7 Biggest Mistakes Boomers Make By John Checki , CPA , CFP , CRC
Boomers ! Wow , what a generation . We live here and now . We are coming down the pike and changing everything in our path . Here are the seven biggest mistakes Boomers make .
1 . Longevity : Years ago , I went to www . realage . com and discovered despite riding a motorcycle , driving a convertible MINI S , being an active Divemaster ( Scuba Diver ), and being married to a gorgeous blonde artist , I would live until age 94 –– no kidding . That was a shock . ( The motorcycle is gone , the MINI replaced , and Suzi is still with me .) We ’ ve been asking family and friends , “ how long are you planning to plan on living ?” Have you gone to www . realage . com , www . sonnyradio . com / realage , or www . boomerator . com to see how long you may live ? Factors to consider : Parents & family ( how long do we live , what type of maladies we have ), our activities , ( how we work , play , exercise , and entertain ). Stress level , happiness , health now , what we eat and drink , and how often and how much are all factors . Output , that ’ s work , play , exercise , activity , etc . All this factors in to how long , statistically speaking , we might live . Many of us will probably be surprised by how long that is from now . Do the math . Remember inflation ? Might want to put in a little inflation .
2 . Thinking we can always work and make money : This wonderful job , career , business will continue for as long as I need it to continue , right ? Not necessarily . There is an economic cycle and we ’ re all riding that bike together . We can earn and learn , save / invest , and live modestly or not . The or not is the basic problem with all money situations . How about switching careers so we can maximize our income between now and later ? Well , if it has been a passion our whole life and we would regret never doing it for money , maybe . Yet , why not do it part time just to see if we like doing it as much as we did dreaming about doing it . If we spend less than we make , great , if not , we will need to work until we die , plus two more weeks . We can only hope someone will hire us , or buy from us . This is not always the case .
3 . Assuming great health and ignoring the costs of health care . We ’ ve always been young , strong , and healthy , won ’ t that last
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COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016