alternative careers. Go back to school, take some continuing education classes, or go to an interesting seminar. For example, an insurance agent dissatisfied with the sales aspect of his job may move into teaching and then become a school administrator.
To brainstorm about your career options, including buying or starting your own small business, check out these books:
Small Business For Dummies, by Eric Tyson and Jim Schell (Wiley)
What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers, by Richard N. Bolles (Ten Speed Press)
Investing In and Protecting Your Health
Your health is probably one of the most important components of a quality life. So, as you enter your senior years, if you’re not healthy, squaring away your personal finances can be much more difficult. After all, if you’re facing serious health issues and costly doctor and hospital bills, your finances probably won’t be as healthy either.
And, the best way to protect yourself against many possible illnesses and diseases is to proactively take care of yourself. Of course, some things are beyond your control, but you will be best positioned to prevent, delay, and fight off many health problems the better your overall health.
For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many studies showed that those who had medical problems including obesity were at far greater risk from the virus than those who were in good overall health. The elderly were at greater risk too, but of course, you can’t control how old you are even if you fib a little with the accumulation of more birthdays!
The following sections give you an overview and pointers about what you can do to ensure that your health is in order now and in the years ahead. With your good health in check, you can then enjoy retirement and be in a better financial situation. In these sections, we rely on Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen for some help. They’ve coauthored numerous personal health books that we have found informative and helpful when consulting with seniors.
Take care of your ticker
One of the most important aspects of healthy living is ensuring that your heart is in tiptop shape. You can start by choosing to eat the following foods, which have heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory properties:
Alcohol: You must be careful with the amount (and type) of alcohol you drink. Women can have one drink per day while men can partake of two. The benefits of alcohol? It raises levels of healthy HDL cholesterol and also helps you to wind down so your blood pressure can do the same. (Just be sure not to drink too close to bedtime, because alcohol can disrupt sleep in some folks.) The best alcohol to choose is red wine with its abundant antioxidants.
Dark chocolate: Eating dark (not milk) chocolate may lower blood pressure, increase good HDL cholesterol, and lower nasty LDL cholesterol. Interesting fact: The Kuna Indians (who live near Panama) drink more than five cups of flavonoid-rich cocoa a day. They have little age-related hypertension.
Extra-virgin olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil contains healthy phytonutrients and monounsaturated fats, which boost good HDL cholesterol. The docs recommend that about 25 percent of your diet come from healthy fats (for example, olive oil, avocados, and nuts).
Fish: Fatty fish, such as mahi-mahi, catfish, flounder, tilapia, whitefish, and wild, line-caught salmon, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that reduce triglycerides in your blood. High triglycerides can cause plaque buildup in your arteries. Omega-3s also help reduce the risk of arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) after a heart attack, decrease blood pressure, and make platelets less sticky, which reduces clotting. The docs recommend three portions of fatty fish per week.
Fruits and veggies: Many fruits and vegetables — for example, red grapes, cranberries, tomatoes, and onions — contain powerful antioxidants called flavonoids and carotenoids.
Garlic: A clove a day is believed to be beneficial to help thin your blood and lower blood pressure. You can take 400 milligrams in pill form (called allicin) if you don’t care for the taste of garlic or its effects on your breath.
Magnesium-rich foods: Whole-grain breads and cereals, soybeans, lima beans, avocados, beets, and raisins help lower blood pressure and reduce arrhythmias by expanding the arteries. Strive to get 400 milligrams of magnesium each day from your food.
Exercise (and sweat)!
Exercise makes you feel (and look) better. To keep your heart healthy, try to walk about 30 minutes daily and get at least one hour of sweaty activity, such as an aerobics class (ideally, you’d break that hour into three 20-minute sessions) weekly. You should get your heart pumping up to about 80 percent of its age-adjusted maximum (220 minus your age) for extended periods of time during your workouts, according to these two docs.
Exercise also has other benefits. As you age, your sense of (and ability to) balance slowly declines. Falls are one of the leading causes of injury and death among the elderly. More than one in three adults age 65 and older fall each year in the United States. Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths. They’re also the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and traumatic hospital admissions.
Naturally, many people who fall develop a fear of falling. This fear may cause them to limit their activities, leading to reduced mobility and physical fitness and increased risk of falling.
To improve your balance and develop some strength, try the following activities:
Crunches: Performing crunches on an unstable surface, such as on a stability ball, forces your body to balance.
Light weight lifting: Use dumbbells instead of weight machines, because dumbbells force you to balance the weights better.
Standing exercises on one leg at a time: Doing these exercises helps you develop better balance.
Step-type moves: Activities such as lunges or step-up moves require you to balance your weight.
Hydrate with good-quality H2O
You want to drink plenty of water to realize a variety of health benefits, especially for your digestion and intestines. Drinking
