EP 495: Kerry Hannon on Debt, Downsizing, and Designing Your Ideal Retirement

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Jean Chatzky Her Money

Investing, Entrepreneurship, Business

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The oldest members of Gen X are facing retirement, and many are feeling unprepared. Traditional pensions disappeared just as Gen X entered the workforce. 401(k)s weren’t mainstream until much later. And along the way, they endured the tech bubble, the Great Recession, and a pandemic. No wonder headlines call Gen X “the forgotten generation” and warn of a retirement crisis. In this episode, Jean sits down with author and Yahoo Finance senior columnist Kerry Hannon to talk about her new book with co-author Janna Herron, Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future. Together, they dive into why retirement feels so daunting for Gen X, what makes this generation uniquely scrappy, and how to turn worry into optimism. You’ll learn: Why Gen X was dealt such a tough financial hand, and what you can do about it now How debt, student loans, and “lifestyle creep” factor into retirement readiness The HOVER method (Hope, Optimism, Value, Enthusiasm, Resilience) for building a positive money mindset Why downsizing isn’t the only answer — and how continuing to work, re-skill, and find purpose can make retirement stronger If more financial confidence sounds good to you, then you might want to try… ⁠4-Week Coaching Program⁠: Identify and understand your spending, build a strategic plan, and take control of your money. ⁠6-Week Pre-Retirement Program⁠: We’ll help you prepare financially and emotionally for this exciting milestone. 📈⁠InvestingFixx⁠: Learn, connect, and start investing—your first month is completely free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	I want to tell you about another podcast I've been relying on to help guide my charitable giving
0:05.8	decisions. Giving done right is all about how to make an impact with your giving and tackles the
0:12.7	question every donor is asking. How can I make the biggest difference right now? With shifts in
0:19.7	federal policy and funding in flux, non-profits
0:22.9	and civic institutions are struggling, and your giving, it matters more than ever. On giving done
0:29.5	right, you'll hear from philanthropic experts and major donors who reveal how to maximize
0:35.1	impact on issues from protecting democracy to supporting
0:39.4	immigrants in crisis. Whether you give hundreds or millions, this show delivers knowledge
0:45.6	that turns good intentions into real results. Stay tuned to the end of this episode for an
0:52.2	exclusive listen of Giving Done Right and find more episodes
0:56.3	wherever you get your podcasts. I think Gen Xers get it done, right? The Gen Xers were the
1:04.4	group that like they got home from school. Nobody was there. They figured out how to do their
1:08.4	homework all by themselves. They didn't have helicopter parents. Very self-sufficient. And this comes to a real benefit when they get to this
1:15.7	stage in life because they're nimble. And they can say, okay, you know what? I think I'm going to
1:19.6	work a little bit longer. Hey, everyone. Welcome to Hermione. I'm Gene Chatsky. Today, the oldest members of Generation X are just a few
1:30.6	birthdays away from retirement. And if that sentence made your stomach flip over a little bit,
1:35.4	well, let me tell you, I know the feeling. I was born in 1964, which makes me a cuspur. I'm the
1:44.1	youngest of the boomers, I guess the oldest of the Xers. I always felt like I kind of walked away with a combo platter, some boomer drive, but Gen X worries, especially when it comes to the topic of retirement, because even though Gen X has been called
2:02.9	the Slacker Generation, and by the way,
2:06.0	I take umbrage with that,
2:09.1	you could argue that the odds were stacked
2:13.3	against Gen X from the start.
	...

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