Millennials and RVs

jplante4 wrote:

I've been getting SS withheld since 1968 and during a few of those years I maxed out the yearly amount. Since 1968 I've contributed $106,000 and my employers another $113,000. I get 2300 a month from SSA. Just the raw money with no investment (as if I had stuffed that into a mattress) would last me just under 8 years.

You are on to something here, though it's more realistic to figure just your own contribution which puts you closer to four years. I doubt many of us believe our employers would pay us more if they didn't pay FICA tax.;) Anyway, historically folks generally have received waaay more back than they paid in, even considering that they may have been able to successfully invest that money, certainly not a given. Also, this doesn't include the "insurance" value of the survivor and disability programs. This may not be the case for future generations but definitely is true for we Boomers. It's a myth that has persisted, probably because a lot of us lack math skills. Fortunately an easy Google can put us on the right track, give us one less thing to be angry about!

shelbyfv wrote:
Several threads recently have shown there are lots of elderly among us. Here's an article from USA Today regarding RVs and the youngsters. Link

That article is USA Today. They want me to turn off my ad blocker. :M I've always liked ad blocker. I still like ad blocker. Guess I won't be reading that article. And no, I won't be registering with them either. Nice try tho... :R

I think this thread was about RV manufacturers wanting to target the millennial generation and addressing technology needs? Thread seems to have gone somewhere else (as per usual). Ya'll need to go camping or something, lol.

Anyway... "Elderly"? Okay, so I turned 65 last year. I am NOT elderly at 65, thank you. I used to think 65 was really flippin' old. Actually, the "elderly" is when you're like, in your 80s... I like being in my generation. I know way more stuff about stuff than younger generations likely ever will. Have way more stuff (including lots of stuff, "toys" and other cr@p I've been hoarding for decades) than they probably ever will. Some folks are still RV-ing at 80. I know - seen 'em in CGs.

Wifi? Seriously, who uses wifi in a CG?? You want mobile mifi and with a good data plan. We older folks love our i-phones and computers just as much as anyone. I had to install some USB outlets to accomodate our 3 phones (DW needs two for some reason!) and computer. We love TV in our RV. I love driving around a CG for an hour after arriving and trying to locate a sat through the trees (not). Got one of those "hey google" thingies for Xmas - dang, need to add another USB outlet in the TT. Now when there's nothing to watch on TV or do on the internet, I'll be able to entertain myself with it. Her sexy voice alone is great. ;)

I've been reading a non-fiction book lately. Haven't done that in decades. Super interesting. I may just try reading in a CG this season instead. To heck with tech. :) Do millenials read books? Yep, I thought so...

As far as millennials buying RVs goes, I can't imagine many around here being able to afford one. With our real estate prices being the highest anywhere, they are lucky to afford a tiny condo. Definitely no room for a truck, let alone an RV. For those able to buy into the housing market, many will be scrimping and saving every spare dollar to put aside for a down payment on a larger home. (BTDT) With young people and their careers, family responsibilities and interests in other summertime activities, I can't see many buying an RV just to hang around a CG and do what we "older" people do. Our low Canadian dollar doesn't help either.

FWIW, when I was in college in the early 70s, the federal gov't had surplus cash to burn and they were handing out scholarships to athletes. Having competed in several national championships in my sport, I got $5K from the gov't. $5K was a LOT in those days. Tuition was only around $500 a year and I was living at home. I used some of it to buy a nice car. Worked out for me! Fast forward to today, I'm on a measly gov't pension. Always worked in the private sector. DW on the other hand works in gov't and will get a nice fat pension when she retires in a couple of years. I knew an acc't several decades ago who told me that the best investment ever is buying the biggest house you can afford because when you sell it, it's tax free and because real estate prices always go up. So I eventually bought an acreage when the market had bottomed out and built a nice house & workshop on it. When we go to sell it in down the road and downsize, real estate prices have since skyrocketed in recent years. Worked out for me!

shelbyfv wrote:
Social Security is one our most successful government programs, completely changing the way we live in old age. However some folks like to exaggerate how it differs from other safety net programs. Here is a link from Forbes, a quick reality check.

I read that a thought something smelled funny, so I went and dug out my last Socalled Security statement. This was from 2011 and I actually contributed for another 4 years before I started to draw.

I've been getting SS withheld since 1968 and during a few of those years I maxed out the yearly amount. Since 1968 I've contributed $106,000 and my employers another $113,000. I get 2300 a month from SSA. Just the raw money with no investment (as if I had stuffed that into a mattress) would last me just under 8 years.

But the Social Security TRUST FUND has been invested and added to and the proceeds of that investment has gone to other federal programs including welfare. Here's another Forbes article about where all our money went. There were $2.6 trillion dollars in the trust fund in 2010. The fact that SSA will be unfunded by that money by 2040 is a crime and a national disgrace.

CFerguson wrote:
I once calculated that in order to get back what I paid into the social security scam, I would have to live to be 126 years old. And that doesn't include ANY inflation or what I could have done investmentwise with those funds.

A good friend pointed this fact out to me as well.

fj12ryder wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
I always find it ironic that the same people that complain about SS and Medicare are happy when they can collect it.

Well, I have complained about Social Security and Medicare, mostly when it goes to people who have put no money into the program. Paying out tons of money from a program to people who never put anything into it is a recipe for bankruptcy.

Bingo! We work contributing our whole lives into these programs. The people in power want to raid this savings account for other uses which leads to insolvency. They also want to extend this program to people who paid in zero dollars.

I know it's a bit frustrating for me and my husband to pay a lot of money into something like Social Security, with no guarantees that we will ever see that money in 30 years. We could retire early if we were able to invest that money ourselves every month...my husband hits the max threshold usually around September and it results in hundreds of extra dollars in income every paycheck after they stop pulling the money from his checks. Imagine what we could do with that money throughout the year if we were allowed to invest it ourselves?

But, I don't fault the Boomers as a whole for that, as I know they paid into it too and are just collecting what they were promised. My mom uses her SS for all of her spending money for things like groceries and medications for the month so she doesn't have to dip into other retirement savings until her husband retires in 10 years (he's younger than her). I fault the mismanagement of the fund by our government that will likely make it so we don't see that money ever again.

goducks10 wrote:
I always find it ironic that the same people that complain about SS and Medicare are happy when they can collect it.

Well, I have complained about Social Security and Medicare, mostly when it goes to people who have put no money into the program. Paying out tons of money from a program to people who never put anything into it is a recipe for bankruptcy.

I always find it ironic that the same people that complain about SS and Medicare are happy when they can collect it.

I once calculated that in order to get back what I paid into the social security scam, I would have to live to be 126 years old. And that doesn't include ANY inflation or what I could have done investmentwise with those funds.

troubledwaters wrote:

WTP-GC wrote:
... For the most part, that generation is one of the earliest to live under a government that so freely subsidized so much and provided exceeding levels of benefits that seems to be proving over time to be unsustainable. It's not the fault of "boomers"...they just happen to be living in it...

The Boomers elected those people. It's not like the Boomers didn't know the people they were electing were spending money on the credit card and not paying it off.

Only partially ture, not all of us voted for these give-away programs but as a society we have to respect the wishes of the majority. As millennials you have a say in what direction you wish to go, in fact in a short time you will be the majority.

The elephant in the room is the fact prices are raising faster then inflation in areas I mentioned in a earlier post. Example the inflation rate last year was 1.9 percent, pharmaceuticals are planing on rasing prices 10 percent. Same can be said of universities, health care, housing. I personally think these are a bigger issue then taxes.