What advice would you give to a 50 year old broke man?
Have you ever pictured yourself dead broke at 50 assuming things didn’t pan out the way you expected them to?
How would you start over? Would you kill yourself? At 50, there’s no one to help you and give you opportunities because it’s expected that you’re the one who should be paving the way for young men and helping open doors for them. I don’t think people would give a 50 year old mzee a shot at anything.
As a young man, some old mzee at an office might decide “let me give this young man an opportunity and see what he can do”. This benefit of doubt is not extended to 50 year old men. At 50, you should be enjoying the fruits of your youth (proceeds form investments like real estate, dividends, the stock market, businesses etc etc).
What happens to men who don’t achieve financial independence at that age? Maybe things just fell apart.
Reality can be stranger than fiction. Unaweza kafunga at 30 kafunguke at 50. Life can throw some crazy curve balls at you.
The only advice is to keep pushing because you have no choice. Its harder to turn things around at 50. But it is not impossible.
At every stage in life and every circumstance, you always have the option of making the best move. If you find yourself broke at 50, make the best possible move based on your circumstances, connections, experience, knowledge, and coins.
There is always a good move to be made. If you are healthy, that is a big plus.
Why 50 why not 56? It’s very easy to be broke at 50. In fact many people haven’t really made it by 50. The biggest reason is kids. By that age is when one or two are headed to college having drained your accounts with tuition expenses in high school.
And many at that age are divorcing and starting life with a second wife.
I personally didn’t like setting targets according to age. You equip yourself with education, work really hard, network where you can, take risks while you can and hope for the best.life rarely goes according to plan. Something we rarely talk about is social capital. That can carry your finances to your deathbead.
Anyway, in my parents generation, the most successful people peaked in their 50s. It could have started in late 40s, but peak was 50s. I would only be worried if I am broke at 72-75.
My dad is 88. Active as ever. Nobody can tell him about age. He does a lot for the community.
You see, age is what you believe. If you go around listening to people that once you are 70, all you should do is wake up, eat, watch tv politics all day…then that’s all you can do.
A lot of people that i personally know made it in their 50s. Hii kitu haina formula…cha muhimu ni kufanya bidii in whatever you are doing…kama inawezekana ongeza skills na networks pia.
I have two uncles who were rendered unemployable after they were implicated in the 82 coup. These guys couldn’t even start a business…Moi hakua mchezo. Walisomesha my cousins na mashida…in comes kibaki and slowly they started picking up the pieces…sai majamaa wamekafunga in their late 60s and early 70s.