The Great Recession has brought changes to the lives of baby boomers.
Boomers are less optimistic these days than other generations, a significant change from the optimism they’ve expressed and experienced in earlier decades.
The Boomer Project offers these recent research findings on boomer attitudes:
- Boomers are feeling poorer than they did a year ago.
- Boomers are less happy in their lives in general and their health.
- Boomers are the least optimistic generation about the next 10 years. Only half say the next decade will be “better” than the current one.
- Boomers had lower scores than other generations in the Well-Being Index.
- Only six out of 10 boomers “expect the future to be better.” The score is based on 44 percent of boomers surveyed who say, “I expect the future to be better because I have become better at handling problems in the past couple of years.”
What to these research findings mean? The Boomer Project says:
Our sense is that middle age pragmatism is trumping youthful optimism in boomers. Despite countless warnings by their elders to save for a rainy day (lessons they learned thanks to the Depression and World War II), boomers didn't save and find themselves in [a] precarious financial position at exactly the worse time in their life – when they need to be saving for their retirement.
So hang in there boomer consumers. If you’re stressed about money, caregiving responsibilities, kids, and careers, be sure to check articles on this blog for ideas on how to destress and simplify your lives in these recessionary times.
