The New Hoarders: Aging, and Too Scared to Spend Money

 "I keep saying to myself that once the balance in my checking account hits this number, I will start spending again. My business is doing fine and I am way beyond that number but I can't spend."

That kind of problem is the one I am handling more and more as an intuitive coach/tarot-reader for those over-60. 

Those who can't spend are the New Hoarders. As Yahoo Finance documents, they are terrified of outliving their money. And maybe with good reason. The Stanford Center on Longevity found that if you're 60 and healthy you could make it into your 90s. The odds of that are best for females but males also are getting more time on planet earth. 

One consequence of hoarding money is killing off joy. Much of life is about looking forward to whatever. And much of that takes money. For example, the trip to visit the grandchildren, the addition on the house, developing a hobby like photography. Fear of homelessness hardens the inability to spend that money. The common mindset is: You're just one serious illness away from bankruptcy. 

Another side effect is isolation. The hesitation to spend rules out meeting friends for lunch or dinner. Even having a pet as a companion might be avoided because of the expense.

So, what do I advise? Sure, prudence about spending is mandatory. But you can set parameters on how much you really need in reserve, at least for now. For instance, in your checking account and in your investments you can specify a number. Whatever is above that can be spent. That might change with each several years of aging. 

This hoarding epidemic mirrors my childhood. The oldest of the Boomers I grew up with an extended family who endured The Great Depression. Even during the post-war economic boom when most of the members landed great blue collar jobs they lived way below their income. Even in union-protected employment they were in constant angst about interruptions in their income. Some of this was counterproductive. For example, my mother and aunts would travel to many grocery stores for the best bargains on coffee or tomatoes. What they spent in time and gasoline cancelled out any savings, of course. 

Ironically the extreme tightness with the bucks could result in health problems which reduce longevity. The joyless isolated might die sooner. Well, that does address issue of not running out of money.

Careers? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matter what.

Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Street-smart Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

America Not Hiring in 2026: Back to Golden Age of Solopreneurs?

 For hiring, 2025 was a brutal year to search for a job. The Wall Street Journal reports that 2026 could be worse: "At a gathering of CEOs in Midtown Manhattan this month organized by the Yale School of Management, 66% of leaders surveyed said they planned to either fire workers or maintain the size of their existing teams next year. Only a third indicated they planned to hire." The WSJ adds that pullback from adding manpower could be temporary. But given shareholders' demand for cost-efficiency and the continual improvements in AI, chronic unemployment could become standard. However, there is a solution. An old-fashioned one. That's becoming a solopreneur, that is setting up your own business without partners or employees. The model dates back to ancient times.  The golden age of the solo business owner in America had been from the late 1800s to about the mid 1920s.  There had been a wave of immigrants, discrimination against them and few jobs. They drove pushcarts ...
Read more

Newly Minted PhDs in Economics Face Unwelcoming Job Market: Of Course, I Left My PhD in Humanities Off the Resume

Monitor postings on Reddit subunits focused on careers and it's no longer news that PhDs, both newly minted and those already in the labor market, generally are finding the credential an obstacle in the search for a job or even contract assignments. No, not an asset.  Let's cut to the chase. The highly educated have to get smart about this, fast. With some exceptions, I advise those I coach to leave the PhD off job-search materials. The negative assumptions among those hiring range from that you expect too much money to you'll be a know-it-all.  When my boutique collapsed post-9/11 and I had to land a survival job I lopped off everything but the BA. At the interview I dumbed-down my vocabulary. Sure Harvard was started in 1636 but America remains anti-intellectual. In addition, the integration of AI into strategy and operations makes knowledge work in general less and less marketable.  That's the narrative of our times: Advanced degrees having low or no ROI. The result,...
Read more

Harvard and Grades: Leveling the Playing Field

  Today, faculty at Harvard vote on the issue of limiting "A" grades.  The perception has been that too many of those have been handed out but not earned.  It's common for Harvard College graduates to go after jobs in finance and consulting and apply to top law schools. Those require high grades. That's the first cut. Without those grades the edge of the investment of a Harvard education could be diminished. Hell, you could have gone to a state school. Obviously students oppose limiting the number of "A" grades. The playing field on which they compete for a future could be made more level. Earning a Good Living in 2026 Involves Mental Combat. The enemy is usually your own thinking. Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Solid Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.
Read more