The Boomers Are Headed For Trouble (I Don't Feel Bad About It) 

For boomers and senior citizens, the current market and economy are unnecessarily harder. I'm used to simply purchasing and holding assets, which doesn't seem applicable to the current volatile market, and inflation is catching up with my portfolio. My biggest concern is whether I'll survive after retirement.

The two greatest gifts you can give your children: 1) Teaching them how to live without you by they time they are adults. 2) Not being a financial burden to them in your later years.

social security is not funded by "our tax dollars"... it is funded by a payroll tax that people and employers pay into throughout their careers.

I am a 54-year old Burnt-out doctor with $400K in declining investments, planning retirement soon. Seeking best stock strategies for market downturns and hyperinflations

Baby boomers are retiring or on the verge to, so how do we deal with such recession-influenced market conditions? Typically my $250k worth of holdings go up 8% then lose 20% right after and the cycle continues, I’m confused and truly sick of the system

I’m a mid boomer (1956). I was broke and divorced at age 40 when I decided to take action. Got myself out of debt, got a better paying job, married a girl with the same financial goals and started learning to invest. Today we have $165k in annual dividends, $50k in interest, a small pension, my social security, and in two years my wife will start social security at age 70. I think we’ll be okay. Cash flow is what you need.

Helping my parents already. They are in their 70s and 80s on a very fixed income so I have to help cover some of their expenses. It is an honor to do it though. They did so much for me to help me get where I am and can help them.

We Are in Unchartered Financial Waters! every day we encounter challenges that have become the new standard. Although we previously perceived it as a crisis, we now acknowledge it as the new normal and must adapt accordingly. Given the current economic difficulties that the country is experiencing in 2024, how can we enhance our earnings during this period of adjustment? I cannot let my $680,000 savings vanish after putting in so much effort to accumulate them.

I was born 52 days before the end of the Baby Boomer Generation. I have absolutely nothing in common with someone about to turn 80 years old. People my age entered the job market during a deep recession and faced some of the highest interest rates in history. We then had to navigate every economic downturn after that like the one after 9/11, in 2008, the pandemic, etc. Not all "Boomers" had it easy.

I’m a late Boomer (also known as Generation Jones), the generation that saw traditional pensions disappear, saw the social contract with employers disappear, had to learn about the stock market and mutual funds, watched salaries not keep up with inflation, learned that many “financial advisors” are really slick salesmen trying to eat our nest eggs. It has made us cynical and mistrusting. I learned as fast as I could and did ok with mutual funds, I should be able to retire by age 67 to 70, but still worry about the future of Social Security, Medicare, and rapacious inflation. I’m not angry at older Boomers for having it better, but I am angry that we won’t have it as well.

Military retiree. Living off my retirement pay. Next job went to 401k and IRA and some traveling. Retired for good and still living off retirement pay. No mortgage, have an emergency fund for home repairs.. Grandkids will get college paid for.

George, I understand that your intention is to help people who need it, but the tone of this toward older boomers is mean-spirited. We don't all eat "congealed salads" or scream at people to get off our lawns. I put in my time (50+ years in the workforce) and paid my taxes including Medicare, and I live carefully on a modest retirement budget. We're not all old doddering idiots and "karens".

You need to preach this to the young ones. I’m one of the Jones and I did not freak out on my 401k. Let it ride, buy cheap. Keep saving. Keep working and save, save, save.

My wife and I are late boomers. We're ok though. We never had troubles with jobs, we kept investing except for a couple years when I took a flyer on a startup. Two of the secret weapons we used are 1. Live below your means, and 2. Avoid high cost of living regions of the country. Salaries may be a bit lower than on the coasts but at the end of the month you've still got more money left in your pocket. Economies also aren't so boom and bust so there are always jobs available.

I am a late boomer but so what I ain’t worried it is what it is was never raised with a silver spoon in my mouth. But one thing I learned in my glorious days is you can be here today and gone tomorrow so money is not my priority in life. We could even be facing world war 3 next. My advice to whatever generation you are live your life and enjoy it the best you can because nobody knows what’s around the corner……

Work hard, save, and they’ll take it and give it to those who didn’t

Being a late Boomer myself 1962, I can tell you a problem we have always had and I can attest to it. When I entered workforce age I was competing against a larger populace for jobs. There trades were saturated and they were always getting laid off, I was laid off so many damn times. Some went to college, I did not. The only jobs left were crappy customer service. This was the norm for years. Basically late boomers were left with crumbs. The amount of good paying jobs, competitive jobs, were saturated by the earlier boomers. All my damn life I have had to live like this, still am in many ways.

First, I was forced to sell my very nice house in 2008 for $20,000 less than what it was worth. Second, I have spent thousands helping my kids and grandkids. They would not be where they are now if I had not floated them.

Not late boomer but first Gen Xers. Parents were first to divorce. We were first latchkey kids. 2008 recession hurt bad. Now we’re in the sandwich generation, and it’s not us moving in with the kids; it’s the millennial/Gen Z kids moving back home with us while we work at least one job to pay all our bills and also care for Boomer/Silent Gen parents.

As a Boomer I take exception to the generalization that we don't understand technology. It's true we missed growing up with the Internet. We missed it so much that we invented it!

The boomers born between 60 and 64, the tail end of the boomers, had a very different experience than those born in the 40s and 50s.

One issue I point to is people nowadays don't realize that a lot of the information about doing better things for yourself wasn't nearly as easy to find as it is now. We didn't have the internet, and if you were in the lower class, most people had very little knowledge about it all. Information wasn't as readily available as it is now, and people were a lot more suspicious of its inner workings.

Boomers are supporting their grown kids

We Boomers who were born between 1945 and 1955 were the luckiest generation. Our first homes cost under 40K, college costs were less than $500/year, and many of us waited until age 70 to start our Social Security. Some of us are still working at the age of 77, so 60 years of frugal living and consistent investing have given us financial security.

Late boomer here. You are spot on about us! We are in a totally different set of circumstances compared to the earlier boomers! We are mostly planning to work for many more years. I'm divorced, not my plan, and it's expensive going it alone. Swiping left and right to start over again. 😅

Yep, my idiot in-laws were stupid with their money, and now my mother-in-law lives with us. Of course, I married the responsible son, and the other two sons that were coddled and spoiled, don’t help out at all.

I’m in this demographic. A couple of other factors that did not get factored in, 1- this was the group who had to learn how to pivot to 401ks from a pension mentality previous generations relied on, meaning the significance of saving into a 401k wasn’t as well understood like it is now, 2- the cost associated with re-education after said layoff; I went back to school to become an RN, but the expense took away money available to invest in my husband’s 401k, and then the loss of income for the 3.5 years it took me to get my RN degree and license, 3- the cost associated with planning for our children’s college education, competed for our dollars, 4- the cost associated with caring for our aging parents. We lived a frugal lifestyle but still struggled. I appreciate your perspective but feel it’s important to acknowledge the environment at the time and use it as wisdom for the younger generation to learn from, which I think was your point, but wanted to express the circumstances many of those decisions were made within. With that said, keep up the good work. Your videos are providing education I wish I had been privy to in my 20’s and 30’s.

Around age 50, had an ESOP go bankrupt (yes that happens) at the same time as the crash, lost about $450,000. Because we kept a budget and lived frugally we got back on track. I was retired at 59 1/2.

Every generation feels like it’s living through the worst times.

Please develop some compassion. For many people illness both physical and mental change their lives completely. Also veterans deal with challenges that we should assist them with. Life is complex not simple.

Social security will be 70% higher than my income 😅 My wife and I have always lived a simple life and find joy in activities that we can afford.

I'm a "late boomer" - so grateful I found Ramsey. Following the baby steps for almost two years now and am on track to turn this Titanic around and thrive in retirement. It will take diligence until then, but so worth it.

What about when we support our adult children and they bring their new families in?? Support all! They’re worried about their parents? Don’t think so!

Gen X seems best positioned as far as skills. Many have the skills of the pre-internet world but can navigate all of the modern tech.

I'm one of those late boomers, and I made sure I always maxed out my 401k, plus had a Roth IRA and I make sure my kids do as well at their jobs. If you are smart with your money, which most people are not, you can retire well. Which I will be doing in 2 years at 65 with 7 figures in the bank so don't worry about me George.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! for recognizing War Babies. We are different from Boomers. Boomers were born into a booming American economy. We War babies had our early childhoods shaped by ration books, air raid sirens and search lights over NYC, victory gardens (to provide enough family food), oleo margarine packs that our mothers colored with yellow food dye, etc. The sugar shelves were still empty 1949 in NY. We were raised by adults nervous about possible sea and air invasions. . America had still not recovered from The Great Depression until about the 1950's. As children we worried if our soldier uncles would return alive. The men didn't return home until 1946. We wore dog tags around our necks and ducked and covered. We helped our mothers pack CARE packages to deprived European relatives newly freed from German occupation. The suburbs and Levittown's weren't built when we were pre-school age, no TV, my mother prepared meals listening to the radio soap operas. The music world of the 1960's was created by War Babies - not Boomers. The impressions made on our young psyche's made us more serious than Boomers

These are not really Boomers. The person who created the generational names says they are really GenXers. But yes, the people born in those years came of age when the older Boomers had already filled a lot of professional jobs. They graduated from college during a recession, further delaying their professional development. More of these folks became lower income as adults than older Boomers.

The current economy is unnecessarily tougher for boomers/senior citizens, I’m used to just buying and holding assets which doesn’t seem applicable to the current rollercoaster market plus inflation is catching up with my portfolio. I’m really worried about survival after retirement.

Thank you for this George. I have $1k emergency funds saved. Now I’m following the baby steps to get out of $30k debt, which includes: credit cards, student loans, and 1 personal loan. (My $30k combined debt is not including my mortgage balance). I use DR apps

I was born in late 1964 but was fortunate to not have missed work in my life and have been contributing to a 401K my entire working life. I'll have around 12X my current gross income in retirement which is mostly in dividend paying stocks and funds. I'm retiring at the end of this year.

I think the retirement crisis will get even worse. A lot of people can’t save because of low paying jobs, inflation, and insane rental rates. And now that home ownership is out of reach for middle class Americans, they won’t have a house to retire with either.

Don’t you dare call this old Gen-X’er a late boomer! 😅 Proud to say we are debt free, no mortgage, and on our way to 2 million in retirement. Priorities!

I was born in 62 and I am 62 years old. I remember very clearly when my 401K became a 201K overnight. My cute little house I purchased in 2003 for 75K was suddenly worth only 39K. Really sucks but I’ve recovered nicely. I remarried in 2012 and we took FPU in 2016. We are currently in baby step 6. I’ll be receiving SS soon.

I don't know whether I am watching this for the information or the comedy. Dude gets funnier every video.

George,....I want you to know not all late boomers are in trouble,.....been following Dave for years!!!!! Smart Living

When GM went bankrupt one of my neighbors had his entire retirement in GM. Lost it all. He died 9 months later (depression is a killer btw) and his wife was forced to sell their house at a loss. He thought he had planned well.

As a late boomer, house prices were high compared to early boomers. The early boomers got the sweet deal of low prices. This has a long term effect on what you can save.

On the flip side .How many were stuck helping out their homeless children.And helping them in their failed finances?

I appreciate the insight- I’m an older boomer. However, to me, a good portion of this broadcast was like an infomercial with referral codes. JMO.

Stop scaring people into thinking Social Security is going to run out of money in a decade. Most of Congress and the government are older and they're not going to let their generation stop getting full earned benefits. The last thing politicians want is the highest voting block (seniors) to be marching on DC in protest and we've got all the time in the world to make our case. That said, if you're under 50, you should be worried because your current income and future benefits might be affected.

Late boomer here. When I was in my mid 40's I had to leave my job "temporarily I thought" to assist my elderly mother who has stricken with lung cancer and dementia. FMLA can only hold your job for so long, and I lost it while trying to work on finding an ALF that would take her (the dementia had sadly turned her extremely combative, requiring additional care for her). Needless to say, this effected my income for quite some time. I had to find another job at a lower rate of pay and work my way back up the ladder. All this happened around the 2007-2008 financial crisis. She passed away in 2009. Today at 60 I'm back to financial independence. Building a new home on some acreage and plan on going into semi-retirement around 62-65. Yes, it can be done, but it was an experience I wouldn't wish on my worse enemy.

I paid my debt off and lived modestly my whole life. I am a late boomer I took the social security early and it is the bulk of my income. I don't care what this guy says. Happiness does not equate to having a lot of money. Never did for me.

Separating people into age groups is SUCH a freakin' YAWN. You'll be sorry you started this sh!t when you're older. 😎

Not a boomer but also not a fan of ageist slurs especially when unnecessary.

Making money is not the same as keeping it there is a reason why investments aren't well taught in schools, the examples you gave are well stationed, the market crisis gave me my first millions, people shy away from hard times, I embrace them.. well at least my advisor does lol.

Why is everyone so mad at boomers? My age is 58 so I fall into gen x. The boomers worked hard and worked a lot of overtime. I saw it myself and I also don't recall them taking all the fancy vacations that we seem to think is our due today. I didn't get all the benefits that the boomers had (I'm still working and will be for another 6 years). Having said that, I certainly don't have resentment.

My boomer tale: Born in 1950, college dropout in 1972, lived 4 more years with parents while working. They left a small inheritance, which I put into the stock market in 1990 and kept adding to it. I had crappy jobs, no wives, no kids, never bought a home, lived very frugally, retired at 66 in 2017. Got maybe a half-mil in the market. Will have to dip into it eventually. Will I outlive the money? Who knows?

I would also like to add that 'late boomers' also were at peak earnings when 9-11 hit (I lost my job then - thank you, bush & co) and was further impacted by ageism - yep, you young punks were too afraid/intimidated to hire intelligent, hard working 45+ y/o's .... then the 08 recession hit (thank you, obummer & co) .. so I opened my own 'shop' and have done better than I ever did working for 'someone else' ..... And how many of you children of 'late boomers' expected livings from their parents - that failure to launch thing - living in your parent's basement or needing all types of financial help while you were in your 20s and 30s that 'late boomers' didn't receive from their 'better off' parents? How about you pay that back with interest - then maybe many of the 'late boomers' would be better off. George, we were taught family mattered more than a large bank account. I, as a late boomer, moved to the town of my parents to care for them because my other 5 siblings were too busy with their careers and lives to give i cr@p - until divorce hit them .... then 2 moved back in with my parents - 1 with 3 kids in tow!! This is NOT a simple topic and simplistic answers not only do not work but are insulting and condescending to people who have spent their lives 'caring' for others. But, you do you ..... I'm starting to think you guys are so wealthy you forgot what its like to not have so much disposable income. Edit: btw - I'm Baby Step 7 so .....

I do agree the point that “you may have enough now, might not in the future “. You see so many RU-vid about retirement with only $500k in their 50s. You have enough now if you control your expenses. What will be in 20 years? Best of luck.

I am a late boomer!!!!! Born in 1963. We have 4 Millennial children. We are doing great, debt free, no mortgage and 750k in assets and 10k a month in income, we are doing fine. Husband is retired, I will work 5 more years.

Don’t do the Ramsey 8% withdrawal plan, you’ll go broke. George is with me on this one

My dad luckily has a pension, but a lot of boomers didn't grow up investing. Investing wasn't really stressed until all the pensions started ending maybe 20 years ago. Imagine only starting investing when you are already in your 40s. You miss out on a exponential growth!!

I'm a late boomer. Not asking you to "feel bad" for me. And, I, in turn don't give a shit about you. We had to figure it out. You can do the same.

Taking care of my 80 yr old mom because she didn't save for retirement sucks but I am fortunate enough to be in the situation that I can help. You really hit the nail on the head there. There's not that many people that ever touch on those nuances. You're a real one George.

Hey! I'm a "late boomer"! Who knew there was such a thing! I've always felt kind of left out, not being quite old enough to be a boomer and not quite young enough for Gen X. I've found a home! Yaaaay! (and I'm a total wheel watcher too). I think I'm gonna be ok and won't have to rely on my disabled son to take care of me. Thank goodness I've always I've always gotten going when the going got tough.

I am a 2 years too late late boomer otherwise known as early Gen X. Always worked full time since I was 16 and earned good money. Those market crashes never bothered me. Just continue to invest and don't get into debt and you should be fine

I'm a late Boomer. It seems like everyone has a problem with us. At least I paid my student loans and didn't get a bailout from the government. Now when it is time to pay your obligations, everyone boo-hoos that they can't. I don't feel bad about it!

Many late boomers are stuck caring for elderly parents and young adult children. Pensions mostly disappeared. I get kind of tired of the personal responsibility rants. This was more balanced, but still, while there will always be irresponsible deadbeats, most are doing the best they can and way too many things are out of our control.

I"m a late boomer and I have more than my parents. During the 2008 crisis...I kept buying and buying and buying and buying and NEVER sold anything. I did get laid off for about a year....but went back. I fully realize it is UP to me and ME alone to fund my retirement...and yeah, I would agree....SS is just possible icing on a possible cake. Looking at retiring in 2.5 years (I'm 59 now)....

Our kids taking care of us? Is that a joke? My college-educated kids (the education my husband and I paid for, buy the way, so they wouldn't have debt) are barely making enough to feed themselves.

This is what happens when all the wealth goes to the top 1% and .1% Inequality will destroy this nation

No retirement crisis for me. I did the opposite. I did mini semi-retirement plan. When I quit or loose a job. I'm not job hunting the next day. I'm taking a long vacation between jobs. I planned them, so I'll have the funds to take a break from "real life". My breaks can be consist of 3,6,9 months or even 1-3 years. My longest between jobs has been 2 years and 9 months. Will be able reach that 3 years down the road some. I never saved up a nest egg. I save what I been calling a golden goose egg. The funds to survive during my unemployment breaks. Now I do hustle between jobs and during employment. So I have other sources of income. I was a masonry during my younger years. So moving from town to town, city to city and state to state was easy pie. As I got older I quit my masonry career and did easier jobs. Been a forklift driver, clerical work in a warehouse, supervisor for 2nd shift, and many other jobs where I can carry that skill any place I chose to be at. Now I'm a caretaker since I'm 60 now. But I settle down to be closer to my parents. I bought my first home at age 56 and paid my home in cash. Been debt free since I was 36. Never married had kids and now don't do any kind of substance abuse. So my money I earn goes to me and easy for me to save money. I'm a bargain hunter, I rarely paid retail for anything. And still paid cash for all my used vehicles. Currently employed as a caretaker. When I reach 67, I'll take it much easier as not working much. I will continue my side hustles for sure. Since I enjoy doing them and it's easy cash. My semi-retirement planned worked great. Finish my bucket list and enjoying my new home and garden with my new greenhouse. Life is great with long breaks from the "real world". No regrets how I done things in life. Saw everything I wanted to see and keeping a smile on my face.

As a late boomer, fortunately my husband retired on full civil service. Unfortunately, I was a stay-at-home mom most of my married life. So we didn't have extra money to invest. I've now been working (mostly part time) for about 20 yrs so won't get a lot of SS.

You accidentally-or not so accidentally-popped up on my feed, and this is the first time I’ve listened. You are SO funny that this Tennessean decided to subscribe. This bitter pill is easier to swallow with a little comic relief.

Fear mongering is a great way to promote change. Social Security has been the center of "its gonna run out" and "if its still there" talk FOREVER. The program may change but it will be there

After watching a friend whose Dad moved in, give up on the idea that parents get to keep any of their money, are going to leave anything. Before their health declines make it clear they are NOT moving in. As soon as it starts to decline, see an attorney who specializes in elder law. You will have to use up all of their assets, but then they will be able eligible for Medicaid services in a nursing home. Otherwise they will be in your home, so buy accordingly.

no debt. metal roof, new furnace, plumbing, cars all paid off. 700 sqft house. small taxes, small utility bills. didnt listen to the paper chasers.

What people do not realize is that in 2008 ALOT of people got either fired or layed off. I feel bad for all of them. The economy was kind of at a stalemate from 2009-2015 it got better from 2016-2020. Saying that they should have all kept investing during that time is not realistic. A time of little to no work is a time to not invest in the name of survival.

Well let's get them off the avocado toast and have them pull themselves up by their bootstraps. That's what they always tell us

My dad refuses to downsize from his 30 acres and 5k square ft house.. he's approaching 70 and doing volunteer driving to pay for everything. Brings people to doctors apts all over the state and gets paid by the mile. If he sold it, he could be 100% debt free, build a smaller place with cash, and have almost no bills. In 5 years, he'd have $500k in the bank. I'll never understand it. If he would have sold it 10 years ago he'd probably have a million in the bank.

Social security can be saved by doing one simple thing. Just one. Raise the FICA cap from $90k a year to $200k cutoff. If you don’t know what the FICA cap is, look it up. The FICA cap needs to be raised to match inflation. However, the elites, AKA legacy media, will not inform you of that.

George, as a late boomer, I really didn’t like the way you made fun of us. You’ll get there too, you know.

When I lost everything during the recession, I really wanted to be able to take part of my future SS benefits to tide me over until I could get back on my feet. But now I'm glad they didn't allow that because I have retired comfortably on my full earned benefits. No, it's not 100% of what I made when I was working but I spend a lot less now so it's enough.

Social Security is not going anywhere it will still be around 100 years from now.

I was born in 1966 and you couldn’t be more wrong. We just left our money where it was, bought more stock on the cheap, bought drastically reduced property and crushed it when the market went on that bull run(still running). I made more money than I could’ve dreamed of and am retiring in 10 months to go live on a golf course.

My parents are late boomers and don't have a pot to piss in. Basically, my dad doesn't know how to handle money, always burning a hole in his pocket. My mom is the opposite. Thankfully as a late gen x, I save, save, save

201k is right, but hung in there and now at 60, my wife and I have a net worth of 2.6 mill. My wife retires this week and I’ll retire at 62 in two years. Looking forward to it.

Really, don't feel bad for seniors. Older people who have worked their whole life in a system that most did not create or influence in any way. People who are old and sick and in many instances unemployable. People who have supported their communities and schools. I feel bad for everyone who is struggling that is older.

What a bunch of BS! Late Boomer here, living the American Dream and have been retired for TEN years, Own two houses, one on a lake in Florida and one in a beach town on lake Erie! Everything I own is Paid off! Keep up the good work George, my pension Counts on it!

Every single time I go out to buy groceries or incidentals, I see a dozen or more people in this age bracket working. It is possible to work in your 60s. Some of them even look like they are having fun doing it, at least part of the time.

How's that 401lame working out for everyone now.. bet we wish we still had strong labor unions and a $2500+ a month pension coming in.

My moms in trouble. I’m waiting for the call that will inevitably come one day…she literally makes hardly anything with SS- no one can she afford to live on her own. Lucking she has a younger boyfriend but that’s not a retirement plan :/ ugh

Well well well George today in my news feed is an article that the headline is “it’s a weird dynamic: nearly half American parents financially support their adult children” I believe families should help each other. So if those same boomer parents run out of funds during retirement I’d say turn about is fair play.

When folks complain about how boomers are draining SS retiring to Costa Rica to drink Mai Tais on the beach all day they forget that many of us were in our potentially peak earning years during the economic busts of 2001 and 2008. Many of us lost ALL our savings and experienced long periods of unemployment. No one expects to be unemployed. It's impossible to predict. 45% of us have NO savings, not because of outlandish purchases but simply to keep a roof over our heads. My SS almost pays for my rent but not quite. Homeless folks over 65 are spiking. We're suffering too. I will provide nothing for my children and only hope that my medical debts die when I do. I work as a church maintenance man for 15/hr and will have to ask for a half day off to go to my own funeral. The "golden years"...Right..

If they increase SS tax to make up for this very problem, I’m going to lose it 😤 I’m 25 and will never see SS when I’m old but I’m PAYING now?! Lame

Love your humor, George! You crack me up!!

As a Millennial, it was Boomers who kept telling us it was our avocado toast holding us back when we were graduating college into the Recession and massive unemployment, so I don't really feel bad for the pretty mild snark in this video. George's point is that if you sit there telling yourself you can't win, you won't. You have to take the hand you're dealt - but you don't have to stop there.

The editing on these videos is really good haha 😆

1965 is the first year GenXers

Luckily my boomer dad was prepared for retirement, but my future in-laws will be a nightmare situation in a few years. guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there