Being Over 50 and Having Few Regrets

Today is my birthday and although I'm not going to reveal my exact age, I will admit I am over 50. According to some research I read recently, apparently 19% of  those over 50 say they haven’t saved enough money for retirement and 18% think they married the wrong person.

Well, I'm certainly in the first category - my savings wouldn't last long at all if they were all I had to live on - but at least  I am very content with the person I married. I might not be wealthy, but I am lucky in love and I think that is more important.

Here is a list of the top ten regrets of the over-50s identified in the research:

1) Nearly a quarter (23%) said they hadn’t seen enough of the world
2) 19% said they didn’t save enough money for retirement
3) Almost the same amount (18%) said they married the wrong person
4) 17% said they never told their parents how much they meant to them
5) 16% chose the wrong career,
6) 16% said working long hours/spent too much time at work
7) 15% said they didn’t spend enough time with their children
8) 15% claimed they worried too much about what other people thought
9) 15% wished they had learned to play a musical instrument
10) 15% regretted not asking their grandparents more about their life before they died

I would have to say that of the list, the only two I feel strongly about are the first and last. I would love to have travelled more and I wish I had asked my grandparents, and parents, more about their lives before they died. I guess it isn't too late to do more travelling though.

But despite the regrets listed, the research showed that the over-50s generally believe that happiness is more important than money. They remain optimistic and, like me, aspire to travel the world.

The research was put published by Silversurfers.com. Survey methodology: 1,000 over-50s were surveyed online in a study managed by Mortar London.