What does “financially stable” mean to you?

[tvguy]

life insurance can be a part of the planning for sure but when i think of my mom and many of her friends who outlived their spouses for at minimum 20 years it can be a looooong haul. the other issue with life insurance is the cost-unless you purchase it when you're on the younger side it's pretty costly if you want something that has a long enough term that suits your intent.

My mom outlived my dad by 46 years so I am very familiar with that. I got Social Security survivors benefits from age 9 to age 21 (benefits were paid until age 21 is you were still in school in those days, it's 18 now). My mom chose for us to live on her salary, she invested those benefits for my college and I had a nice chunk of change left over since I decided not to go to law school. When she turned 62, she drew survivors benefits until age 65, then drew her benefits.
Yes, we have had our life insurance for nearly 40 years so the premium for both of us is $140 a month.

 

[barkley]

My mom outlived my dad by 46 years so I am very familiar with that. I got Social Security survivors benefits from age 9 to age 21 (benefits were paid until age 21 is you were still in school in those days, it's 18 now). My mom chose for us to live on her salary, she invested those benefits for my college and I had a nice chunk of change left over since I decided not to go to law school. When she turned 62, she drew survivors benefits until age 65, then drew her benefits.
Yes, we have had our life insurance for nearly 40 years so the premium for both of us is $140 a month.

i get it. same boat-mom outlived dad by 30 years, i received social security survivors under the old rules till i aged out (actualy the program change happened a month before i would have aged out) BUT my mom was nearly 60 when dad passed so finding a job let alone a job that would have made up the loss in social security was not feasable (same boat most of her friends were in when their husbands passed). fortunatly they had considered the financial implications BEFORE dad retired and made decisions based on the 'what if's'. they were NOT fans of life insurance so nothing in that way but they did weigh the options his pension offered and opted for the one that paid less per month but would continue at the same amount for mom if he passed. that single preplanning decision put mom MILES ahead of her friends whose husbands opted for the higher pensions leaving their widows with a fraction of their incomes (and most were retired from mare island-you must remember it?-most of the retirees from there did'nt pay into social security so no benefit for their widows to rely on).


preplanning where you can.

 

[dpswift]

One of the issues that we have with "starter homes" is that a lot of municipalities don't want them built. Minimum lot sizes, must have a two car garage, minimum number of bedrooms and bathrooms, minimum square footage. Even townhouses in a lot of municipalities have to be pretty big to be built.

From a municipality standpoint, this protects their tax base. From a current resident standpoint, it helps protect property values. From a "you've got to get a start somehow" standpoint, it means that there are not a lot of starter homes available - and a lot of what is available is snapped up by investors as rental property.

Very true. It is hard to find a good starter home at a reasonable price. Not only do the investors and flippers have realtors out looking for them but individuals around here have realtors that will go to seniors and encourage them to sell. Many homes never even hit the public market

 

[tvguy]

i get it. same boat-mom outlived dad by 30 years, i received social security survivors under the old rules till i aged out (actualy the program change happened a month before i would have aged out) BUT my mom was nearly 60 when dad passed so finding a job let alone a job that would have made up the loss in social security was not feasable (same boat most of her friends were in when their husbands passed). fortunatly they had considered the financial implications BEFORE dad retired and made decisions based on the 'what if's'. they were NOT fans of life insurance so nothing in that way but they did weigh the options his pension offered and opted for the one that paid less per month but would continue at the same amount for mom if he passed. that single preplanning decision put mom MILES ahead of her friends whose husbands opted for the higher pensions leaving their widows with a fraction of their incomes (and most were retired from mare island-you must remember it?-most of the retirees from there did'nt pay into social security so no benefit for their widows to rely on).


preplanning where you can.

My pension had the option of life time for me, or life time for me and my spouse. However my pension was a joke. $28 a month if I took it for my life time, or $24 a month if I took it so my spouse still got it if outlived me. I cashed it in and invested it. But I know a lot of people who make the mistake of not factoring in the possibility they spouse could outlive them. And many were military retirees.
My mom got rid of her life insurance once I was out of the house, HOWEVER she did find a Long Term Care Policy that was also a Life Insurance Policy. It was expensive, a one time premium of $75,000, about half her life savings. But it would pay $75,000 life insurance if you died without using the Long Term Care portion. If you used the Long Term Care portion, every dollar paid out was subtracted from the $75,000 life insurance coverage until $75,000 was paid out, then you got no life insurance. The Long Term Care would pay $300,000, far more than most people need. My mom needed care for 13 months at $3,400 a month, the policy paid $2,700 a month. And people may not know that most Long Term Care policies have a deductible that requires you to pay the first three months out of pocket before coverage kicks in.
I married into an Air Force family. My FIL and my wife's step father were "career" which in reality meant they put in 20 to 23ish years, retired at age 38 to early 40's and started a second career, with either a pension or social security benefits for another 20 to 23ish years.

 

[barkley]

Very true. It is hard to find a good starter home at a reasonable price. Not only do the investors and flippers have realtors out looking for them but individuals around here have realtors that will go to seniors and encourage them to sell. Many homes never even hit the public market

i was curious to see what the market is like near us so i did a quick search-SO MANY FORECLOSURES shocked the heck out me! a quick google search finds that foreclosures are up almost 16.5% vs. this period last year in my state which i guess is better than the upwards of 51% some other states are seeing.

are those adjustable rate mortgages people snagged a handful of years ago coming due? is inflation such that other expenses are outweighing the mortgage payment?

 

[dpswift]

i was curious to see what the market is like near us so i did a quick search-SO MANY FORECLOSURES shocked the heck out me! a quick google search finds that foreclosures are up almost 16.5% vs. this period last year in my state which i guess is better than the upwards of 51% some other states are seeing.

are those adjustable rate mortgages people snagged a handful of years ago coming due? is inflation such that other expenses are outweighing the mortgage payment?

Honestly I think it is inflation that is getting to people. Food,gas, health care and insurance have all skyrocketed. Add this to companies cutting back many people are having a hard time.

 

[MrsPete]

How much was the house?

Our first house was 97K, and our interest rate was just over 10%.
Thing is, that was when minimum wage was $3.35/hour, and I was still in college -- wasn't earning much more than minimum.

Completely different here. They are really pushing starter houses because more houses per acre mean MORE property tax income. They want DENSITY. Which is why a lot of these new houses have a one car garage and tiny bedrooms. Here is an example, 658 to 1471 square feet. And to fit more houses on a lot, some of these are 3 and 4 stories tall. The first floor is just the garage and utility room
https://centrallofts.millatbroadway.com/

On that topic, I know more than a few people who don't want big yards. Big yards require more upkeep.

Ha, yes, well I can confirm that having to share a *really* small bedroom with my younger sister until my older sister went off to college at 16 wasn't so great. And it sucked even more having to give up *my* new bedroom when she came back over the summers. And three teenage girls plus my mother in one house....not easy.

We've become quite spoiled about our space. My mother, who was born in the 40s grew up in a three-bedroom house. She had a bedroom to herself -- it was about 7x10. Her brother shared an identical bedroom with their grandfather. My husband's father grew up in a two-bedroom house: he and his brother shared the bedroom, and their sister had a wardrobe for clothing in that bedroom but she slept on the sofa. Yeah, her whole childhood. These were MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES.

another circumstance i've witnessed where one's financial status can be vastly impacted later in life occurs post retirement wherein one spouse passes away. far too many couples focus on what their retirement income will be and don't take into account how much the death of one can financialy impact the other-loss of one person's social security, reduction or (depending on an individual's pension plan/what type of payment option chosen at retirement) entire loss of pension monies.

Yeah, I've been retired for 2 years but I'm still substitute teaching at my old school. Everyone seems to ask me for details about the pension process, and the majority of them haven't considered how the death of one spouse would affect the surviving spouse.
Expenses don't go down all that much when you drop from a 2-person household to a 1-person household. That is, while food goes down, electricity, taxes, etc. stay the same.

Honestly I think it is inflation that is getting to people.

Definitely. Something's gotta give.

 

[gmi3804]

Simple. Able to pay the bills and save towards retirement with some leftover for discretionary spending. All at the same time, and in that order.

 

[tvguy]

On that topic, I know more than a few people who don't want big yards. Big yards require more upkeep.

That would be my thought, but several people I know who bought "new built" houses on smaller lots ran into issues reselling them because potential buyers felt the yards were too small. At least that is what they wrote in the comment books at open houses.
HOWEVER, judging from my street, very few people here do their own upkeep on their yards, they all have a gardener. My wife and I being one of the few on our street that do all our own yard work. Also one of the few that doesn't have a cleaning lady.

 

[barkley]

Yeah, I've been retired for 2 years but I'm still substitute teaching at my old school. Everyone seems to ask me for details about the pension process, and the majority of them haven't considered how the death of one spouse would affect the surviving spouse.
Expenses don't go down all that much when you drop from a 2-person household to a 1-person household. That is, while food goes down, electricity, taxes, etc. stay the same.

after dealing with mil's pension agency when she passed ( ) i made sure that our estate planning folder has detailed, simple language instructions on when either of us passes what to do if (a) one of us survives the other and (b) what to do when 'the last man standing' passes. both of us belong to retirement systems that have morphed and changed and gotten so freaking confusing over the last couple of decades it's impossible to decipher and can take weeks to months to get a return call for direction.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Honestly I think it is inflation that is getting to people. Food,gas, health care and insurance have all skyrocketed. Add this to companies cutting back many people are having a hard time.

Yes, I think we're finally running out of road with respect to consumer spending. McDonald's and Starbucks both missed their quarterly earnings expectations this past quarter. Both are good indicators about how the consumer is feeling. Lately, they're feeling a bit glum it seems.

Credit card debt continues to reach all-time highs each quarter. The one stalwart in our economy has been that jobs have held up with unemployment at historically lower levels. However, if the consumer really slows down, job losses will follow.

 

[dpswift]

Yes, I think we're finally running out of road with respect to consumer spending. McDonald's and Starbucks both missed their quarterly earnings expectations this past quarter. Both are good indicators about how the consumer is feeling. Lately, they're feeling a bit glum it seems.

Credit card debt continues to reach all-time highs each quarter. The one stalwart in our economy has been that jobs have held up with unemployment at historically lower levels. However, if the consumer really slows down, job losses will follow.

Yes I work at a Panera in an middle/upper middle class area. People are definitely cutting back. More people are bringing their own drinks, ordering toast instead of bagels, and ordering half portions.

 

[tvguy]

Yes I work at a Panera in an middle/upper middle class area. People are definitely cutting back. More people are bringing their own drinks, ordering toast instead of bagels, and ordering half portions.

Another thing I notice now that I am a Senior Citizen, Senior Value menus are disappearing in restaurants and Senior Admissions to show and fairs are going away..

 

[dpswift]

Another thing I notice now that I am a Senior Citizen, Senior Value menus are disappearing in restaurants and Senior Admissions to show and fairs are going away..

Very true

 

[barkley]

Another thing I notice now that I am a Senior Citizen, Senior Value menus are disappearing in restaurants and Senior Admissions to show and fairs are going away..

it's not so much the 'value' of the value menus i miss but the smaller portions 'senior' or 'for lighter appetites' are what i see disappearing from menus. all the movie theatres around us offer senior discounts that are roughly the same as you would get for a bargain matinee. i have not been to a fair in several years but i just checked-the local ones to us still discount.

 

[DCLMP]

Honestly I think it is inflation that is getting to people. Food,gas, health care and insurance have all skyrocketed. Add this to companies cutting back many people are having a hard time.

I agree it's inflation. There is not one thing I pay for that hasn't gone up in price and not just by just a little bit. I'm heading to Vancouver Friday for an Alaska cruise. It will be interesting to see what food prices are like there. Thankfully I was able to use points for the hotel because hotel prices were crazy high.

 

[DCLMP]

Yes I work at a Panera in an middle/upper middle class area. People are definitely cutting back. More people are bringing their own drinks, ordering toast instead of bagels, and ordering half portions.

I joined the Sip club at Panera when I got a deal on it. It's actually saved me a lot on drinks. I'm in my car all day seeing clients and I stop at one pretty frequently. I love the new menu too.

 

[barkley]

I agree it's inflation. There is not one thing I pay for that hasn't gone up in price and not just by just a little bit. I'm heading to Vancouver Friday for an Alaska cruise. It will be interesting to see what food prices are like there. Thankfully I was able to use points for the hotel because hotel prices were crazy high.

please report back-it will be interesting to see. the last time we were in canada a handful of years ago we were shocked at the higher prices for many food items. the exchange rate is similar now to when we were last there.

 

[tguz]

I don't think that being financially stable means no credit card debt, but I do think it means minimal CC debt and not a whole lot of extra monthly payments like motorcycle, boat, ATV, or camper/mobile home. I consider myself financially stable and I have a mortgage and recently an auto loan (but now it is paid off). Although I know job status could change in the blink of an eye these days, I think part of being financially stable means that I have a job that supports my lifestyle and is considered safe. I agree with other posters that mention retirement savings, college fund, emergency fund, and "other funds". Also, remember to contribute at least enough to an employers 401K that gets you the full company match, that is free money.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

I joined the Sip club at Panera when I got a deal on it. It's actually saved me a lot on drinks. I'm in my car all day seeing clients and I stop at one pretty frequently. I love the new menu too.

Most people hate the new menu. It was a cost cutting measure. They got rid of all signage that refers to ‘antibiotic free’ or ‘vegetarian fed’ because they wanted cheaper sources of meat. That plus just about all things are par baked now. I get better baked goods from a local grocery store (for a lot less) because they don’t par bake.

Oh and for some reason they also got rid of mustard and mayo as an option when they make your sandwiches…but you can get mayo packets for you to put it on my yourself.

If Panera is struggling it’s because they shot themselves in the foot…multiple times.