Scott Page - Its Never Too Late: Getting Older, Wiser, and Worry Free in Our Golden Years

ITS NEVER TOO LATE

ITS NEVER
TOO LATE

Getting Older, Wiser, and Worry-Free
in Our Golden Years

Scott Page

New York

ITS NEVER TOO LATE

Getting Older, Wiser, and Worry-Free in Our Golden Years

2016 Scoot Page.

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ISBN 978-1-63047-623-6 paperback ISBN 78-1-63047-624-3 eBook Library of Congress Control Number: 2015905333 Interior Design by: Bonnie Bushman The Whole Caboodle Graphic Design

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This book is dedicated to my dear friend Steve Terrell. Without your unwavering commitment, brilliant ideas, and masterful execution, this book would never have been possible. Throughout our lives, you have always seen my true potential.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

XOXO

I am grateful to so many individuals for the gifts of inspiration, love, and support throughout my life and more specifically during the writing of this book. My special thanks go to:

Betty White for her friendship and priceless life lessons for living life to its fullest.

Joel Brokaw for his expertise in getting my words down on paper with ease and enjoyment.

Raelene Mercer of Sublime Miami for her wonderful graphic design.

Wil Gilmore for his humorous illustrations that more than hit the target.

My family, last but not least, for their unwavering love and support and for setting me forth on such an interesting life.

For many years, I have had the privilege of working to help thousands of people prepare for their older years and secure a better future for themselves and their families. So many of these people who have reached out to me have found themselves in troubled waters financially as theyve approached retirement age. Their experiences, which have caused me to feel both frustration and hope, have been distilled into this book. The frustration has come from seeing over and over again the train wreck of highly preventable problems. The hope stems from seeing the dramatic turnaround when some of the solutions in this book are put into action.

Many of the steps I outline in the following chapters speak to basic common sense. They may include advice you have heard before, but that is where the similarity ends. What separates my plan from the others will hopefully be easy to notice not long after you start reading. As noted above, much of what I offer draws on the lessons Ive learned firsthand helping people find solutions in times of diminishing choices. But in truth, I dont have to look much further than the drama in my own immediate family to illustrate how most of us have already shot ourselves in the foot before ever taking a first step.

What we will remedy together in the pages of this book are some of the complex and once formidable factors that got us mired in this big mess to begin with and have collectively locked us in a downward spiral. You will discover in Its Never Too Late: Getting Older, Wiser, and Worry-Free in Our Golden Years that more solutions are available than most people realize. Once you take action, youll be relieved to see how long-term patterns of self-defeating thinking and behaviors start to lessen their hold.

The success Ive experienced in dealing with the challenges in my life is based on the simple axiom of having a plan and putting it in motion. For that reason, this book is very pragmatic. It excludes intellectual concepts that make sense on paper but go in one ear and out the other. Instead, the first part of the book is holistic in nature and will help you quickly move beyond the fears related to growing old and approaching death that are at the core of the whole problem. Once lifted, you will be empowered to address the many choices that are presented in the second part of the book. Most importantly, you will be able to secure the finances to take care of your core essentials like keeping a roof over your head and putting food on the table.

Its Never Too Late is written for people who want the straight facts and dont want to be soft-sold on the one hand or scared to death on the other. Personal responsibility and dedication are crucial ingredients you need to bring to this process. Be mindful through it all how distraction, procrastination, wishful thinking, and denial lurk to knock you off course. What I want to help you avoid is human natures tendency to wait until the last minute, when a situation has deteriorated into a full-blown disaster, when the whole mess could have been prevented if addressed earlier. Far too often, these disasters happen to good people who trusted what they were told and thought they were doing the right thing. Again, the information I present will help you recognize potential trouble spots and equip you to make sound decisions on the things that matter most to the quality of your life as you get older.

One important note: you do not need to follow each and every suggestion in this book in order to experience a successful outcome. Some of the items on the menu may not apply to your individual situation. Others may be too far beyond your comfort zone. But just the acts of contemplation and dialogue can have a positive impact. Even if you turn only one of my suggestions into action, it can have a transformative effect and make the time we spend together a valuable experience for us both. You may also be able to use some of the information to help others going through similar challenges. After all, there are few more gratifying and empowering human experiences than the simple act of sharing and helping one another.

Part 1

THE GROUNDWORK

I cant retire.

I have no idea how Im going to support myself and my family in the coming years.

I dont know where to start, and its probably too late to do anything about it anyway.