Living Your Best Encore: Richard Eisenberg

What was your previous job/career, and how many years did you dedicate to it? Would you be open to sharing your age?

I spent my career primarily as a personal finance editor and writer for over 40 years. I am 68.

What sparked your current journey—whether you’re still working, enjoying retirement, or embracing a "second act"? Was there a defining moment?

As I was turning 65 and realizing I had spent 10 years at Next Avenue, I decided it was time to step away and begin my "unretirement," so I would have time to explore opportunities as a freelance writer and editor, volunteer, mentor, travel and spend more time with my wife and our grown sons and their families.

What is one powerful lesson you learned later in life that you wish you could have whispered to your younger self?

That work is important, but it isn't everything.

Please complete this sentence: The thing I value most about where I am in life right now is...

...the sense of fulfillment I have from finding my ikigai -- the reason to get up in the morning -- through part-time work, volunteering, travel, and nurturing relationships with family and friends.

Richard Eisenberg is a writer, editor, and podcaster specializing in personal finance, older adults, and aging. He "unretired" in January 2022, when he left his job as Managing Editor and Editor of the Money, Work, and Purpose channels on Next Avenue, the PBS site for people 50+. He was part of Next Avenue's launch team in 2011. Previously, he served as Executive Editor of Money magazine, Front Page Finance Editor at Yahoo!, and Special Projects Director and Money Editor at Good Housekeeping. He currently co-hosts the "Friends Talk Money" podcast, which focuses on personal finance for people 50 and older, and teaches a MasterClass in Unretirement at NYU.

He is the author of the books "How to Avoid a Midlife Financial Crisis" and "The Money Book of Personal Finance" and served as Director of the NYU Summer Publishing Institute's Digital Media Strategy program for three years. He graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and lives in New Jersey.

Interested in reading other's experiences of Living Their Best Encore? Check them all out here.