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Having spent a week with my parents, and now spending a week with Rob's parents, I am reminded of the need for long-range financial planning. My parents don't have a solid plan for retirement; my mom lives in fear. Rob's folks and most of the people they discuss are also elderly. I don't know who "Bill" is, but this week I learned that his assisted living facility costs thousands of dollars a month. "Catherine" is in a nursing home costing even more. Rob's aunt is very fortunate that she sold the family farm and moved in with her daughter a year or so before she had her stroke. Heck, if anything happens to Rob's mom, Rob's dad will need to hire a full-time bodyservant.
All of this sure makes me think twice about this whole veterinarian thing. Not that I had a good path to a secure old age as it was; don't get me wrong. But this is the single most financially devastating thing I've ever done in my life. It surpasses even holding on to BRCM stock during 2001.
People say having children doesn't necessarily guarantee good elder care. They're right, of course. But NOT having children is definitely a LESS reassuring situation. Basically, unless you have a few people who are younger and healthier than you are and who are also massively indebted to you, you'd best have a truckload of money. And I don't.
All of this sure makes me think twice about this whole veterinarian thing. Not that I had a good path to a secure old age as it was; don't get me wrong. But this is the single most financially devastating thing I've ever done in my life. It surpasses even holding on to BRCM stock during 2001.
People say having children doesn't necessarily guarantee good elder care. They're right, of course. But NOT having children is definitely a LESS reassuring situation. Basically, unless you have a few people who are younger and healthier than you are and who are also massively indebted to you, you'd best have a truckload of money. And I don't.
no subject
The financial landscape for the elderly will probably change a bit by the time I reach that age. I can't imagine things improving, though. Social security will be a joke by then, medicare and medicaid will be bankrupt, and our tax base won't necessarily be jumping for joy at the thought of voting in some other form of support for a pile of oldsters. Cliffs. Gotta go scout out some good cliffs.
I'm not helping (nor encouraging this act)
(On a side note, I think this site (http://www.sybalsky.com/) may be a wee out of date.)
1Some online poking about indicates the title of the song is "Scotland the Brave" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_the_Brave). Thanks to Jen, I always think of it as "The Sheep Song" (http://www.turoks.net/Bordello/INeedASheep.htm). And the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemmings_(video_game)#Songs) is wrong, it was used in the Amiga version also, which is why I know it.
Re: I'm not helping (nor encouraging this act)