the fact that this comes as a complete surprise to many. One only need look at the failure of the Baby-Boom generation regarding retirement. Yes, they were hit with two financial bubbles that burst, but the major culprits for their woes were:
- Lack of planning
- Not making saving a priority
- Turning complete control of their finances to a self-serving industry that confiscated investor wealth
- No mechanical-based strategy to protect their investments during major protracted bear markets
This is a recipe for an epidemic we’ve never witnessed, one where the tip of the iceberg in now only becoming visible. However, there is good news for the Gen-X and Y generations. These generations have time on their side to change this course of direction.
Here are a few suggestions for Gen-X and Y investors:
- Know what you’ll need saved to achieve your desired retirement lifestyle (Calculator)
- Learn to be your own most-trusted financial advisor and recapture the 70% of your wealth the financial services industry confiscates
- Be disciplined and pay your retirement FIRST!!!
- Commit to become a DIY 2.0 Investor
The choice is yours. You can accept an outcome similar to the Baby-Boomers or commit to change your action steps today.