Baby Boomers U. S. (The Blog)

Monday Musings for Baby Boomers – When I Was Your Age

Posted: 29 Oct 2012 03:59 AM PDT

Smile!

Monday has always been a little bit of a let down, what with it being the beginning of the work week and all.

So to start things out on a bright note for the week, I bring you the…

Baby Boomers Monday Musings.

When I Was Your Age

A young man who was also an avid golfer found himself with a few hours to spare one afternoon. He figured if he hurried and played very fast, he could get in 9 holes before he had to head home.

Just as he was about to tee off an old gentleman shuffled onto the tee and asked if he could accompany the young man as he was golfing alone.

Not being able to say no, he allowed the old gent to join him.

To his surprise the old man played fairly quickly. He didn’t hit the ball far but plodded along consistently and didn’t waste much time.

They reached the ninth fairway, and the young man found himself with a tough shot. There was a large pine tree right in front of his ball, directly between his ball and the green.

After several minutes of debating how to hit the shot the old man finally said, “You know, when I was your age I’d hit the ball right over that tree.”

With that challenge placed before him, the youngster swung hard and hit the ball right smack into the top of the tree trunk, where it thudded back on the ground not a foot from where it had originally been.

The old man offered one more comment, “Of course, when I was your age that pine tree was only 3 feet tall.”

Hope that put a little smile on your face and Keep On Smilin’

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Saving Up For Retirement vs. Paying Off Debt

Posted: 28 Oct 2012 04:29 AM PDT

This is a Guest Post by Cecillia Barr. If you would like to Guest Post for Baby Boomers US, check out our Guest Post for Us page.

For the Baby Boomer generation, now on the cusp of their retirement years, deciding how to prioritize retirement saving and debt management can be difficult. There simply isn’t a one-size-fits-all sort of answer. How you prioritize your financial planning will depend a lot on your individual circumstances and the degree to which you are willing to adjust your money habits.

Assess the Situation

It is a tricky time line, with retirement so close. The standard financial advice of numerous experts is to get out of debt before entering retirement. In a recent report, U.S. News and World Report listed carrying a large debt burden into retirement as one of the major financial mistakes people make. The first step to shaping your financial priorities is making an accurate assessment of your financial situation. Your fiscal focus will be determined by what type of debt you are carrying, the number of working years you have remaining, and the current status of your retirement planning.

Customize Your Plan

The type of debt you are carrying will influence how you use your financial resources. High-interest credit card debt should be a priority issue for you. The top financial advisers say that if your credit card debt interest rate is higher than current or potential investment earnings, then you should focus on paying that debt down. However, once that debt is paid off, the same amount of money you were spending on it should then be funneled into retirement savings and investments.

If your debts are of a more manageable sort, and you have a great retirement savings plan through your job — one that your boss makes matching contributions to — a different approach may serve you better. You may want to maximize your retirement plans to gain that matching money from your boss, while whittling away at your debts with your remaining available money.

Disciplined Focus Is Essential

For this financial advice to work, you will have to make some lifestyle changes. You’ll need to reduce spending to free up cash to work with. You may need to increase income with a part-time job or home business. You may, after running the numbers, decide that it would be best to work a couple years longer than you had planned. Investing that extra effort is a smart step toward ensuring you’ll better be able to enjoy those years to come.

About the Author: Cecillia Barr researches and writes about debt-related issues for Debt.org, America's Debt Help Organization.