Dumber after age 53?

[babylonsister]

Sigh. I'm 53.


Dumber after age 53?
New study says people get smarter with money only to a certain point, usually around age 53.

Posted by Kim Peterson on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 2:16 PM


We're supposed to get smarter about money and finances as we get older, right? One new study suggests that may not be the case.

Researchers have been tracking the financial mistakes people make in their lives, and came up with an interesting conclusion: The mistake pattern is U-shaped, with the most mistakes occuring early and then later in life.

So when are we the smartest in life, financially speaking? At age 53. After that, we get dumber with money.

I can understand being financially dim-witted early on in life. You don't have much money in your 20s, for example, and there's an unwritten law that the money you do have you will spend stupidly.

But seniors don't really go around blowing cash on 7 For All Mankind jeans. So how do we get dumber?

The researchers studied 10 different kinds of credit behavior. The mistakes they tallied included wrongly estimating the value of your house, paying too much when it comes to interest rates and fees, and not taking advantage of credit card balance transfer offers.

more...

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/blog/page.aspx?post=1388123&_blg=1,1388123

[Jennicut]

1. Don't worry, I am still stupid at 33. At least you are at the peak of being financially smart

[babylonsister]

15. And now it's all downhill.

:cry:

I kid. I'm not quite decrepit yet!

[Jennicut]

18. LOL! I long to be 50-something.

I am very tired. My 4 and 5 year old exhaust me. Going on DU is actually down time, everyone is in bed!

[babylonsister]

20. Please don't wish your life away. At my age, you will have

grown-up kids who will hopefully be your best friends. You might even have grandkids.

Time flies, fast, and the older you get, the faster it goes. Enjoy every aspect of it, from your precious babies to DU. And then sleep! :)

[SPedigrees]

31. Good advice. And I speak from experience, after age 50 you will get more tired each year.

By 60, a walk around the block will leave you needing a nap.

[Jennicut]

41. True, I am good friends with my Mom now that I am an adult.

Sometimes the kids take a lot out of you though...so I am off to bed to get some rest!

[Cerridwen]

2. Great. Now I've got to go find an ageism bingo card.

*sigh* A curmudgeon's work is never done.

[babylonsister]

11. Bingo...card?

:rofl: You made me laugh, and reminded me of my soon-to-be-ex m-i-l. :D

[Cerridwen]

17. Yeah. Sorry. "Inside" joke happening in my posts as we type.

here ya go.

What? You don't live in my head and read every.one.of.my. posts? LOL

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

22. Well, I DO and the vending machine has been OD for weeks.

Hello?! We need SERVICE in here.

:rofl:

[Cerridwen]

25. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

In my world, I'm more than happy to provide you with the tools to fix shit your ownselves. I will not, however, enable (*snort*) you to get away with not doing for yourself.

*hand EFerrari applicable tools and the manual*

*snort*

:rofl:

Hey, ya wanna see if we can go mess up the recommend system again? :evilgrin:

[EFerrari]

29. I was nowhere NEAR that then when I was there.

:hi:

[babylonsister]

30. OK, that's going to my out-laws for posterity! nt

[rrneck]

3. That's good news for me.

I'll start getting rich in a year. Hell, I do everything else backwards.

[havocmom]

4. A few years older than you, my dear, and know I am not as sharp on many subjects as I once was

Dumber, or just a bit more forgetful? Easy to lose track of details. Or, maybe on reaches a point of not caring so much?

[EFerrari]

5. Enjoy it while it lasts!

:)

[babylonsister]

7. Ha! I have 3 months! nt

[EFerrari]

12. I have three weeks. Better go buy a lottery ticket NOW.

lol

[babylonsister]

14. Before I forget?!

:)

I might just do that!

[madrchsod]

6. i have`t been smart with money since i was 16......

course i did`t help that the best jobs i have had were sold to the asian workers

[Hello_Kitty]

8. I'd file that under "more likely to be taken advantage of" rather than dumber.

It's not like these people are being sucked in by shiny baubles. They're vulnerable to hucksters using technology and a business-friendly legal climate to bilk them out of their money in dribs and drabs.

[napi21]

19. I think that's the most likely exp. However, I believe it is an

assessment that must be made on an individual basis. ie: Someone whose spouse always handled the money is suddely alone. They are much more vulnerable to scams and hucksters than someone who is familiar with money and learned over the years of experience and hearing horrible stories of mistakes & scams pulled on others.

I'm 66 and I'm a whole lot smarter about money now than I was when I was younger, and I keep learning about more scams every day that I add to my memory bank.

[Poiuyt]

9. You always hear about seniors as victims of scams

I think that would account for the financial meltdown. Whether it's from being more trusting or just not as sharp as in their youth, I can't say.

I will say that I'm 56 and not as sharp as I used to be. It takes me longer to learn things, I can't concentrate as well, my short term memory isn't what it used to be, etc.

[EFerrari]

16. Sometimes I wonder about the range of time it takes a brain to cook.

Mine wasn't done until I was over thirty. My 40s were more productive and more creative than my 20s or 30s. 50s will be hard to measure because in our culture, women over 50 get a big "go away" message. It'll be interesting so see, anyway.

[Poiuyt]

38. Men get that message too.

[EFerrari]

39. Do they? 50s always seemed like the time when men got the most recognition.

Who knew. :)

[dipsydoodle]

10. My mother is 84

and can figure what to invest and where to invest it almost as fast as I can blink.

[EFerrari]

13. My mom is 77 and ditto.

[KharmaTrain]

21. Let's Get Dumber Together

I'm also 53...and I've always said and been told...one doesn't get older, one gets more experienced.

Well, I could agree with the money thing as I have more money to play with now than I did at 44 or 34 or 24...but I don't see the amount I have as being any indication of my skills...just my luck.

:hi:

[babylonsister]

23. I'm in fabulous company and feel much better!

:hug: Thanks! :hi:

[EFerrari]

24. That sounds a lot like "Let's misbehave".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmwc9artTUM



lol

[KharmaTrain]

28. Cole Knew A Thing Or Two...LOL

Just don't let the kids onto it. :rofl:

:hi:

[babylonsister]

32. Wow, I never heard of that one, though I haven't listened yet. I do

remember 'Ain't Misbehavin'

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/n/nat_king_cole/aint_misbehavin.html

[EFerrari]

34. I think Woody Allen put it in a movie . . . maybe "Everything you always wanted to know about sex".

He was good with music.

[babylonsister]

35. Ah, jeeze, woody allen, and sex, I don't want to know nothin!

OK, thanks for the origins, just had to react!

[EFerrari]

36. I know. But Cole Porter didn't write it for him.

lol

[JI7]

26. they start to spoil the grandkids

[ddeclue]

27. Damn! I've only got 10 years left!

:rofl:

[DU GrovelBot]

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[EFerrari]

37. You need ID to be in this thread, kid.

[FarCenter]

40. The age at which Nobel prize winners make the prize-winning acheivement is way less than 53

It is more like 30 - 35.

53 is way over the hill.

[Johonny]

44. this is mostly due not to them getting dumber

but obligations. Most senior scientists after 30-35 simply become overwhelmed with obligations. To committees, to Universities, to National organizations, to grant writing, to their families... they don't stop being smart or having creative ideas. At least none of the ones I've known. They simply don't have to pure research time they did as younger scientists. (This is true even for non-famous ones).

[Johonny]

42. At a certain age... does it matter

The retired people I know really don't give a crap about "smart" buying. They're what 79 or 82 years old. Do they really care that much if they squeeze an extra .25 % on their CD? They could be dead before the thing matures anyways. As my one friend was telling me only last week. " I was at the bank and the teller was telling me if I moved my money to another fund I could get another 0.5 %. I told her, I don't care." There does come a point when trying to maximize your "wealth" isn't worth the remaining time you have on Earth. It's not like you take it with you. So to me it's not that surprising a result.

[stevedeshazer]

43. Oh, crap. I'm 54. It's all downhill from here.

My SO is 61. We should be financially dead.

Okay, we almost are, but we didn't buy no motorhome.