When we were young, it was all upside gain that appealed to you but as you age at a certain point you realize that you may have more to lose than gain.
The aging process can cause you to become more fragile to events that could cause you or someone else harm or even death. Your choices help determine your exposure to risks. Identifying these potential harmful events and avoiding them is smart. You have more to lose than to gain by participating in some events.
These events that could threaten you when you are age 50+ reach across life domains ranging from financial, health, and relationships. No one can identify all the potential negative events that are to be avoided, but certainly some are more common and identifiable. Here are some items to consider.
Some risks are not avoidable, however the more robust you are, the better you can withstand these negative events should they happen. So making yourself robust is step one and avoiding these downside risk events is step two.
Boomer Health Risks
Step One. Making yourself robust will help when you do have health problems. Exercise, diet and nutrition, not smoking, socializing and enjoying people, doing life long learning to keep your mind strong, making your home more livable, all these sorts of things help to keep you robust.
Step Two. Regardless of how robust your health is, avoid risk of the things that could cause you great damage should things go wrong. A set back in health later in life can be more harmful to you.
Virus Risks: As you know by now, Covid-19 sicken and killed many boomers and seniors. You greatly reduced your exposure to risk by wearing a mask and social distancing and washing your hands. In general we have been made aware of how germs and viruses spread in much more detail these days, but it’s up to us.
a. Avoid exposure to risks of falls and watch out for stairs. Those who fall suffer injuries that reduce mobility and independence and increase the risk of premature death. Make your home a livable design.
b. Avoid driving risks. In an auto wreck you will survive better in a big car. Avoid driving at night or in bad weather whenever possible. Stop driving when it is time.
c. Stay off ladders no matter how small the ladder is. Much better to pay someone to hang Christmas lights, clean gutters, anything on a ladder.
d. Get regular medical health checkups and screenings
e. Stay off ATVs and motorcycles period.
f. Avoid lifting and carrying heavy objects like furniture or appliances, especially up steps where you can trip and fall creating serious injury to yourself and maybe others.
i. Avoid stress. Don’t build a home. Forget road rage. Avoid arguments. Avoid excess use of alcohol and be careful with Rx drugs.
Boomer Financial Risks
Step One. You are robust when you have no debt, but have money to live on and have adequate savings for retirement. Paying off debt is easy to understand but hard to do. If you have no debts you are in a better position and less fragile to events that may happen in the future. You have more options. Savings are better than having more stuff. Put your money where it will do you the most good and give you peace of mind.
Step Two. Avoid these things that could cause you great damage financially.
a. Avoid debt – carries huge risk.
b. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Too much risk you will lose everything.
c. Don’t gamble but with a small portion of your assets.
d. Don’t put your money in things you don’t understand. Be skeptical of giving anyone your money. Don’t wire or send anyone money ever.
Boomer Relationships Risks
Step One. Happily married people are more robust in many areas of life and can help each other withstand downside events much better.
Step Two. These things can cause harm to your relationship.
a. Don’t cheat
b. Don’t lie
c. Avoid divorce – major damage ahead.
d. Avoid stressful people that make you upset over and over again
General Boomer Living Risks
Step One. Be as robust as you can be to withstand downside events which you may have no control of nor see coming. The stronger you are, the better you can withstand losses.
Step Two. Identify and avoid big risks.
a. Think about things before you do them. You are not in your twenties anymore. Be smart. Identify risks and avoid them.
b. Living alone is a risk in several ways. Retirement Community living has advantages.
c. Build redundancy. Having an extra supply of cash, food, water and necessities on hand can lessen the downside in case of the unexpected emergency.
d. Have a network of reliable friends and neighbors.
f. Doing things small and incrementally will reduce risks
Do what you enjoy and makes you happy and don’t fret about the small things too much. You can’t avoid all risks but being aware of these black swan risks will give you the option to avoiding them.
Downside Risks Sources:
Black Swan Avoidance – Dr. McGuff’s Dirty Dozen
Book: Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Originally posted 2020-09-20 08:57:52.
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