Being middle aged is a huge milestone in your life and can be many things for you. It could mean upheavals from your marriage problems to financial stability from your nest egg that you have been saving since young. You could also be finally reaching the peak in your career, and retirement is the last thing on your mind right now.

It is this special period in time, between youth and seniority that can raise many financial challenges for you. .Responding well to them is crucial and is the difference between a comfortable retirement or destitution during your final years.


1. Be Tough, Flexible and Resilient.


When you are middle aged, you may be gradually given less responsibilities in your job or be made redundant altogether. It can be extremely difficult to recover from such a thing.

While there are no quick fixes to losing your job, it is important to not get too mentally taxed by it, and to take it on the chin.

Perhaps marketing yourself through your network like friends or former colleagues would quickly get you back into the workforce.

2. Protect Your Retirement from Your Children

More and more of today’s youth are now giving up living an independent life and are coming back home to live with their parents.

Although there is nothing wrong at all with supporting your children during these turbulent economic times and reducing their costs of living by giving them a roof to stay in, try not to dig into your retirement funds to help out your children for as much as possible.

If you are still working, it is very important that you make sure that you are still setting aside some money for your retirement at middle age and not get sidetracked.

3. Help Your Kids To Become Financially Independent.

If your children are having trouble finding a suitable job, it is better to talk to your own social circle first to see if any jobs could be found that way.

Helping your children to establish themselves and become as financially independent as possible will also help you out in the long run in terms of cash flow since they would be less dependent on you.

As soon as they find their first jobs, you need to talk to them about their budgeting, savings and retirement plans.

It is important to make sure that they are financially literate and to not spend above their means.

4. Talk and Work With Your Life Partner


Many of you couples probably have an arrangement where there is a division of labor between your husband and wife.

While your husband might be an expert in your 401ks, you might be a lot better at managing the household’s expenditures and paying your bills.

Make sure to communicate clearly and frequently with each other so that both of you will know about each other’s financial needs and to devise a strategy when setting aside money to fund your retirement.

5. Save A Percentage Of Your Income – At Least 10-15%.


In this inflationary environment where your money is able to purchase less and less things, it is still very important to prioritize saving money for your retirement and any emergencies that may pop up.

We recommend having at least 6 months worth of expenses in case of losing your job or unexpected expenses such your car breaking down, or a medical emergency.

If you are already middle aged and you haven’t even started thinking about funding your retirement, it is still not too late to drastically increase your savings rate.

However, that comes at a cost. You might have to heavily reduce any discretionary spending for as much as possible and save the maximum amount into your retirement account.

You might need to work for as long as you can, move to a city with a lower cost of living or perhaps delay making Social Security Payments until the mandatory age.

6. Watch Over Your Debts Carefully and Work with a Financial Professional.

It is crucial to periodically check your credit report for any mistakes and to make a plan to pay off any debts as soon as possible, especially when interest rates are on the rise.

It might also make sense to rent instead of purchasing a home if you have a small budget.

If you are already a homeowner, and your children are now financially independent, it might be financially beneficial for you and your spouse to downsize and rent instead.