Aging in this world...

No "deep" comments from me (as I start over financially from scratch at age 50), but birthdays DO beat the current alternative and there's definitely a school of thought out there that you attract what you think about most so, from now on, I try not to take anything too seriously and keep a positive attitude!

Kalle, I hear what you are saying.
There are days when I have to just shut the door on those thoughts, as they can become
over-whelming.
Almost like 'ignorance is bliss'...
or  "I have my hand in front of my face so you can't see me"
 
Craig your perspective is great.
I too believe that what you 'put out there' is usually what you end up with.
Some days it cam be a huge battle to keep that positive vibe.
Especially when those around you are just the opposite, filled with negativity.
 

Kalle, I certainly see your point. The boomers are booming everywhere here in the states. I think one of the primary goals of any person starting to get older is their health. If a person is healthy they won't be as dependent and will enjoy their quality of life more when those later years come along. I look at my dad who is in his late 70's. He doesn't move as fast but he does pretty much whatever he wants . He lives by himself . We check in on him periodically but he is pretty self sufficient. 
 
  I have some friends who are 15 years ahead of me and I just want to slap them every time I arrange to meet with them and they say, Well you're the working couple and since we are, you know retired how about we do that on the weekend? I swear every time I have talked with them in the last 6 months some how the word retired has come up at least three times in every conversation :) . I mean, I have at least 15 more years of  labor to pull before I can wake up whenever I want  and not worry about needing to be somewhere. I honestly look forward to that day, if it ever arrives. Unless they make the retirement age even higher I have a long time to look at a clock going off at 5:30AM every morning. The weather doesn't matter either, day in and day out 5:30 it is. Just to wake up and say to myself, what do I want to do today? is a luxury.I know others have it worse probably waking up at 4am and maybe they have like 25 years until they could ponder retirement.
 
 OTOH many of those people retire and do NOTHING but eat and watch TV. As a result they start to gain weight. These are the folks I see in my area that can barely get off the tour bus to make it to the buffet.  I guess we can never have it all. I have a decent job and my health is good as far as I know. I don't hurt for anything. I don't want to be 15 years older in order to get to retirement and I don't want to be any kind of a couch potato. I wouldn't doubt that after I get there I will miss some things about working. I will surely do something productive with my time. What I have seen time and time again with people I have known who retired is they get off of a schedule, they get lazy and then their health starts to decline.
 
 I have recently been involved with a situation where some people I knew went into a nationally top rated retirement home.I helped move them. The dining room looks like a place for a queen.. full service.1st rate breakfast every morning. There are pools and workout rooms and reading rooms and activities etc. etc. A very nice place. The actual living space is like a small apartment. I think I would rather pay help to mow my lawn instead of selling my house to afford to live at a place like that. You pretty much give up everything in order to be there. Retirement looks like it can be pretty good though. Elder care is probably a good investment.
 
 If I get to where I want to be I'll be healthy enough to function, active and enjoying those years. I just hope my hearing doesn't go and my fingers still work.

It is indeed brutal. What's even worse are the people who worked their whole lives doing the right thing and planning for the future only to have their pensions or retirement savings outright stolen from them.
 
However look on the bright side. You've had the benefit of enjoying the reasonably stable times and got to live your lives. I'm in my thirties and had my career yanked from me due to health and will likely die penniless and alone. Unless I can pull a miracle out of my butt I also get the pleasure of enjoying the next 30 years or so until that happens in poverty and pain.
 
Well... that was a happy thought. Ugh.
 
But best of luck to ya'll. I have to watch my mom deal with the whole having her retirement screwed with because of some corporate weasels (who are of course now turning record profits again but not fulfilling their previous commitments) and their government enablers. Makes me sick to my stomach.

Whew! Tough topic. This one and the loss of job threads. My heart aches for everyone affected. Heck, my dream was to have been retired 6-years back, but that got sidetracked somewhere along the way after getting married. Not a complaint. Just that things change a bit when those type of life events happen. One major concern now-a-days is healthcare costs in the U.S. Even the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) isn't quite as affordable as I was hoping. Fortunately I do not need to go that route at present as I employed by a company with a health plan. I feel the ACA is well intentioned, but the insurers in the plan are charging fairly hefty prices. It very well could be that U.S. healthcare costs justify the charges. Also, the fear of losing one's savings is always prevalent. Somehow these fat-cats always seem to find a way to unstablize the economy every 10 years or so in their quest to make themselves richer. And finally, taxes. Where I live, taxes just really eat away at your hard-earned allottment. Property taxes in particular. They are beyond a joking matter anymore.
 
Sometimes I joke with my wife about getting rid of most everything, and buy a little ranch or mobile home, and just kind of live a 'simpler' life. It could actually be rewarding if the right location was found with the right attitude.