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A Gen X'er Asks, “Am I Ready for 50?”
Ready or not, the "slackers" are about to cross the threshold
posted by Liza Kaufman Hogan, January 7, 2014 More by this author
Liza Kaufman Hogan is Content Partnership Manager for Next Avenue and a freelance writer. She is a former senior producer for CNN.com and web producer for Oprah.com.- Share
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With the last of the boomers turning 50 this year, the first members of
Generation X are approaching the same milestone. Watching Reality Bites on Netflix in the flannel shirt we wore to our first Nirvana concert won't change a thing. It's coming and it must be faced.
On January 2, I turned 49, making me one of the first of my generation
due to hit the big 5-0 next year. I'm not happy about it, but working
for a website devoted to maximizing life after 50, I might be more
equipped than some of my peers to see the challenges ahead.
I always take stock on birthdays, but as I begin to enjoy my last year
with a '4' in front of it, I'll be taking stock of not just one year but
of a decade and a life. As I do, the three questions that seem most
pressing concern health, money and values:
1. Am I fit? Or, to put it another way: Is my body
ready for the next 50 years? Like everyone, I want my body to look great
(okay, as good as it can), but also to go the distance and take me well
into old age without failing me.
At 49, I am beginning to feel the effects of age. My muscles hurt
sooner and longer than they used to after a workout. Eating poorly one
night can leave me with a salt and sugar hangover the next day, and I
can’t possibly do all of those moves in yoga (Curse you, Crow’s Pose — I
mean, Namaste).
Still, it’s not a bad time to be turning 50, healthwise. The digital
age has brought tools and resources to help with fitness and nutrition
in new ways. While not digital natives, my generation might be thought
of as digital pilgrims. We're less tech-savvy than our children, but
more comfortable with online tools than some of our boomer elders.
For instance, I love my Fitbit,
a pedometer used to track my steps, the distance I walk each day and
the calories I burn. After a year of wearing it religiously, I’ve
increased my average number of steps per day to 10,000 and I enjoy
comparing how I’m doing with others online.
But walking is not the same as a workout. And a Fitbit is just a bit of
what I’ll need to do a lot of going forward. To be ready for the next
50 years, I'll need to step it up in the aerobic department (heart) and
strength training (bones).
2. Are my finances in order? Basically, what I need to determine is whether I'll have enough savings to ensure a comfortable retirement.
Here's hoping that I have some time to get my act together on this one.
Like many in my generation, I expect to be working well into my 70s.
With all of the evidence emerging that working longer is good for our
mental and physical health, I’m okay with that.
The related question is: What type of work will I pursue in my
50s, 60s and 70s? Will I continue in in my current field — writing,
editing and building websites? Or will I pursue other interests and seek
work that would have a direct impact on people in need, such as working
with at-risk teens or serving the elderly in my community, things I
find myself feeling more compelled to do as the years pass.
As for saving more, it's hard to know exactly how much I'll need. Those
online calculators that come up with huge dollar figures to save for
retirement make me crazy. Who has that kind of money stashed away other
than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who, at 29, is at the youngest
end of my generation?
Like most Gen X'ers, I don’t count on Social Security being much more
than a lucky-if-it-happens bonus on top of what I need to save through
my IRA and savings from a 401(k) plan — when I worked for a company that
had one of those.
Still, I need to be sure that I’m saving as much as I can and not
frittering it away on chai lattes and Fine Young Cannibals reunion
concert tickets.
3. Have I done enough to help others? Having spent
most of the last 20 years raising two daughters and building a career, I
know the answer to this one — not nearly enough. (Does a twice-yearly
turn at a soup kitchen, regular carpooling and giving our family’s used
clothes to Goodwill count?)
Post-50, I anticipate having more time to spend on volunteer and
community activities. This leads to a few more questions: How will I use
that time? What types of volunteer work are appropriate for someone of
my age? Am I too old for the types of good deeds I did before having
children?
Recently, I attended a tutor-training session for 826DC,
an after-school program that's an offspring from one co-founded by Gen X
literary wonderboy, author Dave Eggers. It’s popular with the hipster
Millennials in Washington. As I looked around these ‘kids’ in their
oversized horn-rimmed glasses and wool caps worn in summer, I wondered
if I was too old for this line of work.
Time to get out of my comfort zone and forge ahead. Maybe I'll get
myself a pair if those over-sized glasses (but not the knit cap).
Otherwise, if I shy away from volunteer or work opportunities due to my
age, it will be that much harder for others like me to jump in. Then, no
one under 30 will see older volunteers.
I look around and see that friends also nearing, or just past, the
50-year-mark are making radical changes to their family lives to become
foster parents or trading pricey family vacations for an opportunity to
help a needy student (not their own) through college. What will I do
this year to make a difference and use some of the personal and
financial strength I’ve gained over the years to help others?
What’s Next for Gen X?
If boomers made 50 the new 40, how will Gen X'ers approach this milestone?
Will we shrug our way into the next decade — slackers that we supposedly are — obscured by the vocal boomer and ‘entitled’ Millennial cohorts on either side? Or will we learn from the boomers how to remain essentially youthful as youth fades and show the Millennials how to prepare for, and adapt to, inevitable changes in their bodies, careers and personal lives?
Will we shrug our way into the next decade — slackers that we supposedly are — obscured by the vocal boomer and ‘entitled’ Millennial cohorts on either side? Or will we learn from the boomers how to remain essentially youthful as youth fades and show the Millennials how to prepare for, and adapt to, inevitable changes in their bodies, careers and personal lives?
Time to set goals and make the most of this coming year. Yes, I dread
turning 50 in 2015, but there will be less to dread if I stay focused on
my physical, financial and personal goals. Now, if you’ll excuse me,
I’m going to see if I can find some old mix tapes (on cassette of
course) and, like, chill for a while.
Are you also turning 50 soon? What are you asking yourself as you prepare for a half-century's worth of candles on your cake? Add your comment below.
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