Baby Boomers don’t need a reminder that they aren’t spring chickens. Ranging in age from 60-79, boomers are all looking at or well into retirement. Money is likely starting to be a concern, even if they saved well for their “golden years.”

While retirement is supposed to be a time of relaxation and enjoying activities you put off while you were working and raising a family, it can also be a time of great financial upheaval. For those who are working with a limited income, such as Social Security, money can be a constant worry. 

Another area of difficulty is the rising cost of healthcare, which can easily steal away extra savings when Baby Boomers are already starting to pinch their pennies. Of course, these aren’t the only reasons Boomers might be tightening their wallets. Check out our list below and see if you can relate to any issues Boomers are dealing with. 

1. Life Expectancy

It’s no secret that Boomers are living longer. Life expectancy a hundred years ago was just over 58. Five years ago, it was holding steady at 78.81 years. Some of the increase is due to the advancement in infant care, including infant birthing methods. However, the elderly are also getting much better care and surviving well into their 80s and beyond. 

With Boomers living longer, healthcare costs and basic necessities have become real issues for most of the Baby Boomer Generation as they near or settle into retirement. Inflation also hasn’t been kind to the wallets of this generation as food, shelter, and healthcare have all increased in price. 

2. Future Worries

Worries over their future are causing Boomers to tighten their spending. As many boomers enter and settle down into retirement, real concerns over what the future holds are curbing the spending habits many Boomers may have had in their earlier years. 

Many Boomers are also leaving the United States to spend their pensions and retirement income in countries where the cost of living is much lower. The perks of being able to live comfortably over just scraping by are causing many to become expats in the countries of their choice. 

3. Investment Strategy

Even though the modern stock market has really been around since 1602, investing has never been more necessary. In order to stretch their retirement savings, many Boomers have turned to investments and financial advisors to help them. 

Overall, the stock market has a good return pattern, and while investors may see some bumpy times, they can expect to earn about 10% year-over-year on their money if they stick with a long-term investment plan. This strategy is the only one where you’ll see boomers “spending” money. 

4. Competing Demands For Money

When Boomers were growing up, brands were well-known institutions. Campbells, Tupperware, Dawn, and others were household staples. Nowadays, brands face fierce competition from upstarts in the same industries, giving Boomers and their offspring almost unlimited choices. 

This unlimited access to choice can be a double-edged sword for Boomers. While they are accustomed to brands they know, they may also decide to buy nothing, afraid or uncomfortable with so much to choose from. 

5. Budgetary Habits

When I was growing up, my dad used to say that older people were “stuck in their ways.” The older we get, the more that tends to ring true, especially if we don’t work at being flexible in our minds and hearts. 

Finances are no different. If you’re used to a particular budget, it can be hard to change those budgetary habits. For some, this might mean spending too much, but for others, it’s going to mean keeping their wallets tight to their chests. 

6. Differing Relationship With Money

Born into the massive money boom after World War II, many Boomers grew up in a strong economy. With job stability on their side, Boomers squirreled away their wealth, delaying wants and building tiny empires of financial success. 

As time moved on, those lessons have only honed themselves to a fine point. Now, Boomers with wealth to spare are more likely to sit on it than spend it, especially if they have children and grandchildren to pass on that wealth to. 

7. Spreading Generational Wealth

The idea of generational wealth isn’t a new one. In fact, people have been passing on wealth to younger generations since the first monetary note exchanged hands. However, maybe for the first time, trillions of dollars are set to change hands as Boomers age into retirement. 

While Warren Buffet may not leave much to his progeny, there are wealthy households that will pass down significant amounts of money to their offspring. One man from Chicago died without any next of kin. His $11 million estate – which he gained over a lifetime of earning and saving – was passed to 119 family members, who each received around $60,000. That’s what generational wealth can do for families across the world. 

8. Supporting Adult Children

Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z are not growing up in the same economic state as their Boomer parents and grandparents. Job stability is a thing of the past, as is an unquestioning loyalty to one employer. With the pension system, which is pretty much a thing of the past as well, many workers don’t feel that earning vestment in a company is worth the toll of sticking with one job for the five or ten years it may take to become fully vested. 

Because of this shifting attitude in work-life balance and working environments, many Boomers are supporting their adult children either financially or through material expenses. Gone are the days of a mortgage, two cars, and basic life necessities maintained on one income. 

9. Supported by Adult Children

Many Boomers who didn’t pinch their pennies growing up now get support from their adult children. Gen X and Millennials are bearing the brunt of care for those already in or those sliding into retirement. Social Security doesn’t provide much of an income, especially if you can’t find affordable housing. 

Health crises are also causing older USAmericans to move in with their offspring in order to pool resources and support the entire family. This trend is likely to continue, with Gen Z leaving the nest much later in life than their older counterparts. 

10. Lockdown Leftovers

If there’s one instance that changed the way everyone relates to work and each other in recent years, it’d be the COVID-19 pandemic. The isolation period and lockdown phase of dealing with the pandemic changed the nature of how the world worked, and its effects are still visible for many Boomers. 

Because of this, many activities Boomers may once have truly enjoyed went by the wayside. Cruises, weekly golf sessions, and other social gatherings were a “no-go” for so long that many Boomers may have felt uncomfortable attending such events despite the lifting of restrictions years ago. 

11. Fewer Subscriptions

One area where Boomers are different from their Gen X and Millennial children is in the arena of subscriptions. Boomers who didn’t grow up in the technological age don’t need or want five streaming platforms and tons of social media. 

Instead, they keep their cable bill and rent anything they can’t watch on their regularly scheduled programming. This is one way they tend to save money. Fewer subscriptions mean less waste. 

12. Waste Not Want Not

Boomers are the children of those in the Greatest and Silent Generations—men and women who lived through times like The Great Depression. Saving wasn’t just something they did; it was a way of life that allowed them to spread meager means over their family instead of anyone doing without. 

While Boomers may not live to that same standard, most are likely great at pinching a penny and saving what they can by not spending extravagantly. Their financial waste is often minimal, which allows them some latitude in using their money for more serious issues like medical bills and emergencies.