Financial Therapy and the Wisdom We’re Overlooking as Baby Boomers Retire
As nearly 75 million baby boomers enter retirement, most conversations focus on labor shortages, succession planning, or acquiring “boring but profitable” businesses. What’s discussed far less—and may be far more valuable—is the role this generational shift can play in financial therapy.
Financial therapy isn’t just about budgets and spreadsheets. It’s about understanding how emotions, experiences, and beliefs shape our relationship with money. And no one embodies that better than people who’ve spent decades navigating careers, recessions, debt, investing mistakes, and financial recovery.
Psychologists often distinguish between fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence—our ability to think quickly and solve abstract problems—tends to peak in our 30s. Crystallized intelligence, on the other hand, is the wisdom gained through lived experience, and it continues to grow over time.
Author and behavioral scientist Arthur Brooks puts it simply: when we’re young, we solve problems quickly. When we’re older, we know which problems are worth solving.
That distinction matters deeply in financial therapy. Many financial challenges aren’t math problems—they’re emotional ones. Fear, overconfidence, regret, and identity all play a role in how we earn, spend, save, and invest. Older generations have lived through market crashes, career pivots, financial mistakes, and long-term consequences. Their insight helps younger generations avoid costly emotional decisions with money.
Instead of letting this wisdom quietly exit the workforce, we should be intentionally capturing it.
Actionable Ideas for Those Under 50
Identify 10 people in your family, network, or workplace from older generations.
Invite one or two for coffee and ask about their career choices, money mistakes, and what they’d do differently.
Seek out a mentor—or help your company create a mentorship program.
Build relationships with experienced colleagues and learn from their stories.
For Those 51 and Above
You still have immense value to offer—share it.
Mentor someone younger and help them navigate financial and career decisions.
Start or support mentorship programs at work or in your community.
Partner with younger colleagues to exchange skills and perspectives.
Financial therapy thrives at the intersection of emotion, behavior, and wisdom. Let’s not miss this golden opportunity to learn from those who came before us—and grow stronger because of it.