More than 13 months ago, I was given 12 months to live.
I like to think I took my diagnosis in stride. I moved quickly to simplify my financial affairs, toss unwanted possessions, get new estate-planning documents and change HumbleDollar’s direction so the site could live on after my death.
I also focused on getting the most out of each day. Partly, that meant taking some special trips and spending more time with family.

I belong to a club I never wanted to join: women who have outlived their husbands. Like me, millions of baby boomer women, and now Gen Xers too, will face life without their long-term partner.
Thankfully, today’s widows have more choices than our great-grandmothers did. Some of us embrace living solo. Others are surprised to find companionship again, sometimes even love. That next chapter can be sweet, but it’s also financially complex.
I know this firsthand.

I just turned 69 and I feel that there isn’t something quite right with that! The feeling has more to do with where I am in my life than feeling 69. I don’t know what it will be like when I turn 70.
To get prepared I read an article about being 70 and found a list, of all things, that I liked so much that wanted to share it.  Do you have anything to add to this list?

When I was in third grade, my mom worked at a small diner near our house. Every morning before school, I’d walk there for breakfast and read the sports section of the Canton Repository. That habit stuck with me, and soon I was arriving early to school just to read the newspaper in the library.
I wasn’t the best student, but if they had quizzed me on what was going on in the world,

There is a Boglehead Conference in October.  Has anybody attended previous conferences? I’m considering attending and I’d appreciate your hearing about your experience. Did you find it valuable?
Thanks,
Jackie

Today, I have the not-so-joyful task of collecting my suit from the dry cleaners. This instrument of torture is, of course, for a wedding I’m attending in a few weeks. Suzie and I are close friends with the bride’s family, and for the past 18 months, we’ve been “in the loop” on all the drama and discussions surrounding the planning. It seems every visit to a bridal show adds a new “must-have” addition to what’s become quite the circus,

I want to share the sad news that Mr. T. V. Narayanan passed away in India, two days ago, of a brief illness. He is survived by his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and 3 grandchildren. We will miss him dearly.
Here is an article he wrote for HD: https://humbledollar.com/2023/07/come-a-long-way/
He says in this article that he must have read just about every column that Jonathan Clements wrote as a personal finance columnist for the Journal and learned much from them.

I really feel for people  who are unexpectedly losing their jobs late career because of the DOGE cuts.
I experienced something similar when I was pushed out of my 36 year banking job at age 59. I was a good performer, but when they want to get you they get you.
I struggled for a couple of years but the good news is that I finally figured things out and at age 70 I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.

Hi, my name is David, and I am a newsaholic! There I’ve said it. Admitting you have an addiction is the first step to recovery, right?
All my life I have been addicted to reading the news. I like to be informed about the goings on locally, nationally, and internationally. I think it is a way for me to lower my anxiety. Over the past 8-9 years however things have changed.
What does this have to do with taking care of my mother in law?

A number of events over the past few months have me thinking about aging, mortality, legacy, frailty, and – of course – financial planning. These events included attending funerals, preparing tax returns (ours and dozens of others), visiting old friends and distant family, minor traffic accidents, winter doldrums, and the recent discussions on HumbleDollar on the unique estate planning needs of childless retirees. Recent market volatility may have played a small role.
My wife and I have a lot of real-world experience caring for aging and infirm parents,

Unfortunately I have had a lot of experience in this realm. In an 18 month period during 2017-18. I first lost my twin brother at 59 years old; then almost 1 year later my father, and six months after that my mother each on one side or another of 85. Unfortunately all of them suffered from some type of dementia. As a result at the time of their passing we were unable to communicate with them.

I wore a gown of Chantilly lace—the sun caught the sparkles in my bridal headdress. My husband was resplendent in his tuxedo—the sun was shining on a beautiful April morning —Our wedding day, 60 years ago, April, 1965.
While The choice of a spouse is among the most important decisions most people ever make,  it’s a choice that comes with no guarantees of long term happiness.  That said, we all have an ideal vision of the person we would like to marry. 

Despite my recent Ozempic nightmare and near suicide (see my article “My Ozempic Nightmare“) I’ve decided to go ahead with my Ironman Ottawa attempt this August at age 70.
I don’t want to live with the regret of not trying although physically I still have a long way to go. I lost a lot of muscle while on the drug and my energy levels are still low but I need to give it a shot as I consider it unfinished business.

I’m back in the Philadelphia suburbs today, heading to a funeral later this morning. My best friend’s Mother passed away at 91. She’s the last of my friend’s parents to go.  Of my in-laws, two mothers are still alive – one healthy and super-sharp, one quite infirm.  We attended a neighbor’s funeral last Friday at the Jersey Shore. She made it 85, and lived an active life almost to the end. An acquaintance recently died suddenly at 80.

Earlier this week, I asked readers, “If you could go anywhere in the world on your next trip, where would it be? If you could savor any experience, what would it be?”
I didn’t offer my own response—because I didn’t have one. At this point, I don’t have a strong urge to go to some exotic locale or try some new experience. On the other hand, there are places and experiences from my past that call to me.