Dear Ann Landers,
The older folks have Medicare and Social Security, which are both nearly bankrupt. It may not last long enough to help them and they worry about it. These programs were meant to keep the elderly from living on dog food and dying in squalor due to poverty and lack of medical care. My wife and I can afford medical insurance by having a high de-ductible. We insure only against catastrophic need, not the sniffles. For retirement, we save and invest those savings carefully. Although we make only about $40,000 a year between the two of us, we own our home and manage to put money in the bank. Our secret is plain, old Yankee thrift-don't buy it unless you need it, don't buy it new if used will do, and don't buy it at all if you have to use credit. The days of lifelong employment are over. I have been laid off three times and my wife twice because of downsizing. Each time, we tight-ened our belts, hit the pavement and were working again within a month. We have no special skills or education (I did not finish high school), but we do have the old-fashioned "can-do" attitude that a job-any job-is better than none. We learned these lessons by heeding the advice of the older genera-tion. My advice to others our age is to stop whining and listen to what those who have been there have to say. It could be valuable and it might even give you some wonderful stories for your grandkids.

,