Originally Posted by atikovi
Lot of 30 and 40 somethings just got to have the latest Lexus or Bmw at $800 a month, go on $5000 vacations every year, spend $2000 or $3000 a year on gifts for people they don't really even care for, yet are living paycheck to paycheck on $100K per year.
It really is crazy, but I think that is a different issue. For them it's a lack of financial education and planning. Nobody should be living paycheck to paycheck at $100k a year. A lot of it is just doing research and being smart about purchases as well as saving up for things like stated above. I've been lucky in that I was always able to save up for cars and pay cash, but then again I can fix things myself and wait to have what I want when I can find a good deal.
For many elderly I think they are in a different situation. Many are on a fixed income, have lost a significant other (who might have been the bread winner), and have to deal with sickness and rising healthcare costs. They are also taken advantage of quite frequently by corporations looking to make a few extra bucks. I remember when my grandma was living by herself, she would always have people calling looking to get her to sign up for something, car dealerships trying to charge her for maintenance she didn't need, and the health insurance companies attempting to send her into a whirlwind of debt. She was very good at financial planning and saving, but in the end a lot of her savings ended up going to her last two years living in a nursing home.