At 92, She Was Still Working Retail — Until a Stranger Helped Make Retirement Possible — I see headlines like this and I have little empathy, I ask what horrible life decisions were made that put you in this position?

[–] • 6 pts

I'll take a stab.

No children or did something to alienate them. Seriously who would let their 92 year old mother/grandmother work a retail job just to live?
Worked a job with little reported income, like a waitress. She didn't report her tips to avoid taxes, and now her SS is shit.
Substance abuse or lottery addiction which wasted what little disposable income she had. I'm leaning towards the gambling.

I'd really like to know.

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[–] • 2 pts

I think you're spot on. My mother in law worked until just recently, not because she had to, but simply for something to do. So sometimes it's more about staying active. But I look around and see so many people making so many bad decisions, I'm sickened by it.

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[–] • 1 pt

It is bad when even the generous welfare state can't even fix you.

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[–] • 1 pt

This lady was born around 1934 so she's WW2 and part of the "beat" generation. That's the generation that really gave the jew social and cultural power. Lots of drug and sex experimentation.

Anyway, we all get old man.

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[–] • 1 pt

Anyway, we all get old man.

Yes, plan for it.

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[–] • 1 pt

I'm faced with this idea in my own family, but I'm seeing it early. My brother is doing what I term chasing unicorns: instead of working and planning, he's living off the generosity of my mother. The problem for him is I'm now in the position of being mom's fiduciary. I'm slowly restructuring her finances so she knows how much money she actually has. For my brother, this means reducing his income. I'm going to keep doing this until he has no more income to support himself.

At least that 90 year old woman did what she had to do. Soon, my brother will be doing the same thing. My brother and my parents made a series of bad decisions to get in this situation. Now I'm left with the task of fixing it. How that 90 year old got into that situation is unclear, but I agree, it was poor planning or no planning. Bad luck is not a thing.

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[–] • 1 pt

It is unfortunate that you are left dealing with this.

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[–] • 1 pt

He might see it differently right now but you're doing him a solid.

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[–] • 1 pt

Bad luck is not a thing, but setbacks are. A couple or few can really make one paddle to stay afloat, and moving. Hard to say why at 92 that woman was working, but I've run across it occasionally.

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[–] • 0 pt

Moses didn’t actually walk the desert for 40 years, it’s a metaphor and a lessen. Bad decisions lead to trials and tribulations, It’s never too late to get back in the path. The path is always there. You just have to want to be on it.

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