How Long Will You Work, Travel, Stay Healthy, and Live? A New Way to Think About Ageing
Not long ago, I sat down with a client who asked me something simple: “Am I too late to start getting things sorted?”
She was in her 50s, had been through a divorce, supported kids into adulthood, and was only just beginning to think about retirement. And she felt like she was already behind.
But here’s what I told her, and what I want you to know too: It’s never too late to make the next decade better than the last. You just need to know what season you’re in, and what kind of life it supports.
So let’s talk about spans.
The Four Spans That Define Your Financial Life
Most people only think about one thing: their lifespan.
But in the work I do, we look at four kinds of spans:
Work span – how long you can (and want to) earn money
Health span – how long you’ll be healthy and mobile
Holiday span – when you can travel, relax, and enjoy life
Life span – how long you’re likely to live (statistically and personally)
Each of these has a different rhythm. And when they overlap well, life feels good. When they don’t, things can get complicated.
What I’ve Learned from Watching People Age (and Age Well)
In your 20s, life feels infinite. You’re meant to travel, take risks, build habits, and honestly, most people don’t think about financial planning, and that’s OK. But if you can learn to budget early, it pays off in ways you won’t even understand until your 40s.
In your 30s, you’re probably deep in career-building, raising kids, or juggling both. This is when debt creeps in and the idea of retirement still feels like science fiction. But it’s also when what you don’t do starts to matter, like putting off super, or avoiding financial conversations with your partner.
By your 40s, most people hit a wall. Burnout. Mortgage pressure. Health starts changing. Your parents are ageing. Your kids are expensive. This is the “sandwich” decade, and it’s when a lot of clients come to us saying, “We should have done this sooner.”
In your 50s, something shifts. You start to feel your energy changing. You begin dreaming about travel, lifestyle, independence but you’re also worried about whether you’ve done enough. The good news? If you’ve got 10 years before retirement, we can still make major shifts. I’ve seen it.
In your 60s, your health span and holiday span are still strong but your work span might be tapering. This is when we start to align lifestyle with super, look at downsizing, and plan for optional work — not full-time, but something meaningful (and ideally, flexible).
And by your 70s, you’re in the space we call “legacy.” You might stop working altogether. Travel becomes gentler. You want to enjoy your health while it lasts, spend time with family, and maybe pass on wisdom and assets to the next generation.
What If You’re “Behind”?
You’re not. You’re just at a different point in your span curve.
The truth is, 10 years of focused planning can change everything. I’ve worked with clients who started in their 50s and still reached their retirement goals. I’ve also seen people in their 30s who look great on paper but have no idea what their priorities are.
It’s not about where you “should” be. It’s about getting clear on where you are, and making decisions from that place.
Final Word
You’re not just living a life span, you’re living a work span, a health span, and a holiday span too.
When those overlap well, your life has flow.
When they don’t, you feel stuck.
If you’re ready to figure out how to align these parts of your life so that your career, money and health are actually working together, let’s talk.
At Financial Wellness Hub, we help people get clear on what they want the next decade to look like, and how to build the plan to get there.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to start.