Retirement After 60: Why I Started Looking at Money Differently

Somewhere along the way, I started looking at money differently.

Not because I suddenly became a financial expert, not because I stopped enjoying life, and not because I can't afford things I used to buy.

The closer retirement gets, the more intentional I find myself becoming.

I'm reading bills differently, looking at subscriptions differently, thinking about purchases differently.

And I have a feeling I'm not the only woman doing this.

Because something shifts when retirement stops feeling like a someday thing and starts feeling like an actual chapter of your life that's coming.

And that's what we're talking about today.

Living our best life.

It's good to be alive, but it's best to truly let your spirit die.

Celebrate the journey every single day.

Aging with grace and style in our own special way.

Hey, girl.

Welcome back to Aging with Grace and Style.

I'm your host, Valerie Hatcher, and I'm so glad you're here.

Today.

We're talking about money.

Now, before anybody gets nervous, let me say this right up front.

This is not a financial advice episode.

I am not a financial advisor, and I am certainly not here to tell you what stocks to buy, how much money you should have saved, or when you should retire.

What I am here to do is to have a conversation, a real conversation, a kind of girlfriend conversation.

Because lately I've noticed something happening in my own life, and I'm wondering if you're noticing it, too.

Somewhere after 50, and especially after turning 60, I started paying attention to money in a different way.

Not from a place of fear, not from a place of scarcity.

Not because I'm worried about tomorrow, but because retirement doesn't feel quite as far away as it used to.

And when that happens, something shifts.

So grab your drink or turn up the volume if you're in the car.

Settle in.

And let's talk about what happens when retirement stops feeling like someday.

I don't think there was one dramatic moment when I suddenly became focused on retirement.

It was more like a series of little moments.

Turning 60 was definitely one of them.

Not because I had some grand retirement plan mapped out.

In fact, if I'm being honest, I hadn't spent a tremendous amount of time really thinking about retirement at all.

It always felt like something that was still down the road.

But turning 60 put you in the conversation whether you're ready or not.

Then something happened at work.

My company offered voluntary severance packages, and I started seeing people my age actually taking them.

Not people 20 years older than me, not people I thought of as retired, my peers, people I had worked alongside for years.

People who looked at the opportunity and said, you know what?

I'm ready.

And I remember thinking, wait a minute.

Not am I emotionally ready to retire?

That's a whole different podcast episode.

The question I found myself asking was, if that opportunity were offered to me someday, would I be financially ready to take it?

That question changed something.

Because for the first time, retirement stopped feeling theoretical.

It stopped being something future Valerie would deal with someday.

And it started feeling like something current Valerie needed to understand.

That's when I started looking at pension calculators.

That's when I started paying more attention to my 401.

That's when I started looking at projections and asking myself questions.

Not because I was trying to retire tomorrow, but because I realized tomorrow isn't as far away as it used to be.

And honestly, the shift wasn't fear.

The shift was awareness.

Once retirement started feeling more real, I noticed something else.

I started paying attention.

Not obsessing, not stressing, just paying attention.

I was looking through my checking account and credit card statements one day and noticed I was paying for Hulu.

Now, normally, that wouldn't seem like a big deal, except I already get Hulu through my Disney plus package with Verizon.

So why was I paying for it separately?

Honestly, I have no idea.

At some point, I must have signed up for it and completely forgotten about it.

Needless to say, that subscription got canceled.

Then there was my spa membership.

I love a good spa day.

The problem is, I wasn't going often enough to justify paying every single month.

So.

So I put the membership on hold while I decide what I want to do.

And if I'm being honest, it's probably getting canceled, too.

Not because I don't enjoy it, but because paying as I go makes more sense than paying month after month for something I'm barely using.

And that's the kind of stuff I've started noticing.

Not the big things, the little things.

The subscriptions, the memberships, the streaming services, the charges that quietly show up every month without you even thinking about them.

What surprised me wasn't how much I was spending.

What surprised me was how much of my spending had become automatic.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped making decisions and started letting subscriptions make decisions for me.

And I realized that's not how I want to manage my money moving forward.

I also noticed something else.

Ten years ago, if I wanted something and I could afford it, that was actually the end of the conversation.

Today, I ask a different question.

Do I really need this?

Do I really want this?

Or am I buying it because it's on sale, or because it's convenient, or because Amazon has somehow convinced me that my life will be incomplete without it.

The closer retirement gets, the less I find myself asking, can I afford this?

And the more I find myself asking, is this where I want my money to go?

And that's a very different question.

I don't think I've become cheap.

I think I've become selective.

There's a difference.

One thing I've learned over the years is that time matters.

In fact, it may be the most valuable financial asset any of us have.

I have a son, and one of the things I preached to him, probably more times than he wanted to hear, was to start investing early.

The minute Your company offers 401k, sign up.

The minute you can invest, start.

Not because you're rich, not because you know everything, but because time is one thing you can never get back.

And the reason I felt so strongly about it was.

Is because I was a late starter.

Like many people, I spent years focused on life, on building a career, paying bills, raising a family, doing all the things so many of us do.

Retirement always felt like something I would get serious about later.

And later has a funny way of showing up faster than you think.

Do I wish I had started earlier?

Absolutely.

But here's what I want you to hear.

Late is not the same as never.

I know there may be someone listening right now who feels a knot in your stomach whenever retirement comes up.

Maybe you feel behind.

Maybe you feel like you should have done more.

Maybe you're comparing yourself to people who seem to have everything figured out.

Please don't.

The goal isn't perfection.

The goal is awareness.

The goal is paying attention.

The goal is taking the next step from wherever you are right now.

Because you can't change what you did 10 years ago, but you can influence what happens 10 years from now.

And that's worth something.

The older I get, the more I realize this conversation isn't really about money.

It's about choices.

Money is simply a tool.

What matters is what that tool allows you to do.

When I think about retirement, I don't picture luxury.

I picture freedom.

I picture flexibility.

I picture options.

I want to be able to travel.

I want to spend time making memories with Halo.

I want to keep my gym membership and my peloton membership because staying healthy matters to me.

I want to live comfortably, not extravagantly comfortably, with intention.

The goal isn't to stop living.

The goal is to make sure the life I'm building now supports the life I want later.

That's why I've started paying more attention.

Not because I'm afraid, but because I care.

I care about future Valerie.

I care about choices she'll have.

I care about having the freedom to enjoy the things that matter most.

And that's what this conversation really is about.

All right, that's our conversation for today, and I hope it gave you at least one moment where you thought, okay, I'm not the only one navigating this, because you're absolutely not.

Before you go, though, here's your reflection Prompt for the week.

What is one thing in your financial life you've been avoiding looking at?

And what would it feel like to finally give yourself permission to see it?

Not to fix it, not to solve it overnight.

Just look at it.

Because awareness is always where the change begins.

If today's episode resonated with you, do me a favor.

Share it with one woman in your life who needs to hear that she's not behind, she's not alone, and it's never too late to start paying attention.

She needs this conversation, too.

If you haven't already, make sure you subscribe so you never miss a Tuesday and come find me on Instagram @iamvaleriehatcher.

I would love to hear what's shifting for you.

A quick reminder.

I am not a financial advisor, and nothing in today's episode is financial advice.

What it is is a real conversation between women trying to figure out this season in Life Together.

If you need professional financial guidance, please reach out to a qualified advisor who can speak to your specific situation.

I'll see you next week right here on Aging With Grace and Style.

Until then, take care of yourself, be honest with yourself, and remember, aging is not a curse.

It is absolutely 100% a blessing.

Talk to you soon, my friend.