Delaying retirement: Many struggle to save, fail to plan

"Savings? There is no savings! Get real," Stephanie Tucker, 66, said to me last week over breakfast at the Pop 'N Sons Diner on North Dale Mabry in Tampa.
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[rayhill]

Eating out for breakfast but no money for retirement? I just found where all that money went.

[Swanseaguy]

Whilst people my age are driving to work in their Tesla’s I’m cycling to work and buying Tesla shares on my lunch break.

[re]

The biggest key to retirement is to be out of debt. No auto loans, no mortgage / rent payments and carry no credit card debt. I am 54 and my wife is 50. We will have about $400k saved by the time I am 65. Our monthly estimated ss for the both of us at 65 will be $3600. We will do just fine.

[KathleenMcNe]

I established IRA and non-IRA accounts in my 20s, contributing to them regularly. I always worked full time, lived frugally, saved and invested. I never made a great salary and never worked for a company that offered a 401(k) or pension. I retired 2.5 years ago. At 66, I'm financially secure and living comfortably. It can be done. But one has to start early and make sacrifices.

[charlieb]

I'm 75, forced to retire at 59 and have family income of 3, 000 per month because: I never subscribed to cable sports packages, ate out only on special occasions, kept our cars for a minimum of 6 years, never drove a cadillac/BMW/Lincoln etc. We never had credit card debt over $500 and never paid interest on it. All these people interviewed have very nice furniture, clothes, homes. The spent their future on good times all along the way.

[cskillet]

People who say the stock market is gambling when they're young end up here. You HAVE to invest!!!

[ERIN_]

Don't waste money on an 'expert'
It's all common sense

[neilpuckett]

Wages have been stagnant for 40 years let's put that in the equation.

[rwg]

Complain about not being able to save, but you are a "regular" at a diner? Found your problem lady. Its not society, its you.

[rbear]

I thought I had enough money saved to live a on with my SS, but due to health problems The money don't last long. Health ins will only pay so much. Your never told that the cost of living goes up but your SS won't. You can live better on welfare. I would go back to work but try and find a job when there are days you can't even walk more than 10 feet. and need some one to drive you every where you need to go. A financial can't tell you what's going to happen when you ready to retire.

[genevieveheater]

woman said she could never retire, as she at breakfast out. its cheaper to eat at home.

[ktee]

Why not work part time instead of retire?

[steelcastle]

I had to laugh when they brought up getting help from professional financial planners.
Tens of thousands (perhaps millions) of people have had their retirement savings stolen by these supposed "experts".
Better educate yourself and make your own plan and decisions.
Those people are worse than used car salesmen.

[aaap]

How often was that woman with a nickel left eating out at the diner and talking about not being able to save?

[tmusa]

It helped watching my mom struggle when my dad died at 62. She made it but it was not lavish. I knew I had to save.

[pinkrose]

If you're eating out on a regular basis INSTEAD of once per month, that could be why you're not saving money!!!! Shop the sales at your grocery store, TJMax, Marshalls, Ross for clothes, also some thrifty stores. JCP with coupons for items also, Take walks to exercise and stay healthy, less meds and longer life.

[douglaz]

My response to all you people that say it was there fault for not saving and using credit cards that is a simplistic answer. Look at the structure of our economy and how it has changed. Until the early the 1980s companies produced goods to sell which is how they made their money. Since 1982 the financial industry took off fuelled by credit card debt and corporate mergers. What happened during the corporate mergers defined pensions that were promised were axed. Yes the same people that brought us the wall street crash in 2008 were responsible for the current state of affairs. I am sure I will get negative responses to my comments but deep in your hearts you know it to be true. No credit card debt no wall street profits to push the Ponzi scheme higher.

[CaptainQueue]

I'm 67 working full time and plan to continue so I can max out my social security and not draw it until 69 or 70. Life dealt me two layoffs at different employers over the years so I have one very small pension, social security to come, and within a few years from now a paid off mortgage if I can continue working. Even with a small pension and small savings I feel I'm one of the fortunate ones.

[suepearn]

Get real.! Life throws many people unexpected tragedies and events. Certainly some when working don't save but that is certainly not true for many who have burdened their share of hardships. Remember.... never judge until you walk in another shoes." And for the majority stay clear of the "financial advisor" they make their money off of you!

[warrenpeece]

It's sad when people wake up at age 65 and realize they don't have any (or enough) savings to retire on. Then their knee jerk reaction is to blame someone else - their job, their employer, the government.