Reaching 60 shouldn’t be a stressful time; if anything, you should have a lot less to worry about – you’ve put in your time and effort, and now it’s smooth sailing until retirement. Here are 20 things you can stop being concerned about after reaching 60.
Rising Housing Costs
It seems like rent is always going up and up, but by this point in your life, you’ve probably either paid off your mortgage or downsized to a more affordable property. Knowing that your housing situation is stable can give you a lot of peace of mind.
Changing Career
When you’re younger, keeping an eye on your career path and constantly considering switching is quite important. But once you’ve settled into a field and stopped worrying about constantly moving upwards, there’s less pressure, and you can retire or switch to part-time work without worrying about major career changes.
Saving For Retirement
Forbes reports that “the average American has $65,000 in retirement savings. By their retirement age, the average is estimated to be $255,200.” By the time you’re 60, you’ve probably been saving for retirement for decades, and now you can stress less about finances and focus on enjoying life.
Parenting Mistakes
No parent is perfect, so it’s likely that you made at least a couple of mistakes when bringing up your children. But, by 60, those mistakes are far behind you, and you’ll be able to see the successful adults that your children have become.
Hosting Large Gatherings
If you’re the life of the party, then there’s no need to slow down as you reach 60. But some people appreciate that the party planning is often delegated to younger folks, meaning you can turn up, have a good time, and then go home to a clean and quiet house afterward.
Getting A Promotion
Although the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis found that “just 45 percent of U.S. 65-year-olds are retired,” working after 60 doesn’t mean you’ll be gunning for a promotion. You’ll likely be settled in your career, thinking about retirement and ignoring the pressure to climb the corporate ladder.
Raising Your Children
By the time you get to 60, your children will probably be adults who are living independently. They might stop in for a visit every now and then, but you won’t have the day-to-day responsibilities of parenting a child anymore. This can come with some more financial freedom, too.
Social Pressure
You can look forward to caring much less about fitting in with social groups once you get older. You’ll have gained a lifetime’s worth of confidence in your personal style and preferences, and you can choose quality over quantity when it comes to your friendships – sometimes, less is definitely more.
Paying Off Your Student Loans
Most people have paid off their student loans by the time they hit 60. This allows you a bit more financial wiggle room, and it’s also a relief to have that burden off your shoulders. Without student loan payments, you can put more money towards retirement or traveling.
Professional Networking
It can be nice to maintain friendships and professional relationships related to your career. However, you’re much less likely to need to rely on networking to find a new position or advance in your career. You can focus on meaningful relationships instead.
Paying Off Debt
By paying off your mortgage either before or around the time you hit 60, you can clear out one of the major sources of debt for Americans. Business Insider states that “Americans tend to pay off debt going into retirement and tend to keep debt balances low in retirement.”
Physical Appearance
By 60, you’ll have had decades to accept and become confident with your natural appearance, so expect worries about your looks to mostly disappear. While aging can cause anxiety about appearance for some, embracing your age with grace and dignity is always the best look.
Home Maintenance
Along with all of the financial freedom you can expect around 60, you should have more spare cash to spend on hiring services for home maintenance. Doing it yourself can be a good way to stay active, especially if you enjoy DIY, but you also have the choice to delegate the work.
Daily Commute
Since The New York Times says, “the average American commute is about 27 minutes,” you may soon be getting back around an hour each day when you retire. You might also be considering getting a part-time position closer to home, as you’ll have more freedom to not worry as much about your salary.
Social Media Presence
Social media is one aspect of modern life that can divide opinions – is it an amazing tool to connect people or a pressure that ruins mental health? Regardless, you can stop worrying about needing online validation once you get to 60. You’ll have more time for real-life interactions rather than online ones.
Working The Night Shift
Younger workers often need to adapt to patterns like night shifts in order to get better opportunities and salaries. But when you’re getting to 60, you can be more particular about where and when you work. You can focus on choosing the best shift times for you before you head for retirement.
Updating Your Resume
Although looking over your resume might be nice every once in a while to see how much you’ve accomplished once you hit 60, you’ll no longer need to update it to show off to employers. Similarly, it’s likely that you’ll soon send off your last job application if you haven’t already.
Finding A New Partner
Many people are already in committed relationships with their partners by the time they get to 60. But those who aren’t don’t have the anxiety of looking for ‘the one’ to spend their life with. You can casually date and celebrate your independence while not worrying about marriage or children.
Navigating Office Politics
Even if you still work in an office, you’ll be able to distance yourself from the sometimes complicated and nasty world of office politics and drama. You can separate yourself from the gossip and focus on doing your work until it’s time for you to retire, as inter-office relationships don’t matter as much.
Proving Yourself To The World
Lastly, a general concept that you won’t have to worry about is trying to prove yourself to everyone all the time. You will probably have achieved nearly everything you wanted in life, and your family, career, and possessions will prove that. You won’t have to worry about proving yourself to anyone.