This week, Age Brightly founder Hannah McQueen wrote for the NZ Herald about a problem most of us recognise: we manage our health, money and family planning reactively. We see the doctor when we're sick, the accountant after year-end and the lawyer when circumstances change. Her column, written with Brightly's lead geriatrician Dr Cheryl Johnson, makes the case for getting the important things done in the right order, rather than trying to do everything at once. Read the full article in the NZ Herald.
Here's a quick recap of the ideas we think matter most.
Hannah brings the financial lens and Cheryl brings the clinical one, and the column's central point is that the two can't be separated. Financial stress disrupts sleep, and poor health narrows your financial choices. Your investment strategy should respond to your health outlook, and your health priorities should be reviewed as seriously as your portfolio. Neither is a set-and-forget exercise.
The article walks through each decade from the 50s to the 80s. In short:
50s: Build capacity while you still have time. Get your finances on track, find out where your health stands, and start the conversations with your parents and children that are easier now than in a crisis.
60s: Make the big decisions before circumstances make them for you. Know how long your savings will last, protect the physical and cognitive health that keeps you able to work, and set boundaries on financial help for adult children.
70s: Protect independence. Check that your home, investments and cash can handle changing needs, and look closely at your risk of falls, medication harm and cognitive decline.
80s: Preserve choice, dignity and control. Know the costs and funding options for support at home and residential care, and spot deterioration before it becomes a crisis.
Throughout, the family piece matters as much as the personal one. Agreeing early on who steps in, and how, spares everyone the stress of making rushed decisions later.
From the clinical side, Cheryl's message is that many changes we put down to "just getting older" could have been picked up and managed years earlier. By the time symptoms are obvious, the window to intervene may have narrowed. That's why she emphasises establishing a baseline early, covering heart and metabolic health, bones, strength, balance and cognition, and rechecking regularly, since decline is often silent before it becomes a crisis. Her aim is simple: to get ahead of it.
Know your numbers, both health and financial. As Hannah puts it, "What you don't measure, you can't manage."
Review your plans regularly. The strategy that suits you at 55 probably won't suit you at 75, and the same goes for your health priorities.
Aim for independence across the family, for your children financially and for your parents physically.
Turn knowing into doing. You don't need to fix everything. Pick your biggest emerging risks, act on them and get support to follow through.
A baseline is the first step in all of this, and it's what Brightly's Baseline+ is designed to provide: a clear picture of where your health stands today, so you can act early and protect your independence for longer.
Want to dig into the detail? Read Hannah's full column, Ageing well: Health and money decisions to make in your 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, in the NZ Herald.
Ready to find out where you stand? Book your Baseline+.
Hannah McQueen is the founder and director of Age Brightly and host of The Next Bit podcast.