this post was submitted on 15 May 2025
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He is financially secure enough, he just doesn't want to have to downsize and budget - ie live like a normal person. That's the point of the post, someone who is wealthy enough to retire is whingeing that he can't afford to retire when the truth is he absolutely can afford to retire if he's satisfied with living comfortably rather than luxuriously. Most people nowadays will never own their own home, work multiple jobs and go without heating and meals, barely surviving, while this man complains he can't both retire right now and keep living an above-average lifestyle.
65% of Americans are homeowners. It's really not that luxurious, especially with a mortgage.
And what is he to downsize to? Renting? He should just subjugate himself to the whims of landlords while on a fixed income if he wants to retire? In a lot of places $28k a year is barely enough for a one bedroom and a car. I lived in a cockroach infested studio with no car when I made that much. It wasn't even in a major metro area and I'm young and can walk everywhere.
You're getting mad at a guy that almost managed to play the game right and scrape by instead of the game that fucks most of us over.
That he can afford this year. He'll be stuck on 28k/yr until the day he dies. Consider how much rent has gone up since 2020. How long do you think he'd be able to afford living if rent keeps going up at the rate it has lately? Much less other bills like groceries.
And you might be thinking "Oh, well he can just go to one of those rent controlled 55+ places", but even those go up eventually, and quite frankly I'm not sure if there are enough of them for all the elderly baby boomers in this country.
I think this might be a classic case of hating the player instead of the game.