As we reach our middle years, the picture in the rearview mirror starts to look a lot longer than what we see on the horizon. A sobering thought, yes, but as surely as time marches on, now is the time to plan for the inevitable future you will have. While it’s great that we are living longer than ever before – the proof is in the multiple requests from friends and relations in their 80s and beyond to play “Words with Friends” – hellooo … get hip to “Candy Crush Saga” already — we are also working well past the “traditional” age of retirement at 65, and we have our parents and kids to take care of for an increased span of time.
Most of us are in what is called the “Sandwich” generation; as our parents entered their golden years and we had dependents to take care of, we also need to plan for our own retirements. Now that Gen X’ers and their antecedents are finding themselves sandwiched between generations, a lot of us are in the same boat: nearly half (47%) of adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising a young child or financially supporting a grown child (age 18 or older). And about one-in-seven middle-aged adults (15%) is providing financial support to both an aging parent and a child. 1 That, my friends, can cause stress if we don’t plan for it in advance.
While some of us no longer have living parents or children, we are still sandwiched between these demographics in terms of government programs like Social Security and unemployment benefits. We are footing the bill for those who left us with some debt as well as those who are currently dependent on us (and our tax dollars), so we need to plan and prepare for our own futures. I don’t want to sound macabre, but the power we have today to feather our nests for retirement and enhance our health erodes with the passage of time, so let’s get on it!
I know that it’s hard to face our own mortality, and most of us refuse to do so, but having already broken the news that we are all going to die someday, I will remind you of the absolute necessity to plan for it. The good news is, there are steps you can take right now to begin optimizing your future while avoiding getting squeezed by the financial needs of your folks and your kids:
Figure out what your life expectancy is. No crystal ball necessary; check out the link HERE you may be surprised by the results!
Make positive changes to your lifestyle not only to increase your life expectancy, but to enhance your quality of life: quit smoking, start exercising and eating more healthfully, manage your stress, and get that long-overdue colonoscopy.
Put your financial needs ahead of those of your dependents’. As they say on every airline flight, put your own oxygen mask on first before tending to someone else’s. Find out which savings accounts are right for you (hint: it’s not under the mattress) and look into college financing for your kids if that is a factor.
Remember, while age is just a number, your everyday actions play a huge role in how long you are likely to live, and how much “life” is left in those years. Imagine what games we’ll be asking our friends to play in the Facebook of tomorrow!
To your future,
Scott