Today’s world is full of retired people who, because of their poor investing habits during their prime working years, are now living on the edge and working at menial jobs just to stay afloat.

As I checked out at a Wal-Mart recently to buy one of my grandsons a bicycle, a nice man in his seventies was pushing the bike on a hand truck toward my car. I helped him load it, said “Thank you,” and with a bit of a forced smile, he nodded, took a glance at his watch as it was nearing 5:00 p.m. and went on.

As I drove home, I realized that this man now represents millions of good people of retirement age, who absolutely must have that extra $500 or $1,000 a month to make it through the final quarter of their lives.

I can’t judge why this one man was working at a Wal-Mart. He might have been doing it for fun or just to get out of the house. And I’m sure a lot of us have a friend or two who get a kick out of putting on their Home Depot or Lowe’s vest and chewing the fat with all their other home improvement cronies throughout the day.

But along with these happy folks, I’ll venture to predict that millions of young and middle-age adults today will be headed straight in the direction of those low paying so-called “senior” jobs as a result of their poor investing and saving habits during their prime working years.

Now it’s understandable that many of us can get financially destroyed somewhere along the path of our lives by the events and circumstances we’re dealt. But despite the setbacks, we must continually work toward becoming solvent by doing as much as we can on our own—and then turning our situations over to God from there.

Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. (Mark 11: 24)

Even if you’re already comfortably retired, the efforts don’t stop there because it now becomes crucial to preserve the nest egg you’ve worked so hard to build and keep it on pace with inflation and taxes. And even if your nest is now empty, your house paid off and you’re no longer in the working man’s rat race with more time on your hands, it’s easy to fall into the trap of spending more to avoid boredom. More rounds of golf, more meals out, more trips and so on. So it’s crucial to be cautious of all the enticements being showered on retirement age people today.

One way to control your retirement living expenses is to get busier with constructive activities. To work more! You just might be amazed to find how volunteering for meaningful causes and can be more enjoyable and boredom-relieving than the fairways.

How Sure Are You of Not Outliving Your Money?

If you’re doing any kind of retirement income planning, it’s wise to project your life expectancy beyond what you think it’s going to be. Even though recent U.S. Government numbers say that the average lifespan of men and women is 82 and 86 respectively, it’s wise to plan beyond. And if you’re getting antsy to retire, know that each year you work longer can add 2 to 3 years of longevity to your money.
Social Security might cover ¼ to ½ of your income needs depending on your lifestyle. Pensions are nearly history in the private sector. And with long-term care costs going through the roof, any inheritances we’re expecting from our elder parents become questionable. So with many of today’s baby boomers, they’ll have two choices. To keep working beyond their hoped for retirement date, or commit to a serious investment discipline while they still are working.