dnsweetman6969 - You do realize you used a double negative in your sentence "So no luck had nothing to do with it." implying that luck did have something to do with it. Sorry, but with all your comments about intelligence I just couldn't help myself.

Spunkmaster. LOL. Sweet.

Dns i work retail and i make DARN GOOD MONEY for my age! i DO NOT APPRECIATE you insinuating that i am not smart enough to work someplace else. did you ever think some have no desire to continue education

dnsweetman -
You don't have a degree, but you wound up with a good job. That's luck, buddy. Not intelligence. So before you get a nosebleed from that high horse of yours, maybe you should remember that not everybody has the luck that you have.

I think that he is bragging.

dnsweetman6969: I can't tell if you are bragging or complaining in your posts.

knowing that there is section 8 available, there are many places that have waiting lists for those that do qualify for it... sadly, the younger generations are struggling now, much like the rest of us... many companies now are only matching 401K's at $.20 to the dollar and paying less what one would be able to get by on in today's day in age... the price for tuition has skyrocketed over the last 5 years, and many people can't even afford that... I know of a few people in their 50's & 60's that, even with college degrees and having a 401K set up, are still struggling and being forced to hold down 2 jobs just to make ends meat with the hope to be able to retire before they turn 70... people talk about how they bring in more than $30K/year... good for you, however, that bracket is significantly smaller than what a lot of people are able to grasp in the light of reality... we can't rule out military disability pay or military retirement pension... the retirement pension is only for those that served for at least 30 years (and thank you to those that have served)... that doesn't cover cost of living after discharge... at that point, you're back on your own again, hoping that you have enough to pay your bills and eat your next meal...

I think it's great if you make a lot of money. I'm sure that you've worked very hard for it, but we should examine the issue of Seniors. They are faced with an economy changing so quickly that their investments/savings--which may have been ample to secure their lifestyle ten years ago--are no longer going to cut it.

I also think that my generation (I'm 28) in particular, has a huge issue with saving. We're a generation that (for the most part, I am generalizing here) has not faced any real social or economic crisis. The majority of people I socialized with while growing up in Janesville were provided with their own cars, spending money, cell phones (or pagers, remember those!!), college funding, etc. Now, that they're faced with the economic responsibilities that come along with being an adult, many are facing enormous credit card debt because they have no idea what it means/takes to be fiscally responsible. I wonder what their portfolios will look like when it comes to retirement.

gmaof3-I applaud your daughter. I can't imagine the difficulties she's enduring everyday. I just wanted to let you know that from what I gather from your post, you've set an amazing example for your children. Everyday she wakes up and goes to work, and every minute she spends working towards her degree are excellent investments in not only her future, but the future of her children.

First of all, it was not a dig on people that make a ton of money. I do know lots of people that worked VERY hard for the millions that they made. Unfortunately, many of them do not know what it is like in the streets. There is a lot to be said for street AND book smarts.

The point of this article goes back to seniors not being able to provide for their most basic of needs. They also tend to be the FORGOTTEN people (generalization).

AND FOR THE RECORD, I DO NOT WORK IN A FACTORY!! I have a 4 year degree working in social services. I currently work in assisted living with people that have a wide variety of disabilities. The rewards from that are FAR MORE than any dollar amount!

I'll be 50 this year, and fortunately, my husband started his 401K, and investment plans when he got out of college. However, we never had a lot of extra cash to throw around with 4 children.

I do feel however, that I may have let my daughters down, with regard to instilling the need to invest. It was never anything we openly discussed. But my girls actually thought we were rich, Ha-haaa! I bought their clothes at garage sales or off the sale racks. Never brand names of anything.. no yearly vacations, or big trips. Lots of casseroles and left overs.... A public education and no savings funds for them.

Now my oldest is a single parent, has 3 children, has a life altering degenerative disease and a full time job (she makes just $14 dollars a month too much, to qualify for food stamps). She IS the working poor! On top of that, she's taking on fulltime college courses through UW Platteville on line and will have the degree in five years. Her hopes are to be gainfully employed with the state before her disability cripples her to the point of being wheelchair bound. I'm so proud of her.

So it can be done... then there are the section-8's, but that's another story.

Stevev: You are so correct. I am working with my youngest daughter of 21 and she is starting her own investment program now. She sees what it did for me and I hope she will stay with it. Good Advice.

I congratulate anyone who has invested wisely and secured a good enough job to receive enough S.S. to live on comfortably, BUT.......I grew up on a farm and my mother was a farm wife raising 5 kids. She worked her tail off everyday helping milk 35 plus cows (and still raising us 5 kids) and never worked off of the farm until she was almost 45 years old. My father passed 25 years ago and now she is living on $1100 per month social security. Not too much social security is paid in for a non-working farmwife. Food pantries and St. Vincent Depaul helps her survive along with what us kids can help with. Not everyone is forunate to have lucrative employment. Yes, she had a choice, but farm living was a clean wholesome life and very fulfilling. That is why I worked hard and now have a retirement income, military retirement, social security, and a great part time job. I thank my Mother for showing me what hard work is all about. I will get down off of my pedestal now.

The moral of this story for anyone in their 20's or 30's is START SAVING NOW!!!!!! I really hope people my age read this article and take it to heart. The days of living off of Social Security and pensions are long gone. If you have an employee sponsored pre-tax plan, take advantage of it, especially if there is employer matching. Don't worry about the volitle market. Over time, you will come out ahead.

momof5, don't hold your breath on the job offer. As you can see from some of zero's past comments he was probably on time out from the internet, not on vacation as stated, as he did not keep his room in the basement clean at Mom's.

sorry, janesvillehero, I was a little too harsh on you. The short and sweet of it is, you are you the mascot for the Democratic party.
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Sure. I'll take a job from you. Where should I apply?

dnsweetman6969:
I guess I never lucked out with getting a job where a mob-controlled union could extort huge salaries and pensions out of the stockholders, or a management position with huge bonuses and a golden parachute not tied to executive job performance.
:)
I wasn't ragging on people fortunate to make more money, just noting how difficult it is to achieve Bob Brinker's "land of critical mass". If you look around, you may notice that there are more people around then there are $50,000/year jobs. You aren't one of Dan Quayle's proteges, who thinks that everyone can have an "above average" job, are you?
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It's easy to tell people to get more education, but without money for tuition and the ability to schedule classes around a job, it is difficult to get the diploma or degree which only sometimes gets your foot in the door to a better job. A lot of opportunities are also "who you know", rather than just "what you know".

sounds like a couple of people on here need a private chat room to duke it out.
AS for learning to live on less, it can be done. I know someone who raises 2 girls 7 and 10 on here small disability check (about $14,000 per year)she was(injured at a job years ago and can not work). She has learned that coupons, less driving, and the Goodwill store are a great help!

ps--I have an educations and I never knew it was pluarlizied. Are you the father of eclipse?

Yes, momof5, I'm back from an extended vacation. This flooded town was becoming too dreary to be around so decided to take a trip someplace nice. I see the waters have gone down, but the smell still exists. And to answer your question...no, to my employees that would live places that get flooded...I do NOT pay them over $30K. But to those who matter to me and have educations, they are very well taken care of. Why, looking for work?

I got an earnings statement from Social Security last month. They tell me if I retire in 9 years at 62, I will get $9804/year in benefits. If I wait until I'm 66 1/6, they will give me back $13,980/year, and if I can hang on until I'm 70, I will receive $19,200/year. Only Alan Greenspan could guess what it will cost to live in 9 years, and he's retired from his job as financial swami. I guess that means I will need to rely on some personal savings to supplement that.
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Unfortunately, the 3 IRA funds I started over a decade ago, got stomped by the DotCom bust, flattened by the market reaction to 9/11 and are now being ground to dust by Wall Street's nose dive in response to the oil and mortgage broker thievery. I've been contributing to the 401K fund of my current employer, but the investment options available are limited to mutual stock and bond funds. There's no "Invest in Dick Cheney's clean-up with sekret Haliburton investments" option and no "Ali Baba and the 40 Petroleum Thieves" stock choice, so that part of my retirement investing is struggling to not dwindle to nothing as well, in spite of employer-matching funds.
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The ideas floated by the survivalist movement of the late 60's - stockpile freeze-dried foods, junk silver coins, ammunition, and wait for the inevitable economic collapse, are starting to sound reasonable again. Perhaps the Wisconsin Lottery commission should offer a pool - bet on hyper-inflation and even more devaluation of the dollar, or world depression and 1930's-level unemployment , or the ever-popular choice of government distraction - war. Not a little volunteer fighter and political kickbacks to bankruptcy war like Iraq, but a conventional bring-back-the-draft world (or at least multi-continental) war.
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Unfortunately, the Lottery would probably want us to pay for the tickets in Euros, or even Canadian dollars, which are worth more than US dollars. That's kind of irritating, having grown up when the local banks refused to take Canadian currency because it wasn't worth as much as American currency.

Are you suggesting that those of us who make more than 30k a year do not actually work? Where is it written that you have to be dirt poor, get dirty and sweat alot in order to be considered someone who actually works? Sorry, I don't subscribe to "the nobility of the poor" mentality. Its just a justification for envy.

how about this... the community should start an alliance for ALL people that make less than $20-$30k/year and actually WORK for a living... flood victims welcome... any takers??

Kudos to mooshoo!!

My comments break the rule of niceness, but I feel the need to unload. The JanesvilleZero suffers from epostile dysfunction. He is a cyber bully and a troll. He enjoys baiting people. In fact he is a master baiter.
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He states: "If people in this state spent more time saving money and looking to the future, instead of spending it in bars and liquor stores they would not have this problem. We need to change the image and mindset of this entire state! Wake up people! Big government shouldn't be solely responsible for taking care of your needs. I, for one, find it difficult to understand how someone could even live on less than $20-30K a year."
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His situation likely is: I spend too much time and money in bars and liquor stores and wish I did not have this problem. I can't change my image and mindset! Wake me up! Big government takes care of my needs. I, for one, find it difficult to live on less than $20-30K a year."
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There are plenty of good, self reliant, hard working people who survive on 20-30K a year. Any self proclaimed hero is nothing but a self-centered loser.

Hats off to rusty - good job. You could teach the rest of us a lesson or two.

since Social Security is the sole income of 1 out of 5 seniors -Why do the Republicans want to get rid od Social Security? How heartless can they get? They must have forgotten where they came from is all i can logically assume.

Ah, our good friend, JanesvilleHERO is back.
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How's your pond?
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And, since you said, and I quote "Wake up people! Big government shouldn't be solely responsible for taking care of your needs. I, for one, find it difficult to understand how someone could even live on less than $20-30K a year."... DOES THIS MEAN YOU PAY YOUR EMPLOYEES MORE THAN 20-30k YEARLY??? You know, the ones who inconvienenced you by having their homes flooded?

I might add that we own our home & it's paid for now

Hero....I & my wife are making "do" living off my military retirement/disability which totals out LESS then $15K a year. We ARE saving money & "my stars & garters" I actually had one beer at home about a month ago! I also have another beer that's been in my fridge for about a year now.
Actually, I feel sorry for people who think they need $20-30K minimum just to get by!

I'm with prevention... there are plenty of people that don't drink up their paychecks and have to actually WORK to get what they have without having to go through the state for assistance... just because we don't work for companies such as GM... oh, I'm sorry... many of them are now in a similar boat (or will be soon enough).... just because a person does factory work doesn't mean that they didn't earn what they DO have... in today's standards, all that a degree is is a piece of paper that says that you're qualified... even then, the professional occupations REQUIRE you to have MINIMUM 2-3 YEARS experience prior to consideration for ANY position...

So, is it safe to assume that you are living on a 6-digit income?

There are many people that do not go to the bars and/or consume alcohol. There are many families that live on less than $20,000 a year.

We make due. We cut corners when we have to. We do not spend, spend, spend carelessly. We work VERY hard to obtain what we do have.

So, before you criticize ALL of us poor people, know where we are and what we do. It is not as easy for all of us, even with a college degee, to make your 6-digit incomes.

I am offended my your comments that all poor people drink up their small incomes.

If people in this state spent more time saving money and looking to the future, instead of spending it in bars and liquor stores they would not have this problem. We need to change the image and mindset of this entire state! Wake up people! Big government shouldn't be solely responsible for taking care of your needs. I, for one, find it difficult to understand how someone could even live on less than $20-30K a year.