Better Than Ever

MY WIFE WENT TO New York for five days with a friend. I don’t mind because I could use the rest. Over the past year, we’ve traveled from the West Coast to Europe three times, flown across the country to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Tennessee, and taken a number of car trips.

My wife loves traveling and has a lot of energy. Because of all the air miles she’s logged, she’s now qualified for United Airlines Premier Gold status. She can board the plane early and get a free economy-plus seat with extra leg room. These benefits also apply to me when we’re traveling together.

If we were a younger, working couple, I might not be as enthusiastic about my wife traveling with her friends, while I’m doing my own thing. But we still have plenty of quality time together and, at our age, I like that she has friends she can turn to if something happened to me.

There’s also an age difference between us. At 73, I’m six years older than Rachel. That might not sound a lot when you're in your 40s or 50s. But as you grow older, that six-year gap can seem significant. I realize there’ll come a time when I might not be able—or willing—to keep up with my wife.

I walk about seven miles most days, do weight-bearing exercises and try to make good food choices. But there’s only so much you can do to slow down Father Time.

You can hit a wall where your mobility declines fairly quickly. After my father passed away, I would take my mother to Georgia to visit her family. We would fly into Atlanta, which is a large airport. It required quite a bit of walking to get to the rental car agency. But my mother made it easily. The next year, she couldn’t walk the whole distance without sitting down to rest. The third year, she needed a wheelchair.

You might think that I’m not thrilled about being a senior. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. I like my age. I think my wife and I enjoy a better life at our current age than we would if we were young again. Here are four ways life is better as an elderly person:

1. Better housing. I’ve mentioned before how much I love where we live. We were lucky to inherit our home from my parents. It’s in a great neighborhood with a lake, parks and an abundance of trees in one of California’s safest cities. It attracts many families because of the excellent school system and a thriving job market.

Unfortunately, the price of housing has skyrocketed. It’s gotten so bad that, according to a poll reported in the UC Irvine News, high housing costs were the primary reason a third of residents are considering moving out of Orange County, with the cost of living a close second.

We’d probably be one of them if we were younger. I can’t imagine our younger selves being able to afford a home, which costs more than $1 million on average in our community. Even if we could, I think our frugality would get in the way.

2. Better equipped to deal with inflation. I complain a lot about the high cost of groceries, insurance, gasoline and all the other stuff we need or enjoy. But the truth is, these higher prices haven’t affected us like it would if we were younger.

All those years of saving and investing have allowed us to build a nest egg large enough to thwart inflation’s effects on our lifestyle. We still travel, attend concerts and eat at our favorite restaurants.

3. Less stress. I can still remember the first day I was retired. That morning when I woke up, it felt like a 50-pound weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt so relaxed.

No more unrealistic deadlines, unruly coworkers, 12-hour work days, battling morning and evening rush hour traffic, sleep deprivation and money worries. All the things that can stress you out.

Now, I can choose who I spend my precious time with. I can enjoy the day, while many folks are stuck at work. I can get plenty of sleep and even take an afternoon nap. More important, the days of saving and worrying about whether we’ll have enough for retirement are over. Now, we can relax and know all our hard work has paid off.

4. Sense of accomplishment. I don’t think I ever felt more satisfied with myself than I do today. When I was younger, most of my accomplishments were derived from my job.

But now that I’m retired, I realize those work accomplishments aren’t as important as some of the things I’ve done since retirement. I take great pride in having cared for my elderly parents during their time of need, and in helping make my wife’s life more enjoyable and less worrisome.

Dennis Friedman retired from Boeing Satellite Systems after a 30-year career in manufacturing. Born in Ohio, Dennis is a California transplant with a bachelor's degree in history and an MBA. A self-described "humble investor," he likes reading historical novels and about personal finance. Follow Dennis on X @DMFrie and check out his earlier articles.

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