The Economist published an excellent article headlined 'Baby boomers are loaded. Why are they so stingy?' [paywall] This excellent analysis was preceded by a leader entitled 'What penny-pinching baby-boomers mean for the world economy'. I now realise that my behaviour vis-a-vis money is nothing abnormal – it maybe a bit extreme, but it certainly follows a trend.
The Economist writes in the leader of its 1 June issue: "The West's baby-boomers are the richest generation ever to have lived – but they do not spend like it. Instead, the elderly are squirrelling away money, motivated by ever-longer retirements, the risk that they will need to pay for old-age care, the inevitable uncertainty about how long they will survive and the desire to pass on assets to their children." The article continues: "Born between 1946 and 1964, baby-boomers are the luckiest generation in history. Most of the cohort, which numbers 270m across the rich world, have not fought wars. They grew up with strong economic growth. In aggregate they have amassed great wealth, owing to a combination of falling interest rates, declining housebuilding and strong earnings."
Strolling around Poland's shopping malls, or watching the cinema ads (I have no TV), I can honestly say that I am not remotely tempted to spend money by what's on offer. Owning everything I need (and lots more stuff I no longer need – see this excellent blogpost about decluttering), I shrug my shoulders at the blandishments of businesses as they attempt to sell me things. On the other hand, I'm still working and earning. My outgoings are minimal (food, transport, entertainment) and with my UK state pension rolling in, my net worth increases every month.
On a call with my colleagues last week, I noted how much more expensive it is to be a woman than a man. The last time I went to a hairdresser was in 1995; soap, shampoo and toothpaste are the only body-care products I buy, and my clothes will last me a lifetime. My colleagues chided me for not injecting enough money into the economy! How right they are.
I have no need to show off. I don't own a car and ride my motorcycles sparingly (hot sunny days only). Senior discounts mean rail travel is 30% cheaper than it used to be. Food – I avoid the processed stuff, cook meals from scratch, and shop carefully to cut food-waste to zero. I am also not jetting around and will not be using up accumulated wealth to waste time or money seeing foreign countries that fail to resonate with my spirit. A long local stroll, such as the one I had this morning, is comparable in net joy to any similar walk I could have taken anywhere else on earth. All this is in keeping with my personal de-growth manifesto.
Doing my bit not to screw up the planet any further by buying unnecessary baubles, my tightfistedness in face of the retail sector is also due to concerns about climate change.
However, as The Economist points out, if 270m rich old people reduce their spending to no more than what they need (having learned to curb their wants and resist advertisers' persuasive pitches), the global economy will splutter to a halt.
What could I spend my money on? Well, I have a building project or two that I'd love to carry out, but that means finding a solid, local, builder with whom I could get on well with and who wouldn't walk away with the job 98.5% completed.
And finally – what's left? A solid cash reserve for advanced old age (which will not be cheap, given how many seriously old people will be dependant on so few people of working age). Looking at the Polish statistical office's demographic projections, should I get to 100, I'd be one of 17,000 Poles of that age or more in Poland in 2057. The number of centenarians in Poland today? A mere 1,200. Meanwhile the number of young Poles currently entering Poland's labour market is around half of what it was 20 years ago, and it's only going to get worse.
One worry I have is that wealth disparities will increase dramatically as an avalanche of bequests passes down from my generation to an ever-decreasing number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, born into wealth and entitlement. Freedom from discomfort, hunger, homelessness and disease is a noble aim, but luxury is bad for the soul and bad for our planet. Leaving an educational endowment makes great sense too, at life's end.
This time two years ago:
As I walked out one midsummer's morning
This time nine years ago:
Central Warsaw rail update
This time 13 years ago:
On a musical note
This time 14 years ago:
Standing stones
This time 17 years ago:
The year nears its zenith
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