110 • MARTIN H. RUBY
The takeaway? If you live a healthy life, work a low-risk job, and take care of yourself, you’re in a position to potentially beat the odds when it comes to longevity. So you need to plan for a longer life than the “average” American. No. 3 - You’re reading those life expectancy numbers wrong (part III) This one’s pretty basic, but it’s often overlooked. Average life expectancy is just that: an average. That means you have a 50 / 50 chance of living longer than the number you see by your age. No. 4 - Genes matter When it comes to wearing your seat belt and not smoking, you can control some of your risk factors. But much of our longevity is determined by something we can’t control: heredity. How old is your oldest living relative? In her eighties? In his hundreds? Often I’ll talk to people whose parents or grandparents all lived into their nineties. They have longevity in their genes. If longevity runs in your family, it is absolutely something you need to plan for in your finances. That is the bottom line. No. 5 - Modern medicine Think about it. Your parents likely lived longer than their par- ents, who probably outlived their parents before them. Modern medicine is expanding lifespans. While it used to be rare to find many people in their eighties, today its commonplace. For people in their thirties, forties, fifties, or even sixties today, living into the nineties could be no big deal. I see this in my own family every day. My wife’s family has a history of heart disease. Her Grandpa Max died of a heart attack at the young age of fifty-six. Back in the 60s, there wasn’t much doctors could do when someone suffered a massive heart attack. But my wife’s father, George, had a different story. He had the same genes for heart disease, but thanks to advances in medicine and a triple bypass surgery, his heart is still ticking at age ninety. Modern medicine made the difference. I pray that my wife, kids, and grandkids don’t get that same he- redity for heart disease. But if they do, there’s a good chance
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