49 years ago today, on June 1, 1967, I graduated from high school. That doesn't sound like much, I know, but in a family of 7 kids, where only 2 of us completed high school, and I was the only daughter to do so, it was a Big Deal. I left home the next day, and moved to Chicago, to make my way in the world. Eventually I earned a B.S., summa cum laude, (yeah, I'm proud of that) and an M.S., and I ended up with a corporate job with a 401K, good benefits, and a decent salary. And yet now, as I contemplate retirement this coming fall, I realize that in terms of finances I'm not much more educated than I was at 17. In terms of daily living, I can manage. Since I was 17, I've known that I must pay my bills on time, and spend less than I earn, and save as much as possible, etc., etc., but when it comes to managing a portfolio, or even knowing whom to hire to do that, I'm clueless. We aren't born with this information in our heads (or at least I wasn't) so how on earth are we supposed to acquire this knowledge? Are there courses out there that everyone else has taken, but I haven't? I think I'm going to hire someone to help me navigate the shoals of Social Security but I'm wondering how others approaching retirement feel.
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3 comments:
I think most of us are at a loss.
I absolutely HATE that we are expected to become experts in "managing a portfolio" when we retire. I hate that corporate America has forced retirees to have all our assets tied up in the stock market. I don't have a 401k...never worked in a job in all my forty years in the workplace that offered one. But the husband has one...and I swear to god, the minute he retires we are going to start bleeding those assets OUT of the stock market as quickly as we possibly can and into something much safer. I think it's a fallacy that there is a way to "play" the market and win. Nobody wins but those who have forced us to give them our money to play around with. I know you probably think I'm nuts... ;)
Thanks, Pam. Lisa, I don't think you're nuts at all. I'll have very little money to live on in retirement, so I must be wise about how I handle it; the trouble is, I have no idea how to do that.
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