Do Old People Spend More Than Youths?

[Brett Linette]

I think people spend more money in their youth than they do in their old age; while a lot of us save money, most of us don't save half as much as we spend.

[IgnisRhapsody]

Unfortunately I don't think they can spend much. The older people I know only receive the minimum money to survive and it is the children who take care of them. That is a normal problem in Latin America. That is why houses usually have large families, because everyone has to do their part to support the house. I hope that at least in the United States it can be better. However, from what my friends tell me, the situation is not very different.

[Precious Amarachi Nzeakor]

I think the whole concept of working hard now is saving enough for retirement stability. It's not because we'll spend more at old age but because of how the system works. We'll be old. The recline will not just be in age but physical and mental strength. We'll be tired. When that time comes, it's necessary to have savings to fall back on.

[Caroline Elizabeth 1]

No, definitely not. I think young people spend more than old people. I see a lot of youngsters sometimes purchasing what they don't even need but an old man or woman will always go for what is needed.

[Babalola Oluseyi]

I don't believe that the purpose of saving towards retirement is because the elderly spend more. I believe that it is to be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle even after the flow of income stops.

[Elaine LaBonte]

I would say it's a personal thing. As an octogenarian in reasonably good health, I have plenty of time in a day to write. But I'm not going to start writing a book at this time. Writing reviews on this site is fun for me and doesn't cost anything. My social security is the only income I have, but I am frugal and don't need more. Writing reviews here doesn't cost anything. My savings is cash on hand. So this is one old person who has never saved anything. Life is good.

[KafeliKe]

My opinion is that if people are encouraged to begin saving for retirement when they are still young, they won't end up spending more because their needs will have decreased. Additionally, the issue of expenditure is individual.

[Missing Person]

I think in most countries in the world, the majority of the old people spend a lot more than the young. In most countries, the cost of housing is rising faster than incomes and salaries. There are a lot more old people who can afford to buy a house and a car compared to young people who have to take out loans to afford those things. I think increasing student tuition fees debt, housing debt, and car debt in countries like the United States force the millennial generation to spend less money than other older generations.

Some economists like Thomas Pickety say that the ownership of capital always produces a far greater income than career advancement and technical skills. In other words, property owners - who usually belong to the older generations - will always have greater yearly income than those who live entirely off of their labor.

[Zainab Wasif]

Well, it varies from person to person and depends basically on how one wants to spend. You have a choice of how you want to spend during your youth. If you live frugally during your youth, save up for your retirement, you get to spend more during your old age, and live a stable and comfortable life. Generally, there are some unavoidable spending during old age like health and hospitalisation costs.

[Victoria Ukamaka]

I don’t think it is because they will spend more at that time than they are currently spending at a young age. It is because they are likely to work less and earn less due to their declining age and health.

I agree with your point. Most times, old age comes with alot of sickness. Seeing a doctor is not free hence, it is likely that old people spent more than the young

Yes, exactly! You understood my point.

[Precious Oba]

I think people spend less as they grow old because for most people, tend to do less with age. Most old people who survive on a pension scheme do not want to spend more than their little pension. Also, their children would have grown up enough to take care of themselves, so they don't get to spend more money taking care of their children and themselves.

[Smrithi Arun]

I believe this is a widely subjective topic that solely depends on each person’s lifestyle. If someone who has worked their whole life has the dream of touring the world with their significant other post retirement, they might end up spending more than the youth in their family. On the other hand, if they dedicate all their wealth and assets to their grandchildren so that they can have the luxurious life they didn’t, then the youth will be seen as spending more.

Luxury aside, mostly elderly people do have to spend more at the hospital if they haven’t been taking care of themselves.

[Kristin Ransome]

I feel like each retired person likely spends more on their day-to-day life than they did as a youth, mainly due to the increased cost of living compared to when they were young. With inflation rising so quickly, people hopefully acknowledge that they will need to save a lot more money just to make up the increase in costs and general increase in care needs. Personally, I am living rather frugally with hopes of travelling more when I don't have to work, but also knowing that I should not put everything on my bucket list off until retirement!

[Mimi Frawley]

Two words: HEALTH CARE.
Yes, more money is likely spent in older age.

[Waliyat_24]

In my opinion, I feel they spend as much as young people. They spend on hospital bills and nutrients/food supplements for old people. And those that don’t spend on hospital bills go on vacations.