Not saving for retirement? You're making excuses
Posted
Apr 10 2008, 03:25 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
We sometimes have this discussion with our younger friends: You're not saving for retirement because ...? But young folks aren't the only ones thinking they won't live long enough or can't save enough, or otherwise are resigned to living out their days on meager Social Security payments.
Michael B. Rubin at Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck excoriates just about every silly excuse people have for not saving for the future. (To read his post, click here.)
No. 1 is "my house is my retirement savings." Michael says, "Oh c'mon! Open a freakin' newspaper."
Some people think they're doing a good job of saving when they contribute enough to their 401(k) to get their employer's match and no more. Michael doesn't like that approach either. "Eating your vegetables every day is a great start too," he writes. "But if you smoke a pack of cigarettes and haven't worked out since the Reagan administration, asparagus alone, my friend, a healthy specimen you do not make."
Another common excuse is that you'll inherit your retirement money. "There's a decent shot your folks and/or Uncle Herb might live a lot longer than your grandparents did," Michael says. "How much money will be left by then?"
