It’s Liz Pulliam Weston against the experts and pundits in the biggest battle since Apolo Anton Ohno grabbed someone’s skate while competing in the short track speed skating competition.
In this article Weston takes prognosticators to task for claiming the sky is falling when it comes to preparing for retirement. No one really knows how much someone will need for retirement — there is no Number. Her points:
* Social security will probably survive.
* You’ll probably spend less as you age.
* You probably won’t make it to 100.
* You’ll probably have some flexibility.
… Don’t let the doom-and-gloomers talk you into the notion that you’ll never have enough to retire, or that you’ll have to settle for some pinched, strained half-life at the end of your days. For one thing, money isn’t everything, not before retirement and certainly not after it… For another, you may have more going for you than you think.
But what to do? People want to know how much money they’ll need. There has to be a plan in place. Well, the best they can get are educated guesses from the experts. I say an educated guess is better than no guess at all, as long as that guess isn’t so far off it causes problems in someone’s life.
The author’s advice is to stretch your savings, read (learn about more options), and breathe (relax). No one can predict the future.
Email this article
Print this article
Share this article: Twitter | Tip'd | Facebook | Delicious | Reddit | Digg
About the Author
