How to Be Over 50 and Thrive
Ageless Women
It is often said that youth is wasted on the young. They don't even realize the advantages Mother Nature has afforded them for doing nothing more than only spending a few years on the planet. But more and more these days women are realizing they might actually be at their best today as opposed to in days past.
There are more of us than ever before.
We are the new black.
We are the new 40.
We are women over 50.
- Senior women age 50 and older control net worth of $19 trillion and own more than three-fourths of the nation’s financial wealth. – MassMutual Financial Group
- Fifty-plus American women are the healthiest, wealthiest and most active generation of women in history. -Demographics by Mark Miller
- Older women spend 2.5 times what the average person spends. Women are the primary buyers for computers, cars, banking, financial services and a lot of other big-ticket categories. – Marti Barletta, Primetime Women
A woman over 50 has established her career, and her finances tend to be in order headed into retirement. If married or in a relationship, by now it is well established. College tuitions are a thing of the past, and children are grown and making their own way in the world. If alone, the angst of youth has mellowed into a satisfaction in where life has taken her. There is nothing to stop this woman from trying something different or pursuing a dream that she has always fantasized.
For many women, turning 50 sets off their sexual ticking clock. There are fewer nights ahead of them than behind them. A renewed interest in love-making often produces the best sex of their lives. Moral myths, body image issues, even trauma and abuse, find their way into perspective from the years the woman has survived on the planet. Or finally she simply has the time and resources to invest in her own self discovery. - Pamela Madsen, Shameless Woman.
The one disturbing thing for women 50 and older is that financial destitution is still a possibility. The loss of a husband or partner could rock her financial world. Ken Robbins, a geriatric psychiatrist at the University of Wisconsin said, "Men tend to be more financially secure, make more money, and have bigger pensions and Social Security checks. Women over 50 need to be viable for hiring and be secure in keeping jobs. The bureau of labor statistics reported that of the jobs created in the last 12 months, 90 percent went to men. Women also need access to affordable health care in order to continue to be productive well past the traditional retirement age."
Sound judgment in making the decision to retire, to start receiving Social Security payments, to incur debt, and to purchase appropriate insurance are the building blocks for a secure future. There are plenty of sources for financial planning, and by the age of 50, every woman should avail herself of expert advice. Much of it is free, but always get a referral before placing your hard-earned dollars in someone else's hands.
Not out of the mouths of babes but out of the mouths of women who have learned a thing or two:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou (Author/Poet)
“It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K Rowling (Billionaire Author)
“We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” – Arianna Huffington (AOL/Editor In Chief of Huffington Post)
