age and money

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'd like to think that someday soon I not worry because things are just covered. I agree it is lifestyle creep, but our lifestyle has not gone up proportionally with how much our income has gone up. I guess it's just the knowing that we've had to save a lot more to play catch up with people who were probably saving since 22.

[bjl584]

I'll probably always worry about money on some level.

I'd have to have about $2.5 or $3 million before I wouldn't worry at all anymore.

[scfr]

Do people in their 40s and older feel more secure? Have you reached that sweet spot of knowing you can afford anything you wanted and not worry? That you have all your financial ducks in order?

My husband & I are in the income/net worth group where we will always have financial concerns, but with planning, hard work, and a bit of luck we can expect to have a comfortable retirement. (By comfortable I mean meeting the basics and having some nice extras, but not lavish.)

In our mid-40's we hit the point where we started to feel fairly secure about the state of our finances. We know that life could throw us a curve ball at any moment that could cause a setback, but we feel prepared to cope with it.

We do not have children so the question of paying for college is not one we have had to grapple with. My gut feeling guess is that this puts us about 10 years ahead of where folks with children are. In other words, people with children to put through college in similar circumstances may start to feel fairly secure in their mid-50's.

But there will always be financial concerns. A big one for us as we get older is who will manage our affairs when/if we are no longer able to. When you don't have children, this is a tricky one.

[disneysteve]

We do not have children so the question of paying for college is not one we have had to grapple with. My gut feeling guess is that this puts us about 10 years ahead of where folks with children are. In other words, people with children to put through college in similar circumstances may start to feel fairly secure in their mid-50's.

Good point. We are 48 and 49. Our daughter will enter college in one year, so we'll be 54 and 55 when she graduates in 5 years (she's looking at a 5-year program). Only then, hopefully, will we be able to fully focus on ourselves and retirement savings assuming DD is gainfully employed and self-supporting at that point.

[Thrif-t]

Another one chiming in, late 40's with oldest of 3 kids starting college next year. We've only been able to save enough for each of them to have 2 years at CC or 1 year at our State University. I worry about them and their future financial situation.

I worry about my DH not getting his pension or the amount we thought he'd get because of state funding. We have saved in other funds in case the pension doesn't come thru but it's still a worry.

I will say that we are in a better place finacially now than we were in our 30's when we were having kids. But I suspect that feeling will change after next year when we start up with college. And once the first one goes every other year another will start. Gosh and then weddings will start, so we probably won't ever get that blissful no worries feeling till we're dead.ha

[Darly2004]

Although we are in a much better financial situation in our 30s than in our 20s, I still worry a lot about money. I feel poorer now than I did then. I feel like we had more disposable income then. Now we have 2 kids who are in daycare full time, their college savings to fund, a house that we are upside down on, and worries about if our retirement savings would be enough for us to retire early. I feel less secure about my job as well with the healthcare reform. Not sure what direction it will take my job.