Andrea Solarz started saving before she had a reason. In grade school, she deposited a dime into a Bank of America passbook account. Her parents gave her a fixed monthly amount with no strings attached, teaching her to budget and prioritize from an early age.

She is single, has no children, and managed her own finances throughout her career. "You have to pay attention to it all yourself," she said. "You're the only one managing it."

By her twenties, Andrea was reading Kiplinger, attending American Association of Individual Investors meetings, and building a brokerage account she rarely touched. Self-employed for much of her career, her income was sporadic.

Her father's panic-selling taught her to hold through volatility. For her 13th birthday, he gave her three shares of Holiday Inn stock. She watched him buy high and sell low, and resolved never to sell based on fear. "I always held on," she said.

But not every long hold pays off. A friend gave her access to a company IPO. The stock fell to $0.97, she bought more, and during COVID it surged past $100,000. She held, expecting more, and it later dropped to about $20,000. "Don't be greedy," she warns. Taking profits is different from selling out of fear.

Andrea timed Roth conversions well, converting when taxable income was lower. But she wishes she'd started sooner and cautions against hype. "People end up making conversions and overpaying their taxes," she noted. She also discovered the capital gains zero-rate strategy late, realizing she could have reset the basis for many investments.

Using a spreadsheet for years, she eventually tried Boldin. When she entered all her accounts and income sources, she was surprised. "It was just this huge revelation that I actually was in good financial shape," she recalled. Her fragmented savings, when viewed as a projected income stream over 30 years, were enough.

Shifting from saving to spending was a habit change. She took Social Security, paid off her mortgage, and now travels, gives, and spends without a running tally.

Her message to other single people: "You can still do it."