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Exploding Three Myths About Aging
For better or worse, America has a youth-obsessed culture. Images of celebrities crowd our supermarket checkout lanes and hand-held devices, their creative talents superseded only by an ability to attract publicity.
This 24/7 media attention on youth also tends to project images of older people that show them in mental and physical decline, less productive at work—and even a bit grumpier to be around.
The media, it seems, mostly gets it wrong. Consider these three myths, debunked by a growing body of scientific research that suggests that life gets better as we grow older.
Good Financial Habits Start Early
Working at a job in high school may help form lifelong financial habits with a big payoff. Gretchen, a 40-year-old registered nurse, started babysitting and working at a grocery store when she was 15. She regularly put half of her paycheck in a savings account, along with any birthday or gift money she received from her parents or relatives.
Spring-Clean Your Finances: 10 Tips To Boost Savings
Find items in your budget that you may be able to live without. Here are 10 quick and easy ideas for generating an extra $250 a month that could be redirected to your 401(k) or other retirement account.
The Not-So-Hidden Cost of Inflation
When Gladys retired from the phone company in 1997 at age 60, she was very happy with her $800-per-month pension and the $1,200 per month she was earning from certificates of deposit.
Her monthly expenses were about $1,500, which left enough for an occasional trip. Fifteen years later, Gladys is still collecting $800 per month a month from her pension, but only $900 a month in interest from her CDs. Her monthly living expenses now are $2,400, and she has been dipping into her principal to cover the difference.
Don’t Eat The Marshmallow!
Fifty years ago, psychologists at Stanford University conducted an experiment on preschoolers. During this test, researchers placed youngsters in individual rooms and asked each child to sit down in front of a tray containing one marshmallow.
The child was given a choice: He or she could eat this marshmallow immediately or wait a little while for the researchers to place a second marshmallow on the tray—an opportunity to enjoy two treats instead of just one.
Lassoing the Retirement Moon: Setting Realistic Expectations
Here’s the scenario: George and Mary Bailey, both 55 and active, want to retire early, in 2019. They need to be realistic about what lifestyle they can afford after they stop working.
