Aging Solo
By Margot Reyes
Building a secure, connected, independent life without a spouse or children to rely on
A practical guide for the roughly one in five older adults aging without a spouse or children nearby — covering the five pillars of health, money, home, community, and future planning, plus the systems that make solo aging safer.
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Buddy Check-Ins for Solo Aging: Build a Routine With a Clear Missed-Check Plan
A practical guide to voluntary check-in routines for solo agers: choose a time window, channel, backup contact and pre-agreed missed-check steps without treating a buddy system as medical monitoring or emergency detection.
Choosing Someone for Future Healthcare Decisions When There Is No Obvious Person
Questions to work through when deciding who might speak for you if you cannot communicate your own healthcare wishes, plus why the legal form and authority must be checked in your jurisdiction.
Designing a Support Network When Family Is Not Nearby
A practical solo-aging framework for mapping different kinds of support — social contact, transport, practical help, appointment support and backup contacts — without assuming one person or one family structure must provide everything.
Emergency Savings for Solo Agers: Size the Reserve Around Your Own Risks
A planning framework for solo households to think through income gaps, home and vehicle repairs, medical costs, insurance deductibles and access to money without prescribing a universal number of months.
Five Areas to Review When Planning to Age Solo
A practical planning reflection across health organization, money and legal preparation, home, community, and future planning. Use it to identify questions to verify — not as a validated risk score.
NORCs, Villages and Cohousing: Community Models to Research for Aging in Place
A practical overview of naturally occurring retirement communities, Village-style membership networks and cohousing — what they may offer, what varies locally, and what to verify before relying on one for support.
Solo Aging Roadmap: Review Points, Not Age Deadlines
A flexible solo-aging planning framework for documents, support people, home, money and future preferences — organized as recurring review points rather than rigid tasks assigned to your 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s.
Solo Planning for Same-Day Surgery: Questions to Settle Before the Procedure
A practical solo-aging checklist for confirming transport, discharge-companion rules, medication pickup, home help and recovery instructions directly with the surgical team before same-day surgery.