Which is more: your home equity or your savings?

[crjack]

With my father (73) his distrust is life insurance.....anything more than the cost of a funeral is excessive! Banks he likes - especially his local branch. For him the comfort level off-sets the tiny interest rate his money earns there.

 

[DVC Sadie]

With my father (73) his distrust is life insurance.....anything more than the cost of a funeral is excessive! Banks he likes - especially his local branch. For him the comfort level off-sets the tiny interest rate his money earns there.

My parents who were definitely depression era only carried life insurance until we got out on their own. For some people having life insurance after their children are out on their own is no longer necessary or for some not feasable.

They also had a very diverse investments style and not the norm for people who grew up in the depression.

 

[Chicago526]

We recently saw a great example of this. My 75 year old mother moved into a subsidized senior apartment complex last month. At the meeting where she had to present all her financial paperwork to get qualified, the woman in charge was very surprised. She said she is used to dealing with seniors who have a savings account, a checking account and maybe a few CDs. My mother, on the other hand, had stocks, bonds, CMOs, mutual funds, money market, checking, etc. Apparently that is still quite unusual in that age group.

And it is sad because so many seniors are living meager lives because they are keeping what money they have in places where it is earning next to nothing. They could boost their incomes easily and safely just by doing something like transferring their funds to a high yield savings account or buying a CD from a bank outside their local area. But they retain that depression-era distrust of banks.

I wish we could have talked my 90 year old grandma into doing a bit more investing! But on balance I guess she's doing okay. Grandpa (who passed in '89) retired in '80 or '81. All (and I mean ALL) of their retirement savings were in CD's (granted, at those crazy high interest rates the '80's were famous for, but still) and they planed to live off the interest, Social Security, and my grandpa's pension.

So, 25 years later, my grandmother is only NOW starting to live off the principle in her CD's, and that's only because the interest rates are now so low. She own's a nice little two bedroom condo, her only expenses are property taxes, food, utilities, and gas and upkeep on her '92 Chevy (with 10,000 miles on it or something silly like that ). So she has been living on interest, SS payments and a pension for 25 years. Now THAT'S frugal living!

 

[disneysteve]

With my father (73) his distrust is life insurance.....anything more than the cost of a funeral is excessive!

That really isn't unreasonable. If nobody is financially dependent on you, there isn't any need for life insurance.

 

[dvcgirl]

My parents who were definitely depression era only carried life insurance until we got out on their own. For some people having life insurance after their children are out on their own is no longer necessary or for some not feasable.

They also had a very diverse investments style and not the norm for people who grew up in the depression.

We'll let our term insurance run out and not renew it. By then our savings and investments will be more than enough to sustain the survivor.

 

[marcyinPA]

Man, I wish I had the amount we have in home equity in my savings account! Our home has more than doubled in value since we bought it 7 years ago. Our savings account has served us well through 2 job lay-offs and several home improvements. We don't have a ton in savings, but we have enough to survive on for about 5 months if my Dh lost his job (again).

We also have a 401K, but I don't usually count that as savings. I know it IS savings, but to me, it doesn't exist!

Marcy

 

[dvcgirl]

I wish we could have talked my 90 year old grandma into doing a bit more investing! But on balance I guess she's doing okay. Grandpa (who passed in '89) retired in '80 or '81. All (and I mean ALL) of their retirement savings were in CD's (granted, at those crazy high interest rates the '80's were famous for, but still) and they planed to live off the interest, Social Security, and my grandpa's pension.

So, 25 years later, my grandmother is only NOW starting to live off the principle in her CD's, and that's only because the interest rates are now so low. She own's a nice little two bedroom condo, her only expenses are property taxes, food, utilities, and gas and upkeep on her '92 Chevy (with 10,000 miles on it or something silly like that ). So she has been living on interest, SS payments and a pension for 25 years. Now THAT'S frugal living!

Good for your Grandma! She's an excellent example though of how people of her generation could retire at 65 and have a nice long retirement. For one, you mentioned a pension. Many of us won't have that going forward and so we need to make up that shortfall. Sounds like Grandma and Grandpa also saved a bunch and put it into CDs.

Many of the Boomers and the Gen Xers haven't even saved enough to act as a true "pension" let alone have extra savings on top of that. And then of course, there's SS, which your Grandma (thankfully) will never have to worry about. What she was promised is what she'll get until the day she passes. For anyone younger than 50, that surely isn't the case. And for anyone born after 1960, well, we won't even be able to collect until age 67. Plus, we'll either see our taxes go up to sustain the system or we'll see our benefits cut. That's coming....just a matter of when, not if.

Even if your Grandma eats up all of the principle of her CDs, she could always tap that equity as a last resort, which at her age, wouldn't be a bad thing at all. Unfortunately, many of today's early retirees are looking to tap into that equity in their 60s because they just haven't saved enough. Times surely have changed.

 

[Laurajean1014]

We are big on saving.

However, we live in a very expensive part of the US and an even more expensive County. Therefore, our equity exceeds our savings, currently. I would suppose if you used data sorted by demongraphics, it would show a possible slide in between regions.

 

[disneysteve]

And for anyone born after 1960, well, we won't even be able to collect until age 67.

That isn't entirely accurate. FULL retirement age is 67 but you are still eligible for reduced benefits earlier, at 62 I think.

 

[dvcgirl]

That isn't entirely accurate. FULL retirement age is 67 but you are still eligible for reduced benefits earlier, at 62 I think.

Ah, okay, I stand corrected. I thought that they were upping it all the way to 67 for full benefits. However, I do believe that the "62 for reduced benefits" rule will have to change.

I read a really good article that I found linked from a personal finance blog. This author really sums up the coming crisis...how we got here....and how there's simply no getting around it. I think some here may find it interesting...I know you will Steve.

The title of the article is "Retire at your own risk: A Struggle Lies ahead for most of us." by personal finance writer, Teresa Dixon Murray. The first line is...." This is the most difficult sotry I've ever had to write." Read the article and you know why she says this.....very well done.

http://www.cleveland.com/retirement/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business/1150619610219901.xml&coll=2

 

[Chicago526]

Good for your Grandma! She's an excellent example though of how people of her generation could retire at 65 and have a nice long retirement. For one, you mentioned a pension. Many of us won't have that going forward and so we need to make up that shortfall. Sounds like Grandma and Grandpa also saved a bunch and put it into CDs.

Many of the Boomers and the Gen Xers haven't even saved enough to act as a true "pension" let alone have extra savings on top of that. And then of course, there's SS, which your Grandma (thankfully) will never have to worry about. What she was promised is what she'll get until the day she passes. For anyone younger than 50, that surely isn't the case. And for anyone born after 1960, well, we won't even be able to collect until age 67. Plus, we'll either see our taxes go up to sustain the system or we'll see our benefits cut. That's coming....just a matter of when, not if.

Even if your Grandma eats up all of the principle of her CDs, she could always tap that equity as a last resort, which at her age, wouldn't be a bad thing at all. Unfortunately, many of today's early retirees are looking to tap into that equity in their 60s because they just haven't saved enough. Times surely have changed.

Oh for sure, Grandma is lucky in the respect that SS is (and will be) there for her like it may not be for us, and of course the pension is a big bonus too. DH and I are saving like his pension doesn't exist and that SS won't be there either (in reality, we'll likely get something from both the pension and SS, but since there is no way to know how much, when, and for how long, we can't plan on it). But I'm impressed the way Grandma can make a dollar streach, she can squeeze a penny until poor Abe screams for mercy! And don't think she's depriving herself, either. She lives a comfortable life.

 

[disneysteve]

And don't think she's depriving herself, either. She lives a comfortable life.

My mom is the same way. She is quite happy. Goes out to eat, goes on vacations, drives a nice car, lives comfortably, gives gifts to us regularly, etc. And she does it all on about 1/6 of what DW and I earn.

 

[mickeyfan2]

http://www.cleveland.com/retirement/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business/1150619610219901.xml&coll=2

Good article.

 

[dvcgirl]

Good article.

It is good isn't it? And I know that you are very savvy with respect to this stuff Mickeyfan...and very prepared. We are very prepared too, but reading articles like that surely can make me wonder if any of us can be prepared enough. I guess all we can do is just keep doing what we're doing. There just aren't a whole lot of rays of sunshine on this topic. And while some see articles like this as "the sky is falling" scenarios, I'd really have to disagree.....I think that they're probably right on the money.

 

[mickeyfan2]

It is good isn't it? And I know that you are very savvy with respect to this stuff Mickeyfan...and very prepared. We are very prepared too, but reading articles like that surely can make me wonder if any of us can be prepared enough. I guess all we can do is just keep doing what we're doing. There just aren't a whole lot of rays of sunshine on this topic. And while some see articles like this as "the sky is falling" scenarios, I'd really have to disagree.....I think that they're probably right on the money.

Thank you for the compliment. I don't know if anybody can be completely prepared. The future is always scary. But the way we look at it if everybody else in the us has X and we have 2X then we have to be in a little better shape.

 

[jeankeri]

Thanks for the link to the article. I just got all my quarterly statements yesterday; think I'll put my balances in the retirement calculator and see how I'm doing...