To some people, the idea of aging can certainly be daunting. I mean, if my back already feels like it does now, I can't even imagine what sort of achy future awaits me. But when redditor u/CorrectBreakfast1863 asked r/AskOldPeople to share the things in life that get better once you hit 60 years old, I realized that aging suddenly doesn't feel so scary. Here are some of the things that older adults swear get better in life once you hit 60:
1. "Clothes. The new rule is casual and comfortable, sometimes even tattered. Bras last for years now because I rarely wear them, and I haven't bought anything new in a while. You can dress however you want. No one cares how you dress, and that makes me happy."
2. "Senior citizen discounts."
"Senior citizen discounts at the dispensary!"
"I used my senior discount to get a haircut today. Saved 3 bucks."
3. "The sex gets better! You don't need to worry about pregnancy or STDs, and no kids interrupting! That is definitely something to look forward to."
4. "I'm in my 70s now, and the past 10 years have been the best time of my life. One thing that gets better is, if you have kids, you have an empty nest. Your kids are adults now and have reached the crossover point where they worry more about you than you do about them. And you know what? Let them. You've earned it."
5. "At 60, the house was paid off, the cars were all paid for, and all of my student loans were finally paid off. At 62, I got out of the stupid truck for the last time after grinding for 44 years. The next day, the alarm clock did NOT go off at 2 a.m. The peace of mind and the ridiculous calmness one can experience at this point is something I can only hope for every hardworking soul."
6. "Anxiety. At least for me, I've gotten quite better at managing the anxiety of the unknown and keeping it in its rightful place."
7. "I spend way less money on crap I don't need. That extra money is used for lots of travel, and I have more time to do exactly what I want. Sans enduring a few aches and pains and, of course, aging, I would definitely say the years beyond 60 are the BEST so far."
8. "Knowing that you are fully formed. You don't have to take on any more self-improvement projects, even though you surely can if you really want to. But I don't need to improve my posture, my vocabulary, or my attitude; I can do whatever I want now. As long as I don't fart in front of people, just leave me alone and let me do whatever it is I'm doing. And if I'm doing it wrong, don't bother telling me! I'm most likely not going to get any better at it, and that's okay with me."
9. "Well, since you go on Medicare at 65, your healthcare costs get excellent, so long as you don't need any specialized medicine that originally costs a ton of money. Otherwise, you rarely pay anything for healthcare or prescriptions."
10. "Your savings. By age 60, you should have acquired almost everything you need, or learned to live without it. Possessions start to feel like an albatross, so you don't blow as much money on dumb stuff like clothes, makeup, new phones, and cars."
11. "Just the feeling of having survived for so long. You're at ease whenever you do something. And when you tell stories about your life or how life was like growing up, people occasionally look at you in awe."
12. "I am 73 and have been retired for 10 years. Most days, I'm still thrilled that I no longer have to get up at 5 a.m. and be at work at 7:30 a.m. five days a week. When you hit your 60s, you're free."
13. "Depending on your health, fitness work gets amazing because the more you exercise and stretch, the more it relieves most of the annoying aches and pains that come with age. I'm less worried about how it makes me look and more focused on how it makes me feel."
14. "You can get away with a lot of things, because who wants to argue with an old lady?"
15. "You get smart about people. I can now tell far more easily whom to trust versus who is trying to take advantage of me. These were things I was oblivious to when I was younger, but now I see things a lot clearer."
16. "My career is basically on autopilot now. I'm a lawyer who represents children, and everything is smooth sailing until retirement. It can be tough, traumatic work. But by now, I've pretty much seen and heard it all. My relationships with colleagues are strong as hell, judges don't scare me anymore, and I love my child clients. It's just easier all around. Oh, and I also have this awesome-ass parking space that I was on a 10-year list for."
17. "There's a certain, almost dangerous, level of personal liberation. Kind of like, 'I'm only gonna live for a few more years, so what could anyone possibly do to me?' This liberation in me, at least, has manifested in almost extreme levels of mouthiness. I say what I am feeling and thinking, I am NOT sensitive to anyone's attempts to hurt my feelings, and I don't really care if I hurt their feelings, either."
18. "To each their own, but by 60, I felt as if I had my life figured out. It wasn't perfect, and it wasn't exactly what I wanted, but I no longer had the feeling that I had missed the 'life manual' everyone else seemed to have."
19. And finally: "You get to sit back and watch how people handle situations that you've been in yourself — sometimes they get it right, and sometimes they fail. My mom used to give me this shit-eating grin whenever she knew the outcome of a situation I had to learn from. Now I'm her."
Judging from some of these responses, older people really win the IDGAF war, and I can only hope to reach that level of peace of mind. If you're an older adult, what are some things you think get better with age? If you're a younger person, what do you hope will get better the older you get? Let me know in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.