*I participated in an Influencer Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for MassMutual. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.*
I still believe in the American Dream. I know, the economy is still barely inching back from the downturn, and it is hard to keep the faith in the economy. Still I think about my grandparents’ lives and then my parent’s lives, and can see the progression of the groundwork those previous generation laid. It is evident how they paved the way, and how much more my husband and I have been able to do for our kids because of them. I still believe that America is the land of opportunity, and I am a perfect example! I mean look at my blogging career! Just over two years ago I was just starting out and now it is flourishing. Hard work and determination can pay off!
This is still the land of opportunity, but I guess now more than ever we have to be strategic in our financial plan. Mass Mutual has released a report entitled Mass Mutual’s State Of The American Family ( http://bit.ly/1oMZOAH) that is such an interesting read on this topic. According to the report only 20% of people surveyed are satisfied with their current financial situation. Most people have similar worries no matter their economic status. Saving for college, retirement, not burdening their kids in old age, and teaching kids how to be responsible with finances. Almost 80% of adults agree it is important to save for their children’s education, but it is overwhelming to even begin to think about it. 74% of parents think it’s never too early to start saving for college, and I totally agree! The Mass Mutual report includes information on seminars in your area on saving for your kids education and fun worksheets to do with your kids to help them learn about financial responsibility. As a mom, I find it very important to teach my kids at a young age about finances and such.
I think everyone has their own version of what the American Dream might look like depending on their frame of reference. For us, our dream is to live comfortably and be able to provide enriching experiences for our kids, along with of course the basics of food and clothing, to be able to provide the best education possible and see them grow to be healthy, happy adults. We don’t want them to have the burden of taking care of us financially, so saving for retirement is important to us , as well as being prepared for emergency expenditures that my come up. We also have the American Dream to pay off our student loans, our mortgage, and our car payments. I think with the right financial planning, we are well on our way.
Another interesting statistic from the report says that while 65% of people believe that it is their responsibility to prepare for retirement, only 30% feel like they are doing a good job at it. Our American Dream sounds pretty basic, but there are lots of moving parts to fulfilling this dream. I feel like it will be even tougher for our kids to sustain the quality of life that my husband and I have built for them, and we hope to make it as easy as possible through good education and financial planning on our part for them to do so. It is interesting to see what Mass Mutual has to say in the report, and to see where the country is as a whole on the matter. If finances are on your mind you can check it out at MassMutualFamily Finances, and it may help you to better understand your finances.
My husband is in charge of retirement planning in our house. He’s a tax accountant, so he has a really good handle on how those things work & he insists we’re going to be all set by age 58.
The statistic about how many people are planning for their own retirement is alarming! Even if Social Security is around when some of us get to retirement age, it’s not enough to allow people to live above poverty level. I don’t think you necessarily have to hire a financial planner, but you definitely need to be knowledgeable and plan ahead!
We’ve been planning for our retirement since we had kids. I think we have a good solid plan in place, thankfully! I’m happy we started early!
It’s so important to have a financial plan for your family. It is great to establish short-term and long-term financial goals.
It is always great to have a financial plan in place and I agree with you in that it is still possible to have an American Dream even though the economy is sluggish.
retirement age scares both hubby and I. We both can’t seem to get a head no matter what every time we start saving something else pops up such as the van breaking down, or kids going off to college three of them starting soon one all ready accepted. Then you throw in a 6 year old in the mix and it’s just caos after caos. I am sure that in a few years we could be better off as were buckling down now with a budget. Fact is in our house we need both incomes and I simply can’t work do to my health issues.
The American dream fir me definitely includes financial security. I believe in having a financial plan for my family since I’m a single mom
I am so thankful that I listened to my parents and started saving for retirement as soon as my employer offered it to me. I was 22, and contributed the maximum that I could and had a fantastic company match! Now that I am a stay-at-home parent, with no company match, I’m so appreciative of the head start that I have on retirement savings!
I think a financial plan is so important for all families, no matter their goals. You just can’t wing it! And speaking of a financial plan, I know ours needs to be reevaluated again, thanks for the reminder!
I am not sure what my vision of the American Dream is anymore. Probably about the same as yours. I think many get tied up in the material things they think are the American Dream. I would rather save money for the future than have things now that I do not need.
I think the key to financial happiness comes from living debt free, within your means, and saving. If you do that – no reason you shouldn’t live comfortably.
Financial security is definitely the American dream for me. It’s so important to live within – or below – your means to achieve that.
Same here. It’s my husband who handles our finances and I get to understand it because of him. It’s important to keep records and reconciling the bank accounts every week.
I started early and years ago, had everything in place, on track, no worries. And then we moved out of state (major health problems for FIL). My retirement was state affiliated. I can’t be involved with it where I am (out of state). Such a huge loss. Sometimes glitches come up, and then you really start to scurry. 🙂
Goodluck to you and your family. As for me, still too young for those but I’ll probably take everything into mind once the day comes that I go into that decision.
We actaully don’t have a plan, it was pretty torn up when we sold the house and lost more money out of that. It really messed out plans up but we are working on planning again
My American dream is to just be financially stable. That’s it at this point. I’m getting there! Slowly, but it’s happening!
Thank you for the informative post… Sadly, a lot of us in this dear nation are not entirely read for retirement… But giving up is not an option.
Here in Quebec they are really big on saving for the future. I started saving since I was 22 For my RRSP and when my son was born we open an account for his education. We want to give him the future we didn’t have because our parents didn’t think of saving.
I think we all want to be financially secure when we get old and ready to be done.
“The american dream” has now been redefined a million times over, and to still want it means that the dream isn’t over yet. I hope things would be better for your country.