I wish there were more comment. Perhaps there will be more to come. I’m grappling with this question in this time of my life. I wish I could contribute a settled experience.

My life path has always been in the “Re-invent” zone so I’ve had a bit of an advantage not being conventional. BUT if I were to meet someone like me at a younger stage of life today, I’d certainly tell her to LEARN everything now that you can about how to invest and save for retirement. What do you want to do? What makes you the happiest? Find a profession/career that fulfills this happiness. That may seem naive, but it’s very possible — you just have to be very self aware.

Don’t get caught up in the bigger, better mindset. Live smaller and travel while you are young. That will shape your better future like nothing else!

Bigger may be nice, but it also means more to take care of. Keep in mind that you don’t have all the time in the world, so do you want to take care of all that stuff or do something that will be better??? And if you do work you really enjoy, the time that you want to retire will be a transition. It won’t be a total stop and huge adjustment. That can be very helpful for your well-being!

I thought I could always get a job if needed. Oh good grief was that naive! I looked at it as if I’d always want to work, to be productive and I do. Actually getting a job in older years is not as easy as you’t think unless you want to work in fast food! No shade on those folks, but I’m not built that way.

If you’re already getting close to retirement and concerned, I totally get it. This culture did NOT develop as we Boomers were led to believe it would. Something to tell my middle-aged self would be to find a side hustle and get really comfy with it. You’ll likely need it in your future. The way my actual SSA payment amount was determined was a rude shock to me, and there is NOTHING you can do about that. I had loads of life crisis just before retirement age and that was another rude awakening.

The reality of life for me is that I am dependent on a very modest SSA income and that restricts EVERYTHING. I’m coming to the end of a 3 year process of ‘fixing’ my situation and it has been extremely stressful. I hope someone reads my comments at an earlier stage of life and preps better than I did! I’m grateful for everything in my life — ESPECIALLY the awareness that I can still change things!!! Keep smiling and be well. 👍😃👍

I’m returning to work next week after a 90-day medical leave. I love my job but with cognitive issues (balance/memory/focus) and physical challenges I don’t know how well I’ll function.
I have some options. Going part-time, going part-time as a contractor and collecting retirement benefits or retiring. I’m trying to keep my options open.
I’m just shy of my 68th birthday and ideally, I’d be able to continue working. I work in behavioral health as a certified QMHA and Peer Wellness specialist, providing skills training and groups for my peers/clients.
I’m also in learning mode and exploring alternative ways to generate income, specifically online and focused on utilizing my creativity. My daughter thinks that I should sell prints of my mixed media art. I’m sharing a mixed media piece that I created after my hospital release in early November, as well as an earlier one.
One of the things that I’m working on is creating a planner focused on people with life challenges such as chronic illness, neurodivergence, etc. I haven’t seen this focus in any of the planners that I’ve found, yet I know how much my own planner (created and personalized by me over several years experimentation) helps me.
My advice to anyone would be to think ‘outside the box’, to stay open to possibilities and don’t be afraid to learn…

My life to this point has been in the medical field working alongside my physician husband helping to run his practice. My background is in nutrition and I love helping others become their best self.
Now at age 68 I am considering my options for the third leg of life. My passion has been also helping women to experience self-care in the form of movement, art, skin care, and nutrition.
I’ve told my husband my goal is to leave his office at age 70 and pursue my own business of nurturing and providing health and wellness for women specifically.
Often, I think about the idea of opening another business alongside my Airbnb rental, to provide health coaching and teaching healthy cooking. I have a business plan and it appears to meet my financial needs whereby I can become independent without the support of my salary as healthcare administrator.
My reservations are around the idea of not just retiring but reinventing myself to become that which I envision.
Do I really want to start another business? Perhaps I should consider working part-time at some other job that would give me a income without having to think about the bookkeeping and he ongoing work of creating and upkeep of another financial adventure.
Just my thoughts. Thanks for listening.