00:00Dear Younger Self, that's how you want me to start?
00:03Which part, the beginning?
00:05No, read this first and then skip to that.
00:07Dear Younger Self.
00:09Dear Younger Self.
00:10Dear Younger Self.
00:11Make sure you are paid what you're worth.
00:15Save for retirement as much as possible.
00:18Don't cash out all your 401k at once.
00:22I only have about three months worth of bill payments in my savings account.
00:27We make very little on Social Security.
00:30I still have to work to pay my bills.
00:33I'm worried that my investments won't last me.
00:37I don't have any retirement funds put away at all.
00:46Okay.
00:47Are you ready now?
00:48Yep.
00:49Dear Younger Self.
00:51Open up a Roth IRA and learn how to invest.
00:54Don't pile up debt.
00:56I would tell myself to hold on to my investment portfolio.
01:00Save more and give less.
01:02Your home is one of your biggest assets.
01:04Protect it.
01:06After I retired, I cashed out my entire 401k,
01:10deposited $110,000 for a down payment on the house.
01:14I also paid a 45% income tax bill by taking all the money at once.
01:21I opened a Roth IRA when I was 54, finally,
01:26and I put $6,000 in it and let it sit there
01:30because I didn't know that you were supposed to invest it.
01:34I think if I were to just leave my money alone, not move it around,
01:38then it would be worth a lot more today.
01:40A financial advisor explained to me that I had to invest it, and I did.
01:46And now it's over $41,000.
01:51I would definitely advise younger people
01:54to put a maximum amount in their 401k or IRA match
01:59because that money grows over time.
02:02Just imagine if I had knew how to do that
02:05when I was 25 instead of 55.
02:08It would be quite a bit more.
02:10It's way, way better if you plan something way ahead of time
02:14than wait till the end like we have.
02:17Up we go. There you go.
02:19There you go. There you go.
02:21This is where he likes to sit.
02:23We didn't realize that Social Security would be so little.
02:26Most of my debt has accumulated with things beyond my control.
02:31It's not like we go to Vegas and have a great time
02:34and run our credit card up,
02:36but we've always needed to as well when we've fell on hard times.
02:40I missed one payment on the credit card, and it just ballooned.
02:45Within six months, it completely doubled.
02:49The Federal Housing Administration gave us a loan.
02:52The interest rate back then was 13 and 3 quarters,
02:55and it just grew so fast.
02:58Eventually our loan was so big we couldn't manage it,
03:03and we ended up moving off of the farm.
03:07Now we've had to go into thousands of dollars
03:10of credit card debt to pay our bills.
03:12We don't have a savings account anymore,
03:14and our credit scores are tanked.
03:17Yes.
03:19Okay.
03:20Will it go off if I put it on airplane mode?
03:23Will it ding-ding?
03:28I've learned that in matters of finance,
03:31you have to make decisions without being overly emotional.
03:35I don't even drive by my old farm.
03:38It's really a very negative part of my life
03:41to see what we could have had.
03:44I have always offered financial help to friends
03:47to help them get through a difficult time,
03:50not realizing I was less fortunate too.
03:52When you get to our age, it's a little late in the game
03:55to try to fix it because the damage is already done.
03:58So if you're young and you're working,
04:01don't be afraid to put back an extra $20 a week or whatever
04:05and don't touch it.
04:08I'm currently an over-the-road trucker.
04:11My current financial situation
04:14is probably the reason I keep trucking at my age.
04:19I haven't seen too many 80-year-olds out there.
04:23It's okay to care about people.
04:26However, you have to look at what it is
04:29costing you mentally and financially.
04:32You only have so many years to prepare for retirement.
04:39Dear Younger Self...
04:42Prioritize your health
04:45to avoid financial and physical hardships.
04:48Be prepared for unexpected expenses.
04:51Things change, circumstances change.
04:54I didn't plan on pancreatic cancer at the age of 62,
04:58but even with good insurance, chemo, surgery, radiation,
05:01and a second round of treatment when the cancer came back
05:05I lost my annual $2,500 out-of-pocket maximum
05:08for the past 3 years.
05:10My wife had her heart issue.
05:13Her income changed immediately.
05:16My jobs were physically taxing,
05:19and I feel that contributed to some of the medical conditions.
05:23On a scale of 1 to 10, my health is probably a 6.
05:27She was making over $50,000 a year plus benefits,
05:31and suddenly she couldn't work.
05:34My savings have been spent on medical bills.
05:37I only have enough left to cover my bills for a few months.
05:41I can no longer work, so I survive on disability benefits.
05:45I can't afford any financial missteps.
05:48I don't know if I can retire anytime soon.
05:51It depends on if my health holds up.
05:53Dear Younger Self...
05:55Don't retire early.
05:58Continue working as long as you can.
06:00I just wish I could have worked longer.
06:03I lost my job. I was sort of forced into retirement.
06:07When I was 58, I had more than $500,000 saved for retirement.
06:12I turned in my retirement paperwork.
06:14What a mistake that was.
06:16You sit around and get bored, and retirement's boring.
06:20It really is.
06:22I have no desire just to lay on the couch
06:25and eat brownies every day.
06:27I just think I have to stay active and do something.
06:30All of a sudden, I had no important decisions to make
06:34and no social network anymore.
06:38I went from hoping I'd live a really long time
06:42to being worried that I will outlive my savings.
06:45It's not a great way to feel.
06:48I tried to return to part-time work recently.
06:51No one's hiring, or if they are, they're not looking for people my age.
06:55It's challenging to get a job when you're in your 60s.
06:58I don't know if it's my age, but I rarely ever hear back from anybody.
07:03I tried my best to look as young as possible.
07:06I don't feel very marketable at this point.
07:09Honestly, I think they really don't want an old guy
07:12who's going to have to take a day off to go to the doctor.
07:14I had a college degree and great office skills,
07:17but employers wanted a cute 20-something at the front desk.
07:20I mean, for the most part, even as sick as I am,
07:23I could probably outwork anybody in this neighborhood.
07:28In February 2023, I finally started a full-time job
07:32with the state agency employer who was willing to give me a chance.
07:36I was 63.
07:38I got my first freelance writing gig last week,
07:41so there's a new chapter to write,
07:43just when I thought it was time for the epilogue.
07:45I'm also doing polymer clay sculptures.
07:48When I get stressed out, that's what I do.
07:50If I sell it, I feel even better.
07:52You're good at it.
07:54Well, thank you. I'm good at it, I guess.
07:58I'm working on becoming a content creator.
08:01I want to give opinions on various things in society,
08:06also traveling, camping, that kind of thing.
08:11I am happy right now because I have a great job.
08:15People say they have to go to work.
08:17I say I get to go to work.
08:19Don't retire. Don't retire. Work as long as you can.
08:22No, I would do it in a New York minute, man.
08:25I'd go back to work and love every minute of it.
08:32So you say, dear younger self, pursue a career you're passionate about.
08:36Dear younger self, don't wait to embrace change.
08:39Dear younger self, pursue a career that you're passionate about.
08:43Find a passion, even if it's just a hobby.
08:46When I was younger, I also knew deep down that my teaching career didn't suit me.
08:52I was a self-taught musician.
08:54In my early career, I was playing clubs, bringing home $150 to $200 a week.
09:00That was back in the early to mid-70s.
09:05I started playing guitar when I was about 11 years old.
09:08Instead of jumping ship then, I dug in and pursued a higher degree in the same field,
09:13thinking the promotion would make up for the lack of personal satisfaction.
09:19I moved away from music and got into jobs that offered a regular paycheck.
09:26When I became a librarian, I did take a pay cut from my teaching career.
09:33But it was well worth it to me because I loved going to work so much every day.
09:41My biggest regret is not having followed through with my music.
09:45I still love it. I just can't do it as well as I used to, but I still love it.
09:50That part will never die.
09:51When you're playing and singing, it just makes you feel good in general.
09:55And my wife likes to hear me sing, and I guess that's the reason I do it.
10:02Walk through this road with me.
10:10The one thing I think both Steve and I did right was we made sure that we took care of our parents.
10:17One thing I know I did right was staying connected with people.
10:22My financial choices allowed me to raise and support my children
10:28while teaching them to be independent and socially responsible.
10:34Unexpected changes make living in the moment a good skill to have,
10:38and I'm always ready to shift gears when needed.
10:41I live on my farmland. I am fortunate to own the land and live mortgage-free.
10:48I take it one day at a time. I'm thankful I made it through the day and get up the next day and do it again.
10:54My greatest accomplishment is having three beautiful daughters
10:58who are educated, caring, and productive members of society.
11:03That is worth more than all the money in the world.
11:08Mostly we just want to get somewhere where at least there's community,
11:11where people seem to care for each other.
11:13I can't waste time looking back at what might have been.
11:17My choices, good or bad, are my responsibility.
11:22Somewhere along the way, I learned to approach life with curiosity instead of despair.
11:28And that's when everything became adventure instead of trepidation.
11:32That's when life got really good. I hope you start earlier than I did.
11:37But first, open up that Roth IRA.
11:41Love, your much older self, Nancy Seeger.
11:46Beautiful. I love your voice.
11:49Oh, thanks. All that reading to kids.
11:52Yeah.
11:54Okay. Might have to do take two on this one.
11:58Dear younger self.
11:59But then mine, mine's not.
12:03Yeah, just skip to the next page, Nancy. It's highlighted.
12:06Okay, I got it. I could never be an actress.
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