Is it “nifty” after 50?
Is there sex after 60?
Is there success after 70?
Relevant to these questions is how much the coronaviris has affected your life–surely a stressor and disrupter for everyone (and particularly dangerous for us seniors.)
2020 wasn’t very pleasant overall for me, either. About the time covid-19 hit I was diagnosed with bladder cancer (for complete story, go to PBS’s nextavenue.org). Trip reservations to all but family destinations were cancelled. Our b&b in California was shuttered (but we were ready for a break, anyway).
As 2021 dawns, there are vaccines available now to protect us from this viral scourge–as long as a large percentage of the population is willing to take them. The economy is likely to revive considerably–if so.
It has been a bad dream that maybe we will start to wake up from fairly soon.
No one should stop living at any age. I’d been healthy all my life before the cancer–whose cause is rather inexplicable in my case. (I never had any bad health habits). Today, after chemo treatments, I am in remission and feeling fine–even playing a mean game of tennis (doubles). My wife and I also walk and ride bicycles in the warm California sun.
Yet I know that my expected lifespan is likely only 10-15 years–unless I am exceedingly lucky. And I could die suddenly from a heart attack or stroke–something out of the blue but not unusual if you are elderly.
Should I live in fear? Should anyone? I think/hope now.
I have a wonderful marriage to a woman I’ve been with nearly 25 years. She herself, at 70, has outlived her parents, brother and a former husband. We have four great children and 12 grandchildren. We have much to live for.
We started our now shuttered b&b 15 years ago and were profiled last year in an article in the Wall Street Journal on “retirees who go into business.” Funny how if you’re older there is the assumption that you are not pursuing financial activities…We have also traveled some, to Europe, Canada and two states where the kids are.
If as a senior you are on a somewhat limited income I want to suggest something that has worked for us (besides going into business). Banks are paying a laughable amount of interest today–if any at all. Federal notes of deposit are under 1%. If you are sitting on cash, it is losing value to inflation. I inherited some stocks from my dad who used to arduously track the companies’ progress (values) by hand on graph paper. It is so much easier to “play” the stock the market today what with online sources of info (seekingalpha.com is very helpful). If you know something about an industry from your working years you have an advantage, also. In general you can only lose money in a recession but if you have investments in strong, reputable, growing companies you might not lose even then–long term.
I’ve invested in some companies I didn’t know much about but I knew they were on the leading edge of technological change. I bought them when they were well under $100 a share, which is a conservative bet. You don’t even have to pay a broker these days for trades online. I’ve hit it big on several stocks, whose gains well outdistance the ones with losses. My dad would be proud even though I don’t follow his methodologies exactly.
So back to the three questions at the beginning of this article. To the first two, they are YES. As far as No. 3 is concerned, that’s too personal for a detailed answer.
But it’s YES.
