Assuming it was worth reliving, that is. For some, the first kiss is pretty dreadful.
A company called Bid On Equipment decided to survey a couple of thousand people to find out what certain once-in-a-lifetime moments would be worth to them. A few examples of average payments:
Relive the birth of first child: $100,622
Attend a Tupac Shakur concert: $4,991
Be at the “Star Wars” premiere: $11,757
Hear the Gettysburg Address: $26,896
It wasn’t clear whether we’d get to relive childbirth knowing then what we know now about things like epidurals.
But seriously: People were willing to shell out some pretty big bucks, and tended to be willing to pay more for personal moments in time vs. cultural ones. Bouncing off that, I wrote a piece for The Simple Dollar called “What would you pay?”
The main point: When you look back 20 years from now, will you wish you’d spent even more time playing Fallout – or will you wish you’d hung out more with family and friends?
That you’d hung out more in the moment (i.e., a screen-free environment) with your loved ones, or that you’d all spent time showing one another cat videos? And so on.
Another post at The Simple Dollar was topical yet also timeless. “How long could YOU survive a job shutdown?” brings back that perennial favorite, the financial fire drill. Those of us who weren’t directly affected by the recent unpleasantness find it all too easy to say, “But I don’t work for the government, so what does this have to do with me?”
In the piece, I suggested we view the shutdown as an object lesson. There’s no such thing as a secure job. We can’t predict layoffs, illness and such – but we can prepare for them. Hence the financial fire drill.
I’d love to hear your feedback – especially if it appears in the comments section on the actual article. The more conversations, the better. I tell myself that TSD honchos are saying, “Wow, look at all the comments Donna’s posts engender! We should totally give her a raise!”
Ticking off some retirees
Of three new articles I recently published at Money Talks News, one raised quite a few hackles: “7 reasons it’s dumb to claim Social Security early.”
Before you all start hissing and flinging sharp objects my way, please know this: I don’t write the headlines!
And in fact it does make sense for some folks to claim Social at age 62 vs. their full retirement ages. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t. Read the article to learn why.
While you’re at it, read these two other MTN pieces:
“11 top tips for saving on every purchase in 2019”
“12 ways retirees can make money through passive income”
Playing fast and loose
Show of hands: Who thinks that financial infidelity is as bad as physical cheating?
Turns out quite a few people believe that sneaking is sneaking, whether it happens between the sheets or regarding the ledger sheets. In fact, some think that clandestine cash acts are more scandalous than getting a bit of strange.
“One in four older adults say keeping money secrets is worse than a physical affair,” my post on Considerable, explains why. (Hint: It’s all about trust.)
When asked to do a piece called “These are the best and worst states to retire,” I have to say I could not have predicted some of the top 10.
Florida, sure; it came in at No. 1. No surprises there. But I would never have pegged South Dakota as the second-best place. Or New Hampshire (No. 4) and Wyoming (No. 8).
The folks responsible for the study (WalletHub) ranked more than climate, obviously. Categories such as taxes, life expectancy, crime rates, culture and access to medical care were also factored in.
Alaska didn’t make the top 10. But at least it didn’t end up in the bottom 10, unlike my home state of New Jersey.
Readers: How’s the first week of your no-spend February going? I’ll be posting an update soon, so feel free to add your experiences to the comments, or send them to me at SurvivingAndThriving (at) live (dot) com.
Boy, you’re playing with fire this time! 🙂
(I sound a lot more crabby than I actually feel about your mentions)
I don’t think I would like to relive my first kiss. It was bumpy (I had braces), felt really strange…and as I remember, there was a good deal more tongue than I was comfortable with. But hey, to be considered important enough to kiss! Now THAT was nice. I remember the first kiss from the Brick (we’re now married 36+ years) with a lot more nostalgia.
RE: getting Social Security early — I agree with you, it really depends on your situation. The Brick just applied for it (age 64), after our advisors pointed out it would take 19.8 years to make up the difference in $$. Also, you should remind your readers that if you change your mind about early SS, you have up to 12 months to pay it back — then apply again after you’re fully vested.
My first kiss was awesome, but I wouldn’t pay to relive it. Some things are best kept as a memory, in my opinion.
And thank you for this info about social security. I’ve been thinking about this a lot as I’ll soon turn 59. I can take full retirement at 67 but plan to wait until 70. Longevity is the norm in my family so I believe it’s best to wait. However, I’ll do some calculations just to know.
Lastly, and most importantly, will you please share where all you contribute articles? Always bummed when you mention a website I didn’t know about, and then wonder how many I’ve missed. I try to always select the ‘notify me of new posts by email’ option.
I’m going to try and be better about sharing my freelance links. Some of the stuff I do is ghostwriting (usually “evergreen” articles for websites that want a backlog of basic info) but I do like to let readers know where I’ve been.
Longevity is the norm in my family as well, so I am going to wait until age 70. Some of the commenters on the MTN piece were chastising me for advising folks to wait, on the theory that “if I start collecting less at age 62 and just invest that cash, I’ll make out better.” Except that you can’t be sure that you won’t need to spend every dime because Unforeseen Circumstances.
Or some thought “so what if I get an extra amount each year if I wait — it’ll take years to make up for not having taken less money sooner!” Apparently they didn’t read the article closely enough. A main reason not to take it sooner is to have the largest possible benefit in case you outlive all your other money. Suppose some of those Unforeseen Circumstances pop up at age 63 and you spend rather than invest your (smaller) benefit plus a lot more than the required minimum distribution of your 401(k) or whatever plan you have. That plan winds up depleted much sooner than you thought and you live until age 95. But now all you have each month is your Social Security check — the Retired At 62 Edition.
What was interesting to me about that article is that taking money from one’s retirement account can mean a lower tax burden, i.e., avoiding the “tax torpedo.” Scary stuff.
I remember my first kiss seemed totally gross, so no desire to hit replay on that. I’d rather see my grandparents again. It would be really cool if they were young when I got to meet them. As long as I didn’t cause a time warp and wind up not being born or start a war. (I watch a lot of Star Trek.) I am GenX and I have my own savings account that I don’t give my partner access to. We have shared accounts for joint property and separate accounts. He knows I also have cash stashed in the house a lot of the time too. My idea of a cash emergency is far different than his.
I, too, would like to meet my grandparents and talk with them. What I’d like even more than that is to have my mom back, so I (and everyone else) could hear her side of the story.
Since you and your partner have different ideas of emergency, it’s probably best that you have your own separate account. A lot of folks are going the “yours, mine, ours” route when it comes to finances.
Thanks for reading, and for leaving a comment.
I, too, would like to see my grandparents, especially my maternal grandparents. My maternal grandpa died when I was 3, and I don’t remember anything about him. My maternal grandma died when I was 26, and she lived on the same farmstead as us. For years, she was my best friend. And, I’d also like to meet my dad before he ever entered WWII. I only knew him with the PTSD he suffered with the rest of his life.
I doubt I’d pay to relive the first of any experience. The birth of my child was a wondrous RESULT but the actual experience, even with an epidural too late and that wore off too soon, was NO THANK YOU. First kiss was more funny than anything and I think that should just reside in my memory.
I’m not doing a no-spend month but will enjoy seeing how others do!
Oh Good Grief – how sad is this? I’ve been thinking and thinking and I cannot remember my first kiss! However, I am 84+ years old and it’s possible my memory is a bit shaky. (I can remember the first kiss from the boy who has now been my husband for almost 65 years. It was just plain perfect.)
“I can remember the first kiss from the boy who has now been my husband for almost 65 years. It was just plain perfect.”
I love this. A happy Valentine’s Day to you both.
Wish I could help you out by posting on your Simple Dollar columns, as I read and enjoy them. But I won’t use Discus; sometimes I want to post anonymously (for privacy, not to post mean stuff) and don’t necessarily want everything I post to be linked to a common author. It’s too bad because TSD has lots of good material to discuss.
Well, thanks for wanting to help out.
Woke up in the middle of the night thinking, “Just use an alias, genius.” Sigh.
Will Disqus let you choose an alias? Maybe if you use a different e-mail…
Why pay the likes of you to relive something I can relive just by closing my eyes? Those firsts are firsts for a reason. Great post!