The 3-Rs Aren’t What They Used to Be on EasyLiving Front Range Colorado

The 3-Rs Aren’t What They Used to Be By Ron Kauffman Remember when you were younger, back in grade school? Me either. But for those who do, especially in the 1940’s and 1950’s era, when for misbehaving in class your teacher might whack your knuckles with a glass-edged ruler or paddle your butt. And your parents, when notified, would say to you that you probably deserved it, and then your dad might paddle you again, just so you’d get the message. Those same teachers also spent a great deal of time pounding into you what we euphemistically called the 3-Rs – Reading, Writing & Arithmetic - and woe unto the slacker who didn’t learn those lessons. Teachers warned us that what we were learning would be important to us and might assure our success in the future. We’ve come a long way not only from those days of disciplining bad behavior, but from mastering the 3-Rs. Today we can measure how far much we’ve changed with: students attacking teachers or teachers being sued for disciplining outrageous behavior; see almost an entire generation of people who don’t read newspapers or books, and some who can barely read at all; teens and young adults who can text message on a cell phone but can’t write a grammatically correct sentence with all the words spelled correctly; and store cashiers and clerks who can’t make change for a purchase without an automated cash register. Amazing, isn’t it? So what does this have to do with being a boomer or senior? Well, it has to do with the idea of learning our lessons from the past. Your grandparents and parents learned, if they experienced any part of the Great Depression, the lessons of saving, conserving, living within their means, and paying cash for things they wanted, and for many that even included for their cars and homes. But somewhere along the line, those hard lessons were forgotten. Each succeeding generation wanted things to be easier and better for their children. The idea of borrowing and credit replaced saving and waiting before purchases were made. And today, having forgotten those lessons and totally forsaken the idea of saving or even planning for the future, we have a population of almost 80-million boomers – and most are in trouble. And we have new 3-Rs facing us as we look to an insecure future. Reality: At some point, whether it’s at age 60 or 80, you’re going to stop working and earning a steady income. Only about 18% of Americans have enough money saved to retire and maintain a lifestyle similar to what they live today. The overwhelming odds – about 40-million to 1 – are that you won’t win the Lottery. Social Security benefits at full retirement age – now at age 66 or higher – are on average about $1300 per month. Medicare does NOT pay for custodial or long term care once you leave a hospital, other than for about 21-days in a rehabilitation facility if needed. So the question is, without savings, can you live on just Social Security? Retirement: Life expectancy in the U.S. averages about 80-years. What are you going to do with those extra years of retirement bonus time? How are you going to pay rent, a mortgage, health care co-pays and deductibles, medicines, gasoline, phone, electricity, car insurance, taxes or anything else if all you receive is Social Security? Can you really live on just over $15,000 a year, and do that for the next 10 to 15-years? So how much more money will you have to have to meet your monthly needs? Do the math based on your current expenses and you’ll know the answer to that question. For most, the answer is, “Not enough.” Rethink: It’s time to face the truth. Tomorrow is right around the corner and things will cost more tomorrow. There is no guarantee that your home will be worth more than it is today – it may actually be worth less in a recession. And if you do sell your home, where will you live, and how will you pay for your new home? If you don’t have the funds to live the future life you want, no one, and especially not the Federal government, is going to step in to make up the difference for you so you can have a wonderful retirement. Doing nothing or waiting to save will not serve you well. Ask yourself and your spouse, what can you do today, right now to begin or increase your savings for a future? This is the new 3-Rs that everyone will face, and the earlier you learn and apply the lessons, the more enjoyable, secure and successful your future will be. Ron Kauffman is a Certified Senior Advisor, and an expert on issues of aging and care giving. He is the author of Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer’s Disease, which is available at www.seniorlifestyles.net. He can be reached at 561-626-4481 or by email at drron407@bellsouth.net.