National Retirement Institute® Finds Almost 20% of Young Americans Skip Meals to Save Money
Critical Health Care Expenses, Financial Planning - What is Missing?
While there are health benefits by skipping a meal and doing intermittent fasting, having to do so to save money is another story. Four days ago, the National Retirement Institute® released findings that show American households in the last twelve months have these characteristics:
Groceries
18% reported skipping meals or not buying groceries due to high inflation. Of these, 28% were Gen Z and 23% were millennials.
40% received goods or food from a food bank (22% for millennials).
17% said no to buying healthier foods like organic, higher-priced healthy foods.
Photo by Sara Scarpa on Unsplash
Critical Health Care Expenses
14% cancelled or postponed plans to see a specialist.
10% delayed or cancelled plans to take a prescribed medication.
11% said “no” or “later” to getting an annual physical.
17% of Gen Z and 19% of Millennials cancelled or postponed plans to see a mental health professional.
Nationwide Retiremend Institute’s Senior Vice President Kristi Rodriguez explained,
“While these decisions are understandable and challenging, making short-term tradeoffs may have long-term impacts. Neglecting your health now can lead to far bigger costs as you age and approach retirement. This is such a critical time to consult with a financial professional to create a plan that prioritizes your health care needs now and in retirement.”
For me personally, I signed up to be a physician provider with Dr. Simone Gold’s GoldCare plan, which includes my own employee patient insurance with her providers. I am also buying hospitalization/catastrophic care and I should be set because I don’t need regular medical care. Thank God, I am healthy. I plan to drop my medical plan which I feel has been stupidly expensive - it essentially goes completely unused.
Retirement
With the anticipation of larger expenses in the future and how it may affect us as we retire, the survey found:
10% of American households decreased their retirement plan contributions. They did it “to pay for health care expenses because of high inflation”.
Another 14% of adults may even decrease their retirement contributions. This number is 21% for Gen Z and 20% for Millennials.
Health Care Expenses
With Open Enrollment arising on November 1st to December 7th, many employees are considering a change in medical insurance plans. For those age 65 and over and already on Medicare, many are reviewing that plan.
According to the National Council on Aging, a small proportion, about 10%, switch Medicare plans each year during this open enrollment time, so this is the time to think about saving when it is of most financial benefit.
In an effort to cut costs, Americans stated that to find additional savings, they are considering these measures:
14% may downgrade their health insurance plan because of “high inflation”,
23% of Gen Z and 20% of Millenials report downgrades in health insurance.
I’m only 3 years away from being eligible for Medicare. I know some providers that LOVE its reimbursement MORE than regular insurance. Some patients tell me the premiums are not so bad; others complain it is still too expensive. Still others maintain it plus another medical insurance plan. Such things are very individual decisions best made within your budget and with wisdom. Your doctor and financial analyst can help guide your specific situation.
I don’t think a patient has ever asked me,
“Do you think I should pay “X” amount a month for “Y” coverage, or should I pick this other plan that costs less? Because I only see you once a year?
Financial Planning
To best plan for retiremnet, many recommend putting all the above together now, no matter your age. The survey-maker, Nationwide, has its own Nationwide’s Health Care Cost Assessment tool has a proprietary health risk manner of analysis their in-house professionals use - and can be used by professional financial planners. I would recommend you choose a financial planner like you choose a doctor - by word of mouth, from someone you trust, or a professional who referred you.
And beware of false flags and investing pitfalls or gimicks like the “Pure Trust” which is a “pure scam”. As stated in the bottom of my article, I’d feel best sending you to my sister Maria, and she will work with your specific goals. Of course, there is no one I trust more. You can talk to me about her more and I’m happy to share - because life is meant to be enjoyed with those you love. Creating your nest means you’ll be happy, and being happy is what the doctor ordered!
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What I Really Think - What Is Missing
We don’t know the income bracket of those skipping meals to save money, and the price of gas wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the article. Lots of people I know are doing intermittent fasting, some are fasting for 1-3 days, and most of the country is either obese, diabetic, hypertensive, or with heart disease. The study doesn’t mention if people are starting to lose weight, but that would be of great benefit to some. And I am not being mean… I practice what I preach and my medical school classmates will remember that I skipped dinner all the time… not to save money but because I “felt better”. I still do intermittent fasting by skipping breakfast - but for my cup of coffee - because I feel better. And I’m not hungry.
In this National Retirement Institute® report, “health care” and “basic necessities” and “inflation” are such general terms that we may as well use “the price of gas” “excess gas profits” and “someone is making a lot of money on PCR tests” and “the price of vaccines is going to triple” and “why are we printing money to send to Ukraine” and “but wait, vaccine manufacturers made so much money and the government spent so much money giving it to them”… but I digress.
Stop vaccines that kill and don’t work. Eliminate WHO influence on every other country because they are gearing up to push boosters ad nauseum.
Because we need to pay attention to so much and stop watching stupid stuff on TV. Maybe if we pick up a good book like Turtles All the Way Down: Vaccine Science and Myth (I gave you Steve Kirsh’s 1-hour VSRF Show on it; it is a #1 Bookseller in the Category of “Children’s Health”). Or take a walk and we’ll save money on electricity and lost weight at the same time.
And see what the WHO is trying to do, and other matters worth a conversation at the dinner table instead of looking at cell phones while dining. Does your family even sit down together at the dinner table any more? Many of our youth are raised in families where everyone eats at different times and there is no “family dinner”. I never see any surveys on that, and one thing is certiain: we need to keep the family unit together and keep “Family” a capital letter and a hashtag, #family.
I am sorry but I find it unfogivable that the WHO has the gall to tell us we STILL need a vaccine for a LONG-TERM and PUBLIC HEALTH “transition”? NO. We will do ONE THING a day to fight this, whether it is to read an article, have a discussion, or stand with a sign.
I may as well keep going because it’s 3:37 am and I’m on a roll. Family is first. Family is everything. Censorship has been working at the stupidest things that we don’t talk about enough…
… If you missed it in February 2021, see this:
The Federalist reported,
Global Christian ministry Focus on the Family remains locked out of its Twitter account after the organization tweeted a link to an article by writer Zachary Mettler on its affiliated-platform, the Daily Citizen.
One thing we have learned: we cannot let entities tell us how to think, how to act, what to do, what life to save and what life to lose. We need to define ourselves NOW. Then when the problems come, we act according to WHO WE ARE. If we see wrong, IT IS WRONG and we should DO SOMETHING to make it right. And thank God boys and girls are different!
JOURNAL CLUB
Since the book, Turtles All the Way Down: Science and Myth (https://www.amazon.com/Turtles-All-Way-Down-Vaccine/dp/9655981045) is so popular as a #1 Bestseller in Children’s Health, let us use it as our Journal Club outline to look up and critique some papers.
Is the paper on a Phase I or II trial?
What is a Phase III Trial?
What does it mean when a study is a “randomized, controlled trial” or an “RCT”?
Does the book conclude what you would conclude about a scientific paper?
For fun (and seriousnes), Steve Kirsch also offers you money if you find any errors in the book!
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