[infpblog]

Eventually, everyone gets old unless they die first. Old age has a whole set of challenges: physical, monetary, emotional.

So when did you start caring that you're going to get old and start preparing for it? Started taking better care of your body so you're not bound to a wheelchair at 60? Started making a monetary plan for retirement so you don't have to eat catfood?

Was it a certain age or after an certain life event?

For me it was around when I got married at 26 that I realized that there's this other person that I wanted to spend my old age with and I wanted that to be comfortable and active.

 

[INFPGuy]

I was just about to start the exact same thread - that's just weird...

I'm 33 now. Got a really good life insurance policy.

I saw a 66 year old man recently, double my age. I just shrank into my chair and silently whispered a prayer; "oh please God, no! Please don't let me get that old"

I haven't planned for old age (aside from life insurance), since I don't think I have more than a year's life in me. 2 at most. At any rate, I don't plan on getting to 40.

My question I was going to ask; are there any INFPs out there who look forward to getting old? Why?

 

[ethylester]

I think my younthful days are soon coming to an end, once I have this kid I'm brewing up inside right now. I'm 32 and I did have a retirement account, but it's in hiatus right now because I switched jobs. I don't own a house, but am currently looking to own one. I want to start a savings account for my kid so they don't have to pay as much for college tuition if they choose to go. The adultly responsibilities are very slowly creeping up on me and have been for a while now. I am actually anxious to get it going. I am tired of being looked at as a kid. My husband too. Just today, some old man went up to my husband and started talking about the city we were in and said matter-of-factly "You weren't around 20 years ago, so you don't know what I'm talking about" My husband is 31 years old. And this is so common to both of us, people thinking we are way younger than we are. Getting called "kids" all the time. Frankly, I am sick of it. I want to be treated like an adult because I am one.

So I am actually ready for my new adult role as a parent. I want to start that whole thing. I am tired of being lumped into the same category as college kids. For me, it's about respect. Sad to say, but people don't respect the younger folk as much as they do the older folk. I guess respect has to be earned. I am ready for that. More than ready. Not to say that I am not going to continue being young at heart and play rock and roll music and wear jeans and hoodies, but I just want a little more respect. And I'm ready to work for it a little harder.

 

[infpblog]

I wouldn't say I'm looking forward to getting old. But I'm not worried about it. Getting old is part of life. I just want to get there with as few regrets as possible.

And I want to set up my life so being old won't be a struggle.

 

[telepariah]

Depending on your definition, I am old. 55. I honestly think the whole idea of making yourself miserable doing the job that pays you the most you can possibly make, then saving so much for an uncertain future that your present is lived only for the future is a lie and a one way ticket to an early grave. I started late, at age 38 when I got married. I saved the maximum and worked in jobs that caused me unbearable stress, as well as physical and mental illness. When I finally hit the wall, I had saved enough to pay off the mortgage and have some left over. So I will be paying off the mortgage, but not all at once, because I will be bumped up three tax brackets in the year that I do it. But I will retire that debt as soon as I possibly can. Hopefully next year but the year after at the latest.

I am ready to start living again. With no debts, I can work for a lot less money in a far less stressful occupation. Maybe I can even figure out how to turn my creative talents into an income stream that will help. I don't believe in the American dream. That I have a house that I can pay off places me in a lucky minority. But the whole idea that a financial planner will tell you that you need 2.5 million or whatever in order to retire is pure bullshit. It's nothing more than society telling you that you need way more than you really do.

What about long term care? some people ask. I don't want to enrich any insurance companies any more than I am required to by law. And if my quality of life is such that I need constant professional care, I will have become a burden. I'd rather die with the good memories of the life I lived.

Debt free with health care and enough income to survive is enough for me. I don't need a McMansion. I don't need two cars. I don't need a second home. I don't need status symbols. I need the life that is meaningful to me. And I'm smart enough to know that doesn't require anywhere near as much money as the experts tell me I need. I have my home that nobody can ever take away. The rest is having some cash flow and living within your means. Not such a big problem in my experience.

 

[bromide]

Right now my retirement plan is early death. Really, I'm not kidding. I'm enormously in debt from uni and can't even find a proper job. I suppose if I ever get my shit together it'll probably be easier for me to save for retirement than most people considering that I'll never have to support kids. I honestly don't want to live into old age though, I'd much rather die before I lose my mobility and autonomy.

 

[dann]

Thinking about the financial burden of retirement stresses me out. So does the general idea of growing old. I prefer not to think about it and agree with @bromide...i'd much rather die young BEFORE all the lost autonomy and dignity. I'll admit sponge baths don't seem so bad, but I really don't want to be treated like a little baby.

 

[iinnffpp]

I haven't started yet and I probably won't for a while, if ever. I realized that I don't want to spend most of my present state planning for a future that may never arrive. This is not to say that I don't want to have substantial savings, create contingency plans, and plan just a little bit ahead. I do. But I refuse to expend much of my present energy and youth worrying about retirement. I am more of a "wingin' it" person.

To be honest I don't care for retirement because I have a good reason to suspect that I will live a short life. This is oddly comforting because it mentally and financially frees me.

However, retirement planning is definitely a logical and good thing for most people. So... carry on with your retirement plans! :wink:

 

[ethylester]

Depending on your definition, I am old. 55. I honestly think the whole idea of making yourself miserable doing the job that pays you the most you can possibly make, then saving so much for an uncertain future that your present is lived only for the future is a lie and a one way ticket to an early grave. I started late, at age 38 when I got married. I saved the maximum and worked in jobs that caused me unbearable stress, as well as physical and mental illness. When I finally hit the wall, I had saved enough to pay off the mortgage and have some left over. So I will be paying off the mortgage, but not all at once, because I will be bumped up three tax brackets in the year that I do it. But I will retire that debt as soon as I possibly can. Hopefully next year but the year after at the latest.

I am ready to start living again. With no debts, I can work for a lot less money in a far less stressful occupation. Maybe I can even figure out how to turn my creative talents into an income stream that will help. I don't believe in the American dream. That I have a house that I can pay off places me in a lucky minority. But the whole idea that a financial planner will tell you that you need 2.5 million or whatever in order to retire is pure bullshit. It's nothing more than society telling you that you need way more than you really do.

What about long term care? some people ask. I don't want to enrich any insurance companies any more than I am required to by law. And if my quality of life is such that I need constant professional care, I will have become a burden. I'd rather die with the good memories of the life I lived.

Debt free with health care and enough income to survive is enough for me. I don't need a McMansion. I don't need two cars. I don't need a second home. I don't need status symbols. I need the life that is meaningful to me. And I'm smart enough to know that doesn't require anywhere near as much money as the experts tell me I need. I have my home that nobody can ever take away. The rest is having some cash flow and living within your means. Not such a big problem in my experience.

This post gives me a lot of hope. Thank you.

 

[infpblog]

It seems like the plan for INFPs is to die young... which isn't for me. I want to live as long as possible because there's so much to live for. My grandfather-in-law was playing golf 6 days before he died at 90. My other grandfather-in-laws lived into his 80s and was still living on his own when he died. They had good genes. However, there are women in my wife's yoga class in their 70s that are way better shape than I am. I'm glad I started paying attention to my health sooner rather than later.

As for retiring, the numbers are pretty simple. Your income doesn't really increase that much once you're over 40 unless you do something radically different so what you make at 40 is what you can assume you'll make until you retire at 65.

Assume (and this could be a bad assumption for some) that you have your mortgage paid off by 65. Figure out if your living comfortable now and determine how much that costs. For me, it's about $1700 (not including mortgage).

$600 - groceries and supplies (it might go down after the kids leave but I doubt it)
$240 - gas for 2
$300 - utilities and bills
$360 - fun money, $160 each for my wife and myself (classes, movies, eating out).
$200 - house maintenance (average per month of what it costs each year in repairs and stuff)

That's $1700/month to live comfortably and we live rather modestly. We usually only eat out twice a month and we buy everything from thrift stores. And like I said this doesn't include mortgage.

Add another $400 for medical insurance after I retire and that brings the total to $2100/month to retire comfortably (not including the price of inflation which doubles the cost every 17 years and medical costs).

So there's two routes that I could go.

Route 1: Save $2100 multiplied by life expectancy after 65. 2100 x 25 years = $63K . Add 50% for cost of living increases and medical = approx. $1M
That route I rejected early because it's silly and it's no fun. Also unless you start saving at in your mid-20's, this route is almost impossible to achieve after age 40 unless you make very high income.

Route 2: Figure out how to make $2100/month without actively working so as soon as I can make $2100/month in passive income, I can "retire" whether it's at 50 or 80. That seemed alot more interesting and that's the route I choose to go.

Retirement usually involves some combination of saving and passive income. Most financially planners push route 1. Entrepreneurs like route 2. Neither is right or wrong. It depends on your risk tolerance and personality styles.

I think all INFPs want to die young until they find that someone they want to spend the rest of their life with. Then they want that life to last for as long as possible.