Midlife Changes For Women

After 40, Many Re-evaluate Life, Including Jobs And Marriages

(CBS)  Midlife doesn't need to bring crisis. Sometimes, it just brings change, in the form of reinvention.

For women, turning 40 often brings new contemplations on their life plans, and, often, dreams of change. The Early Show took a closer look at this trend in Friday's installment of "Reaching for More." Peggy Northrop, editor-in-chief of More magazine, visited the broadcast, along with Susan Stewart, president of Charter Financial Group.

More magazine devotes part of its April issue to the topic of midlife change. "This whole theme of reinvention is really what midlife seems to be all about. Women turn 40 and they seem to say, 'Well, the game plan that I made for myself in my 20s and 30s is kind of up now. I have run out of plans,'" said Northrop. "And so they want to make a whole set of new plans and often they aren't quite sure where to start. It can be a really exciting time in a woman's life. It also can be kind of confusing."

This is the time of life when women often reevaluate not only their careers, but their marriages. "The divorce rate among women over 40 is higher than in any other age group. Somebody called it the 17 and a half-year itch," said Northrop.

Travel is another area that middle-aged women tend to think about. "Trying something that's physically adventurous is all of a sudden something that women want to do, sometimes to their detriment." And then, of course, there's career. "Work is huge. All of a sudden they'll say, 'I've been working for my family. I've been working for status. I've been working at the profession I started in when I was in my 20s. Now I want to do something that's meaningful to me,'" said Northrop.

Another thing that starts happening at this stage of life is that many women start paying attention to their financial situations in a new way. "We see the same things in the financial area, of women taking control of their financial lives, sort of waking up at a point and saying, 'I'm over 40. I can see that retirement time approaching fast. And what do I need to do about it?'" said Stewart, who also commented on why women tend to wait too long to start focusing on finances. "We weren't taught — certainly our mothers didn't confront these issues of 401(k)s and annuities."

The guests offered some tips for women, who are just starting to take control of their finances. Begin with the obvious: Spend less and save more.

"We've been hearing this for decades," said Stewart. But "you need a sense of urgency, and usually at 40 you hit that sense of urgency. So forgo the $800 shoes if you want to be able to retire."

Also, educate yourself about finances. "Now is the time to start learning and read the financial press and find out. Women control household spending. So they really do have their hands on the pulse of what's going on in America," said Stewart. "A lot of women over 40 do have the money saved — but now it's that fear, 'How do I invest it wisely?' That's the more difficult equation."

Stewart says it's also wise to take your time investing. Get the lay of the land before taking the plunge.