Ep 534: The Aging and Money Mistakes We Swear We Won't Make (And Then Make Anyway)
HerMoney with Jean ChatzkyShow Notes
We all have a list… things we watched our parents do as they got older and swore we'd never do ourselves. We'd stay active. We'd embrace technology. We'd get the hearing aid. And then life happens. Washington Post columnist and author Steven Petrow has been thinking about this for nearly 20 years, and he joins Jean today to talk about the aging and money mistakes we make despite our very best intentions, and how to find your way back to joy even in the darkest chapters.
Steven is the author of Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old and his latest book, The Joy You Make, and he brings his signature honesty and humor to conversations about aging, money, loss, and starting over.
In this episode, we cover:
Why we all turn into our parents in the end, and why that's not entirely a bad thing
How Steven found joy after losing both parents, going through a divorce, and watching his sister Julie battle Stage 4 ovarian cancer, all in the same year
Why joy isn't the fireworks, and the small, everyday moments that actually sustain us
Jean's new book, The Forever Paycheck, is your guide to building a secure, steady income stream so you can age on your own terms and actually enjoy the retirement you've worked so hard for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from HerMoney with Jean Chatzky
How much do you need to retire, not just comfortably, but happily, in 2026?
The ten years before retirement are your last, best chance to get it right. In this episode, Jean and Anne Lester, author of Your Best Financial Life, former head of Retirement Solutions for J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and a fellow with LIMRA’s Retirement Income Institute, break down what the ten years before retirement should really look like and everything you need to tackle to enter retirement with confidence.
Financial literacy isn’t just a problem for young people — it spans every generation and income bracket, and the numbers have only gotten worse over the last decade. So what actually works?
Sixty percent of Americans say they feel scared when they think about the future, and women are more likely than men to feel that way. If your instinct is to push that fear down, breathe through it, or just try to be more fearless, Farnoosh Torabi wants to stop you right there. Because fear, she argues, isn’t the enemy. It’s actually one of the most powerful tools you have, if you know how to listen to it.
Have you ever stopped to think about how nearly every product in your life — the car you drive, the shoes on your feet, the chair you're sitting in right now — was actually designed for men? Because cars were designed for men, women are 73% more likely to be seriously injured in a crash, and 17% more likely to die in one. And it doesn't stop at cars; even your sneakers were likely modeled on a man's foot first.