The Financial Planning for Solo Agers Book is Coming Soon!
By Allen J. Davis
A Soloist Newsletter Update
Dear readers of The Soloist,
With some embarrassment, we want to acknowledge that it’s been two years since we posted our last Soloist newsletter. It’s not because we had nothing more to say. On the contrary, we had so much more we wanted to say that we decided to write a book! And we’re now almost ready to make that book available to you: Financial Planning for Solo Agers: Manage the Six Hazards and Thrive by co-authors Allen Davis and Mary Young will be published in Fall 2025. It is both a summing up of what we have already shared in articles and blog posts over the past six years and a great leap forward in terms of our understanding of the unique challenges Solos face, including ways to manage challenges like the six biggest hazards along the way.
Our initial plan for this book was to compile and update the 30-some articles we’d published in The Soloist and elsewhere. These weren’t just about financial planning, but also addressed many of the other issues Solos need to plan for. We realized then that the world didn’t need another generalized Solos book. Instead, we decided to focus on financial planning for Solos—a topic that hasn’t been addressed well and one we know a lot about.
Financial Planning for Solo Agers: Manage the Six Hazards and Thrive
We’ve tried to strike a balance between ideas, stories, and “science-based facts” (a.k.a. research data from reputable sources). Our first objective has been to provide hard-hitting insights about the real financial challenges that Solos face. Some of these facts are sobering, perhaps even depressing at first. Yet only by absorbing them—owning them—can you make wise choices about the future. In the end, it can be deeply satisfying to know the score. Armed with this knowledge, you can more confidently create your plan for aging Solo.
Secondly, we hope to present an accessible high-level view of financial planning: what it is and isn’t, and how it can provide a rock-solid foundation for a Solo aging plan. Working with a Financial Planner who is a fiduciary -- that is, works in the utmost best interest of the client on an ongoing basis – is the blue-chip option. But even if that’s not possible, you can find ways to use the components of financial planning described in the book to get a better handle on your current and future financial state. Equipped with that information as a foundation, you can more confidently develop the rest of your Plan for Solo Aging.
There’s one additional point. We were driven to write this book to help Solo Agers manage the hazards and avoid the pitfalls that commonly sabotage their journey. But we were also motivated to write this book because we believe that society (and the financial services industry that is part of it) has a responsibility to meet the needs of all its members. Yet despite the gains that have been made in recent years, Solos still face many unique challenges. Expecting them to overcome the challenges and inequities of Solo Aging alone is unrealistic—and unfair. In a society where adulthood is no longer defined by being married and having children, the institutions, organizations, and services intended to support older adults need to become more inclusive regarding the people they serve.
A Fresh Resource for Solos
Six years ago, we were just awakening to Solos. Since then, building on the pioneering work of writers like Sarah Zeth Geber and Joy Loverde, the field is beginning to come into its own. We’ve continued to learn from reading, research, and conversations with Solo clients and non-clients. Based on this research, we have been able to compile for our readers a jam-packed Resources section, a curated list of the best available books, articles, websites, and other sources for further information and tools for your reference in developing your personal Solo Aging Plan. We hope this will be useful for researchers, practitioners, and, of course Solo Agers themselves.
As always, we are eager to hear from you. Please be in touch to share your stories, ideas, and questions. There is still much for all of us to learn, and we can do that so much more effectively if we work collaboratively.
Stay up to date on the release of Financial Planning for Solo Agers: Manage the Six Hazards and Thrive, coming to Amazon this fall!