I'm Nearly 50 And Have No Retirement Funds Saved

I can’t help but wonder, what will become of me? Are there other single women like me out there? Will I be bagging groceries or answering phones until the day I die? I often joke with my kids and ask which one will put me up in their basement when I am old, but clearly, that is the last thing I want to happen. 

When I was younger, my mother would talk about saving and retirement as if they were urgent. Later, my ex-husband would do the same. Naturally, I waved them off in my carpe diem style. Retirement felt like it was a world away, and somehow I thought future-me would handle it. Or maybe I thought my husband (now my ex-husband) would handle it. And then I blinked and woke up at 47 years old with no credit card, no savings, and no assets. But you know what I do have? Life experience. Sobriety. Love. And a more realistic attitude about money than 20-year old me did. I finally know what my mom and ex-husband were talking about.

Sometimes it feels like it is too late. And then I remember that that is kind-of how I roll. I don’t do well with traditional timelines, and I never have. I got sober at 35. Finally began to love myself at 40. Discovered my dream job (or two) at 43. Found the love of my life at 44. And now, at 47, I am no longer living paycheck to paycheck. My success in life is measured by progress and not perfection, and I am so proud of my progress in recent years. Does that make my financial situation any less scary? Nope, not at all. But I have learned that scary doesn’t mean impossible. And if I learned anything in the last few decades, it’s that a lot can change in a little time.

I know it’s cliché to say “it’s never too late,” but I am living proof that timelines can bend. I will start saving one dollar at a time with gratitude for what I have now- what I have now that I once didn’t. And if you are reading this with little to no savings in midlife, know that you are not alone. You are not too late.

This is just the beginning, girlfriends.