The Best Plan for Aging Well is Free

Paul Fain, CFP^®

Aging is a funny thing. Not ha-ha funny, but more of a “Are you kidding me!?” kind of funny. For instance, I’ve got arthritis in my big toes (my BIG TOES, for crying out loud!). And why is hair falling out of my head but proliferating out of my nose and ears?

In a season of merriment, love and joy, I’m having a bah-humbug moment. It is hard to accept my aging self. Apparently, I am not alone. In 2021, Americans spent about $48 billion trying to turn back the hands of time with injections, lasers, miracle creams, hairpieces and hair dyes, supplements and cosmetic surgery. But sometimes, aging is more complicated than an eye cream or hair color.

This month, my wife and I have been married 35 years. We’ve lived in the same houses, eaten the same foods, raised the same kids. However, health-wise, for better or worse, my wife married worse. Before age 62, I’ve had 11 medically-necessary surgeries (shoulder, knee, sinus, gastrectomy, hernias, etc.), began wearing hearing aids and eyeglasses, had a donnybrook battle with cancer and developed arthritis in my feet, knees, hips and hands. My (same-age) spouse can outrun, outjump, outski and outeat most 30-year-olds (without gaining a pound). You can’t make this stuff up. Genetics has a lot to do with it – some people just have better DNA than the rest of us.

What are the implications of aging on our financial plans? For one thing, we should anticipate changes to the medical expenses in our budgets. Because of my creaky bones, we typically meet the out-of-pocket maximum of our high-deductible health insurance coverage by April of every year. It’s a lot of outgoing money.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Good Lord willing, my life expectancy is about 10 more years. So, paired with my health history, I’ve cut back my work hours to allow more flexibility to spend time with my family and to add some bucket-list travel – less income and occasionally more expenses. Subsequently, several times during the year, I update our numbers and run retirement “What If?” scenarios. What is doable? What is concerning?

This article originally appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel online on December 22, 2023.