What’s a Boomer to do?
Practice Pragmatism.
If you look at the raw statistics…well, let’s just say it’s not good.
Oh, that’s not news to you? Maybe this is:
Real Estate and housing has fallen like a house of cards with over $3 trillion dollars of home equity. Think about it, equity was the lion’s share of most baby boomer savings. If this is not not the case for you then perhaps you are vested well in the stock market….well, about 11 million dollars in various stock market wealth is gone too, so you were likely hit there. This particular problem is compounded by the fact that some boomers have ageing parents that were affected by this wipe out, so the onus could fall on Boomers to also care for their ageing parents. What about your 401k? Some or most of its value is likely gone, or eroding, but how long could that sustain you anyway?
If you are over 45 and you were lucky enough to avoid the layoffs of some 3.9 million folks since February…I have a message for you. Have an exit strategy! If you do get laid off, guess what, the chances are very likely that you fight hard for any jobs that are left, and if you are 45 or older you may not get a second look.If you are lucky enough to get a job…you probably won’t get the same pay you were enjoying.
You think because you work harder you have some guarantee, right? Perhaps you agree that there really are no guarantees, but maybe you think that you’re not like them, you’re different, and you have a plan, right? Okay, go with that notion for as long and as hard as you can. Don’t have a plan, as an option; just let me know how you end up, okay?
I’m sorry if I was too harsh.