I'll be 50 in just 22 more days.

In my mind, it's the other way around: I'll be 22 for another 50 years but the aches and pains and grey hair tell a different story.

Am I ready? Am I ready for the last half of my life?

MSN Money just published an article on the 8 things you must due when you turn 50 and seeing as that appears to be about half of the American population this year, the points are worth taking a look at:

Reconsider your career
Put retirement on the front burner
Accelerate debt repayment
Get your kids off the dole
Review your life insurance needs
Review your other insurance
Schedule all those checkups
Join the AARP

If you are in a service organization that can provide any of these services, it's time to jump on the bandwagon. Are you reaching those of us who are moving into the adult years of our life? AARP does a great job of reaching out to us pre-senior citizens with a message that is fresh and vibrant. Anything but old.

So how are you doing on the "planning for retirement" front?

By the way, according to the Michigan Library blog, the Cat in the Hat is also turning 50 this year.

Deborah Chaddock Brown
Writer, Getting Older by the Minute
AllWrite Ink