We all need a little cash put aside at the end of our lives so that we dont have to work till the day we die, and the pension is not the answer, or so the government bean counters say, and superannuation is not the answer, coz they look like taxing most of mine away to pay for the immediate problems. It would be great if we were all independently wealthy and didn’t have to rely on anyone else at all, but I can’t see that happening either. (For you always have the poor with you. Jn 12:8)
Is part of the problem an obsession with leaving a legacy to your kids (or someone else)? So you retire at 65 with $100,000 in the bank, why not sell that $300,000 home that most people seem to have and buy a place that is a bit smaller and easier to manage. You now have $400,000 to live on and a loan for the new house. Why bother to pay the new loan off? I’m sure at the end of your life the proceeds from the sale of that house will pay back the bank with enough left over to cover any funeral expenses. Why not take the money you have earned throughout your life and use it to enjoy the years that you have when you aren’t working.
I even went so far at one stage to think that we should all be loaned a few hundred thousand when we are younger so they we can enjoy our lives when we are younger and fitter and then spend the rest of our lives paying back and finish life with a clean slate. Of course, it doesn’t take too long to realise that not everyone is as honest as me and lots of them would spend the rest of their lives cruising around and doing nothing, and never pay anything back. Of course, that already happens now anyway.
I’m not taking into account the really poor here, someone really does need to help them out and also possibly give them a helping hand to help themselves, but I have a feeling that was better done by the church than by the government.
I’m not really sure where all these thoughts are leading, are you?