I turned 40 this week. I reminded my dad that he now has a child who is "over-the-hill," he said that isn't possible given the fact that my mother is still a spring chicken. Nice.
A milestone birthday like this one requires a good look at myself and where I have been, where I am at, and where I am going. Looking back to where I have been there are some regrets (certain boys, not appreciating my 19 yr old thighs, my love for Milli Vanilli), but overall I feel pretty good about it. Now I have a decent amount of experience to know what needs to be done going forward, and how to do it a little more gracefully. Trying to judge where I am at, specifically in regards to finances, I came across the above interesting table on Money Central at MSN.com. This is just a portion of the whole table put together from results of the Federal Reserve's 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances. See the whole thing here. While this doesn't tell me where I should be, it fulfilled my curiosity for knowing what the averages are, where my peers are at. Looking forward to where I am going, Liz Pulliam Weston suggests that in your 40's "The time for mistakes is over. If you haven't begun to build wealth, to control debt, to look toward retirement, then now is the time." Read her article Money in your 40s: It's make or break for some suggestions on how to do it.
All this reminiscing and planning has made for a lovely and productive afternoon. At midway through my life I can gladly say that I have laughed a lot, and want to share some with you. Click here. (I would still make out with either one of those guys, if they were still around). : )
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