Many of my friends ask me, “why are you worried about retirement already? You’re only 24 and you have more than forty years until your retire!” The truth is that I don’t think we have forty years until retirement and a lot of us will be forced to retire early. In fact, a recent article in . That only gives me 33 years, which still seems like a long time. However, I think in the future the average retirement age will only get lower and here are my reasons.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — Our generation no longer work at a company for life. I don’t think it means that we are less loyal, but it’s more of a reaction to the profit seeking inhumanity of corporations. There are often mass layoffs and good benefits such as pensions are mostly eliminated. Basically there are no advantages to being an employee for life. I think the only people in the Silicon Valley who have worked for a private company their entire lives are all at Lockheed Martin, and they’re relics of the old economy waiting to cash in on their pensions. The new world order means that we have no job security and one day we may not be able to find a job and be forced to retire.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — The United States population is growing fairly slowly right now, but it is expected to . Why does this affect our retirement age? Well, basically in 15 to 20 years our children will enter the work force and compete for the same limited pool of resources and positions. In China many baby boomers are forced to retire at age 50 so that their jobs can be passed down to younger people. You may say that it’s ageism, but I think it actually makes sense because you can’t let millions of young people run around without a purpose. Our skills need to be passed down to our children, and we need to step aside at some point. I think forty five years is way too long for us to hold on to a job because two generations of people will enter the workforce in that time period.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — We live in an age where so many things are automated and simplified so that it takes much less people to do a job. For example, my parents are accountants, and they all use software like Excel and Quicken to balance their books these days. However, before these software packages existed people had to do everything by hand. It definitely took many more accountants to run a billion dollar enterprise sixty years ago. I imagine that technology advancements will eliminate a lot more jobs in the future. It’s possible that technology related positions will increase, but if you’ve ever worked in the Silicon Valley you’d know that these jobs are dominated by the under 40 crowd. Additionally, not all of us work in the tech industry so as technology phases out more and more jobs some of us will be forced to retire.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — Globalization is something a lot of people fight against. Right now, a lot of manufacturing jobs in America have already been outsourced to other countries. Since technology has expedited the delivery of goods and services around the world Americans are competing with the global workforce for business. High end professional jobs are also being outsourced to other countries because their workforces are cheaper. This all means that wages will probably decrease for Americans in the future. In fact, our generation is the first generation where our wages have decreased compared to our parents. This means that we should save as much as we can now before our earning power is further eroded.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — Corporations outsource because it is cheaper, and they also hire younger workers because they are cheaper. I have heard of stories of where senior engineers are laid off and replaced with cheaper college grads. Ageism is rampant, and in some cases it’s reasonable. For example, an 80 year old probably isn’t as good of a physical laborer than a 23 year old. However, most of the time corporations want younger workers to pad their own bottomline.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis– The proverbial “glass ceiling” is reached much quicker by our generation because our parents’ generation is still in charge of the current state of the world well into our middle ages. Generally people work so that they can reach higher places in their career, and if the peak is reached so quickly then work may become meaningless.

This post may seem pessimistic and paint sort of a grim future, but I think it’s what my mom calls “cautious pessimism”. I think it’s highly likely that our generation will need to or be forced to retire as early as 45 to 50 and that only leaves me 20 to 25 years to save for the rest of my life. A lower retirement age coupled with longer life spans mean that our generation needs to save as much as we can during our working years. I am not really worried about retirement because I am taking steps to prepare for it. It’s much better to start preparing for the second half of your life now and not worry about it when you get there. I am also very optimistic about our generation because we may be able to enjoy our lives more if we plan well and retire early. So to my friends, if you haven’t started contributing to your retirement plan you should do it now before it’s too late.

I first heard about cooperative housing when I attended UC Berkeley. has a collection of houses around the campus that are highly coveted by students. There are usually a few openings in these houses each year and they’re quickly filled up. The reason is that they usually had cheaper rent and included food. When someone gets into a coop they like they usually don’t leave for the remainder of their college lives. I actually applied for a couple coops but I did not end up living in one because someone always got in before me. The student coops have a fairly long history in Berkeley and many students went on to found newer coops.

Currently the hubby and I rent an unit in a coop complex. Our landlord is technically the owner of our apartment. The difference between owning a coop apartment and owning a condo is that the coop is structured like a non-profit corporation and each owner owns a share of the corporation. That means they don’t really own the real estate and they pay monthly dues to the corporation for maintenance costs, insurance, and property taxes. What my hubby really liked about the place is that they had a list of rules of conduct. For example, “no person of immoral character may be allowed on the premises” and “no loud noise after 9pm”. We also like the fact that most of our neighbors have a vested interest in keeping the property nicely maintained. So far we enjoy it very much. All the neighbors are quite friendly and the pool and common areas are immaculate and welcoming. It’s also a lot quieter than a normal apartment building so the hubby is sometimes afraid that he’s making too much noise.

I read that cooperative apartments are much more prevalent in New York City and it isn’t as common here in the Bay Area. Coops are usually cheaper than most apartments and condominiums and it seems that the Bay Area should have more of them as an affordable housing option. Buying into a coop isn’t as easy as buying a condo because the coop board of directors can reject a potential buyer based on character and other factors such as the ability to pay the coop fees. Since a coop share is technically not real estate and there are sometimes price limits to reselling the share. For these reasons, coops are not very attractive to house flippers and their prices rise in a reasonable fashion. The rules also make coops a better place to live because at least you know that your neighbors have been pre-screened.

I do recommend cooperative housing over apartments managed by faceless companies because your neighbors are the owners. There is definitely a sense of community when you live in a coop because it is set up to be a shared living space. Some coops grow their own vegetables and bulk buy groceries to share and also maintain the properties themselves. My coop doesn’t do those things but we do share a funny little woodshop, low cost laundry room, and a great pool. The downside is that since coops are not very common in the Bay Area you really need to work on finding one with an opening. I think the hubby and I got lucky since there was only one opening in our coop and we only got it because the person who applied before us backed out.

The following are some places you can start looking for coops:

1. — Sometimes coop listings come up and you need to respond quickly

2. California Association of Housing Cooperatives — No website, but the association’s mission is mostly to provide education to the board of directors of coops in the SF Bay Area. The contact information is:
676 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
phone: (415) 922-8911
fax: (415) 922-3431

3. — Provides coop housing for students of UC Berkeley. So if you happen to be going there, you should definitely check it out.

4. – This is a list of coops, but the information isn’t complete. Some coops list their rent and opening schedule on this page. It’s worth checking out.

5. – This is a national site, but it’s full of great information on what coops are and how you can get into one.

So a couple weeks ago I wrote about my and the article became quite popular. What I found quite entertaining is how people found that article through Google. Here’s a list of the various searches:

1. my boyfriend is tight with money
2. my boyfriend is cheap
3. my boyfriend doesn’t like to pay
4. stingy boyfriend
5. my boyfriend never pays for my movie tickets
6. why doesn’t my wealthy boyfriend buy me anything (this is my favorite)

It seems that a lot of these women are searching for answers to why their boyfriends are so cheap. In a funny way it reminded me of my grandmother who still complains that my granddad is so cheap that he bought only sweet yams for their dates. She says she really expected her future husband to buy her some good meat to eat. Well, now they’ve been married for 54 years and the world has changed quite a bit, but it seems that men are still expected to woo a woman by pulling out their wallets. Why is this still the social norm now that a lot of women have their own incomes and careers? What do women really expect men to spend in a courtship?

I think most boys in this country are taught at a young age that they will need to spend money on women. For example, my hubby went to an all boys Catholic high school and he said that’s where he learned women are expensive. He had a class called Christian Lifestyles and his teacher brought in a vacuum sealed wedding dress belonging to the missus. Then the teacher threw the dress on the floor and stepped on it and said something along the lines of “I spent so much money on this useless piece of clothing! Women are expensive!”. In addition to education at school, the media also does a good job in popularizing the notion that a man only has to be wealthy to attract women. I completely understand why other women want men with money from the biological perspective of child rearing. Generally raising children takes a lot of resources and a wealthy man is more attractive because his money is a security blanket for starting a family. However, a lot of women don’t want children, but they still expect their men to take care of them and in this case I think when men spend money it shows a willingness to provide.

Personally, I do not want my hubby to spend a lot of money on me, because I don’t see money as an expression of love. The other day I asked my hubby if he were glad that I am not an expensive wife, and he said, ” you ARE expensive!” Then I asked him why he thinks so and he replied, “you’re expensive because you suck my time and sanity, and those things can’t be recovered. Money can be replaced!” I think he was just joking. The hubby has found out a long time ago that I prefer his time much more than gifts that can be bought. He has given me some very cool and romantic gifts that he spent a lot of time and effort on. For example, he wrote my name in gold molecules with an electron microscope and sent me the finished product which was about 10 nanometers wide. I thought it was an awesomely geeky gift. He said that he heard of a book called and figured out that I like love to be expressed as quality time. He is a very smart man, and that’s why I married him.

Can the issue of money really be removed from human courtship? I am not sure. But I propose a challenge to all the Google users with cheap boyfriends: ask yourselves what your “love language” is. Do you really want your boyfriend/husband to spend more money on you? Or do you just want them to spend more time with you and shower you with love and affection?

The is officially over. The hubby and I have settled into our new married life together and our financial union is still a little confusing to say the least. We have a joint checking account now and we are paying our bills through that account, but it really feels like our expenses have gone up because I never used to see how much the hubby spent. It makes me wonder if marriage would make our costs go up or go down. I asked a few married coworkers this question and all of them said that after they got married they are spending a lot more than before. However, all of these coworkers are men and one of them has a wife that’s still going to school so he has to support her. So I decided to make a comparison of our current expenditures with our former expenditures here and see what would happen.

Here are the areas where we’re saving money:

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — The hubby used to pay for all of the utilities at his apartment even though he had a roommate. I shared the utility bills with my roommates but it still came out to be $50 to $70 a month. Currently, our cable tv, water, and garbage are included in the rent so that’s also a big plus. Before we got married the hubby was paying for water and garbage also. I estimate that the utitlies savings would add up to approximately $1500 to $2000 a year just because we now live together.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — We haven’t been eating out as often, but cooking isn’t as cheap as I thought. The only spare time we have to cook is on the weekends so the hubby tries to make a lot of food that lasts for a few days. Our food bills aren’t significantly lowered because we also hosted a couple dinners during the weekends. Hopefully we will save more in the future by eating out less. I estimate that we should be able to save $1000 to $2000 a year on food.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis– We’re no longer driving back and forth between our apartments. The hubby is also now ten miles closer to work so he’s saving much more on gas everyday. I am about four miles farther from work but it works out that our total mileage driven is still reduced. Our gas bill for the past month has been very small and I hope it stays that way. Our estimated savings for gas is about $400 to $600 a year.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — I wrote about when the insurance company raised the hubby’s rates. Now that we’re married the new insurance company gave the hubby a discounted six months rate that is about $360 lower! I’m pretty happy about that and our next insurance rate reduction will be the 25 year old discount. That’s coming up soon for the hubby and we should be able to shave some more dollars off.

So far, it sounds like marriage is great and we’re saving thousands of dollars, but here are the areas where we’re spending more:
comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — The marriage penalty is going to hit us this year and I’m not quite sure how much more we would be paying. If we weren’t married we would both be in the 25% marginal tax bracket since we both contribute a fairly good amount of our salaries to our 401ks. However marriage pushes us to the next bracket. The extra taxes we pay will probably wipe out all the savings we receive from living together. I’m not quite sure what the point of the marriage penalty is besides keeping families living on one income. From my point of view it seems to be such an anti-marriage and anti-women tax policy. However, one thing that could mitigate our taxes is our charitable contributions. It is possible that we may still remain in the 25% tax bracket, but it’s pretty unlikely.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — Originally we both had roommates that shared the rent. Now we are roommates with each other so our rent seems like such a large number. In actuality it’s only $160 more a month than our combined rents previously. This basically negates the utilities savings.

We don’t have kids yet, but many people have already told me that children will increase our expenditures by quite a bit. So, my current analysis of our expenses is still sort of inconclusive because we are saving quite a bit, and yet it seems like we’re spending more. So to my single readers, do you think that you’ll save more money after you get married? And to my married readers, do you spend more or less now that you’re married? Where are the savings from and where is the extra money going? I haven’t really asked a woman this question yet because most of my coworkers and friends are men and pretty much all of them think that women are expensive. So, feel free to give me your input!

We live in a capitalist society that glorifies the rich. The mainstream media publishes lists of what the wealthy buy, where they live, and what they are worth. The constant attention to the affluent makes us want to have more and more. For many Americans, their net worths have become their ultimate value in life and they’re constantly comparing their wealth to that of neighbors, friends, and complete strangers. I think it’s incredibly unhealthy and dangerous to keep score in life with money for the following reasons:

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — If I compared what I have with what others in my peer group have I am very likely to fall into complacency. For example, according to , people my age have a median networth of $400. If I ran with that statistic then I could spend pretty much all my money and still remain above average. Many of us have also read now deceased blog and thought to ourselves, “at least I didn’t get into THAT much debt.” Comparing ourselves with people worse off than us does make us feel better about our own situation, but our misguided comfort may also make us a little less prudent in how we spend and invest money.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis –I live in the middle of a place where . It is a rather ridiculous and comical situation when you think about it. In the article one millionaire stated, “everyone around here looks at the people above them”. Well, guess what? If they just stopped comparing their networth to that of the billionaire in the next town, then maybe they wouldn’t feel so poor. It’s almost impossible to become the richest person in the world so if you look up you’ll always find someone above you. Even when you are the richest person in the world, you may find yourself worrying that you’d lose the number one spot if you’ve always been worried about what others have. Basically, if you keep on wanting more you’ll never have enough.
comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — When I walk through the parking lot at work I see quite a few very expensive cars. I don’t really know which ones are paid for and which ones are leased. What I do know is that if I wanted one of those cars I would have to shell out a significant amount of my savings. It’s very likely that those who lease very expensive cars don’t have more money than I do. However, many people get caught up in appearances and run out to buy that Mercedes or BMW just so that they fit into their parking lots even if they can’t afford it. There is really no point in envying someone’s large pile of debt. However, when we look at our neighbors we probably don’t see credit card bills and negative savings. We see their plasma screens and McMansions, and those physical things certainly could stir up jealousy.

comparison of levitra viagra and cialis — Sometimes people lose track of their families, friends, and even themselves in pursuit of money. This could happen if a person works way too much and doesn’t have any time to enjoy their money. Also, sometimes people may alienate their friends and family because of their financial situation. I have seen people isolate themselves because they thought they are too poor, and thus they feel like failures. On the other end of the spectrum I have met people who feel like they’re too rich to speak to you. A person’s wealth shouldn’t prevent him or her from making meaningful relationships. I still believe that if a person is really my friend they wouldn’t care how much money I have.

I believe the key to defeating these potential pitfalls is to forget about what other people have, ignore statistics, and only compete with yourself to improve your life I do not care about how many houses other people bought or how much money they have. That’s their business and not mine. I only keep tabs on how much I have because I know fully what is going on in my life. In competing with myself I try to do better than I did in yesteryears. For example, I set for myself and try to reach them. To reach these goals in a timely fashion I would need to increase my income, and to do that I try to improve my career and investing skills. I accomplish things when I compete with myself because I know where I am and where I want to go. Ultimately, making an inventory of other people’s knick knacks will not improve your life.