The Epoch of Expenditure: Are Our Golden Years Truly Golden?
Posted: July 2nd, 2023, 9:21 pm
This topic is about the July 2023 Philosophy Book of the Month, Reconfigurement: Reconfiguring Your Life at Any Stage and Planning Ahead by E. Alan Fleischauer
In our ongoing exploration of E. Alan Fleischauer's book, we find ourselves at the intersection of age and spending. The long-standing perception posits youth as a time of lavish spending whilst seeing the twilight years as a time of cautious budgeting.
Delve deeper, however, and this perception may be a simplification. Data paints a detailed picture of spending habits across different age groups. It uncovers a shift in the nature of expenditure rather than a decrease with age. Housing remains the greatest expense as we age, whilst clothing, transportation, and pension contributions dwindle. The wildcard, healthcare, presents an upward trajectory with age.
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Meanwhile, the millennial generation faces (either faced or still facing) a unique economic landscape. Buffeted by events such as the Great Recession, a pandemic, and a volatile stock market, this generation demonstrates distinctive spending and investment patterns, coloured by high student loan debts and an uncertain economic future.
Contrasting these realities against Fleischauer's 'reconfigurement' concept, a novel view of retirement emerges. One not merely marked by an alteration in spending, but potentially a shift in our philosophical understanding of retirement itself.
Does Fleischauer's view of retirement resonate with these economic realities? How might these patterns of spending redefine our philosophical understanding of retirement?
In our ongoing exploration of E. Alan Fleischauer's book, we find ourselves at the intersection of age and spending. The long-standing perception posits youth as a time of lavish spending whilst seeing the twilight years as a time of cautious budgeting.
Delve deeper, however, and this perception may be a simplification. Data paints a detailed picture of spending habits across different age groups. It uncovers a shift in the nature of expenditure rather than a decrease with age. Housing remains the greatest expense as we age, whilst clothing, transportation, and pension contributions dwindle. The wildcard, healthcare, presents an upward trajectory with age.
Meanwhile, the millennial generation faces (either faced or still facing) a unique economic landscape. Buffeted by events such as the Great Recession, a pandemic, and a volatile stock market, this generation demonstrates distinctive spending and investment patterns, coloured by high student loan debts and an uncertain economic future.
Contrasting these realities against Fleischauer's 'reconfigurement' concept, a novel view of retirement emerges. One not merely marked by an alteration in spending, but potentially a shift in our philosophical understanding of retirement itself.
Does Fleischauer's view of retirement resonate with these economic realities? How might these patterns of spending redefine our philosophical understanding of retirement?