Over 50 and On Your Own: How to Stay Prepared, Strong, and Connected

Living alone after 50 can be a very, very good life. Your free time is your own. No one loses the remote control or eats up all the leftovers in the fridge. You can sit down in a cozy corner of your couch and read books all day long, whenever you like. With or without a pet, or two, or five.

But maybe your single status is because you’re newly widowed, or maybe the divorce papers came through after 30 years. Maybe the house got extra quiet because the kids are grown and gone. However you got here, you’re over 50, on your own, and you may have caught yourself wondering, “Okay. Who’s going to handle this now?”

The tough part comes when something goes wrong, and handling it falls on your shoulders.

This stage of life is especially important to me now that I’m over 60. The other day when we were dealing with a huge number of horseflies outside, I told my husband, “You can never die. You can never get sick. Otherwise, who would kill all these flies for me?”

Whether it’s a minor inconvenience like horseflies or something much more serious, like a medical emergency when you’re alone or dealing with a natural disaster or storm damage, you need to plan and prepare ahead of time. It’s about prepping, yes, but also staying focused on your physical health and stamina, staying connected with others, and creating a healthy and wholesome lifestyle that will ensure the next decades are as fulfilling and capable as the ones behind you, maybe even better.

Ask yourself a few quick questions:

• Could you carry your own emergency supplies up your front steps today?
• Could an EMT find your medication list if you couldn’t speak?
• Do you know where your breaker box is and which switch runs the fridge?
• Who would you call at 2 a.m. if you needed a ride to the ER?
• Have you done anything this week to keep your legs and balance strong?

If a couple of those made you pause, you’re in the right place. Let’s go theme by theme.

How This Guide Works

I’ve split getting prepared into six areas, each one has five or six practical steps. Most of these take less than an hour, and some can be done with a single phone call. Start wherever worries you most.

The Medical Emergency at Home Alone

Nobody likes to think about a medical emergency when there’s no one else in the house. I’ve noticed in social media, this is a recurring question: What do I do if I have a medical emergency and nobody’s home?

Let’s tackle that one first, because after a serious choking incident four years ago, that’s still on my mind.

Have a home-alone emergency routine

1. Call 911 first. The most dangerous words in the human language, “It’s not so bad.” If a symptom is enough to be noticeable, don’t wait to see if it passes or call your daughter for her opinion. Even if you can’t talk because of the pain level, stay on the line with 911 anyway.
2. If you can, unlock the front door, turn on the porch light, and put the pets in another room with the door closed.
3. Grab your pill bottles and put them in a bag to take with you. Paramedics can learn a lot about your condition just by taking a look at these.
4. Stay near the front door if possible, so EMTs can find you and immediately begin assessing and treating you.

Turn on Medical ID on your phone

Set up Medical ID on your iPhone or Emergency Information on your Android phone so responders can see your conditions, medications, allergies, and emergency contacts without unlocking the phone. Then keep the phone on you, not charging on the kitchen counter.

Instructions for Medical ID (iPhone)

1. Open the Health app and tap your profile picture in the top right.
2. Tap Medical ID, then Edit (or Get Started).
3. Add your conditions, medications, allergies, blood type, and emergency contacts.
4. Turn on Show When Locked and Share During Emergency Call.
5. Tap Done.

Instructions for Emergency Information (Android)

1. Open Settings and search for “emergency.”
2. Tap Safety & emergency, then Medical information and Emergency contacts. Samsung calls it Safety and emergency too, and on some phones you’ll find it under About phone > Emergency information.
3. Add your medical details and contacts.
4. Make sure the option to show it on the lock screen is turned on.

Privacy Concerns

I’m very sensitive about any private information I give out. After you’ve reviewed the Medical ID or Emergency Information settings and prefer to not answer everything, here are my guidelines:

• Don’t add your full name, date of birth, or street address. If your phone is lost or stolen, that’s the kind of information identity thieves look for.
• List allergies, current medications, and any health issues that aren’t particularly private or describe them in general terms, like “heart condition”.
• If you list emergency contacts, use first name or their role (like “daughter” or “next door neighbor) instead of full names.

If you live alone and, especially, if you have significant health and mobility issues, the advantages of having some of this information on your phone, readily available to first responders, outweighs the slight risk of a stranger accessing it.

Post a Vial of Life on the fridge

The Vial of Life is simple and old-school — on paper — and that’s why it works. There’s no need to be connected via WiFi or a smartphone.

You fill out a one-page medical form, put it in a clear plastic bag taped to the front of your refrigerator, and stick one decal on the fridge and one on your front door so EMTs know to look for it. The forms are free to print from their website. Include:

• Name, date of birth, and a recent photo
• Medications and doses (blood thinners and insulin first)
• Conditions, surgeries, allergies, and any implants or pacemaker
• Emergency contacts, doctors, and preferred hospital
• Insurance and Medicare information
• DNR or advance directive note, and where the original is kept
• Who to call about your pets

Rememer to date it, and then update it whenever a prescription or some other detail changes.

Keep a small hospital go-bag

If you need to rush to the ER or an ambulance takes you, you want something small you or a neighbor can grab. This is most important for anyone with chronic health conditions, a history of heart or breathing problems, or regular appointments with specialists, because they’re more likely to need urgent medical help and more likely to stay longer at a hospital than expected.

Pack a small kit with these items:

• copy of your medication list (grab your actual meds once you call 911 or make the decision to get to a hospital or urgent care)
• insurance cards
• a phone charger/power bank with a long cord (keep the power bank charged)
• reading glasses
• phone numbers on paper
• a toothbrush
• warm socks
• a comfy change of clothes

Assemble this in a small bag, and keep it by the bedroom door, just in case.

Learn the self-Heimlich

I learned how scary this is after choking on a very dry turkey meatball particle, and that was with my husband and kids there to help me. Choking with no one around is even scarier, so let’s think about it now instead of later.

Call 911 first so they can find you even if you can’t talk. Then do abdominal thrusts on yourself — a fist just above your belly button, pushed in and up, or lean hard over the back of a sturdy chair or a counter edge. MedlinePlus and the Red Cross both explain it. Figure out now which chair you would use and give this a practice round, without actually coughing anything up!

Be Ready For Any Emergency When You’re On Your Own

Your Free Home Alone Emergency Sheet

When something goes wrong, you won’t want to be hunting for a lockbox code or trying to remember your blood pressure medication.

This two-sided sheet has the steps to take the moment something happens, plus spaces for your contacts, medications, doctors, and pets.

No spam. Unsubscribe any time.

First Name

Email Address

Website

Preparedness Supplies Sized for One

I’ve written thousands of words about preparedness/prepping, and nearly everything was written with families in mind. Now that you’re living on your own, you need fewer supplies, including food, but you also don’t have other people helping you pack up the car for an emergency evacuation. So prep for the household you have.

Buy smaller packages you can carry on your own

A 24-pack of bottled water weighs around 27-28 pounds, and that’s a lot to haul up the porch steps or out to the car. Ready.gov recommends one gallon of water per person per day for several days, and I recommend twice that amount, especially if you have pets. However, nobody says it has to come in one heavy load. Look at 6-packs, gallon jugs you can carry one at a time, or a stackable water container you fill where it’s stored. These hold 2.5 gallons and would weigh about 20 pounds each, not exactly lightweight, but if you stack them on a wheeled cart or dolly, you can more easily transport the water if you need to.

To go really light, buy supplies in sample or travel sizes. I like to browse Minimus.biz for those.

Build a one-person pantry that won’t be overwhelming

Too many ambitious preppers have told me stories of piles of stored food they never used, and the food went stale or attracted pests. A 25-pound bag of rice is a lot of rice for one person, and if you end up never using it, that’s money wasted. Since you only need enough food storage for 3-4 weeks (my recommendation), stock single-serve and small cans, pouches of tuna and chicken, quick oats, peanut butter, and freeze-dried meals you can make with just hot water. The good thing about these “just add hot water” pouch meals is that they are typically for one or two servings.

Store it where you can reach it without a ladder

The top shelf of the pantry or a closet is where emergency supplies go to be forgotten. If they require you to stand on a chair or step stool, then never mind. Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults 65 and older, according to the CDC, so it makes more sense to keep everyday and emergency items between knee and shoulder height. Use the high shelves for lightweight, rarely used items, and put a sturdy step stool with a handrail. This one can bear up to 300 pounds.

Pack a go-bag light enough to carry yourself

My main bug out bag, or go bag, weighs too much for me anymore. I originally packed it about 8 years ago, and a lot has changed since then! For your own bag, a go-bag isn’t useful if it stays in the closet because it’s too heavy to lift and carry it out to your car. If that’s a struggle, lighten it or switch to a rolling bag.

To lighten the weight, add water for a day or two (or keep a large container already in your car), medications, copies of important documents, a charged power bank and charging cord, a hygiene kit, a flashlight or a headlamp, small high-protein snacks, glasses, and a small first aid/medical kit. My guide to building budget bug out bags walks through the basics, and you can scale it down to one person.

Keep a 30-day medication buffer

If you take daily prescriptions, try to stay a few weeks ahead rather than refilling on the last day. Ready.gov suggests talking to your doctor or pharmacist about an emergency supply of medications. Ask whether your insurance allows 90-day fills or early refills. For over-the-counter meds, have an extra for each one you use most often.

Dealing With Outages and Bad Weather On Your Own

When you live alone, a power outage and dealing with weather-related issues are all yours to handle. You’re the one figuring out how to get the generator going or maybe how to get the power station set up with an array of extension cords. If it’s a storm rolling in, it’s up to you to keep an eye on weather alerts or deal with a leaking roof.

This becomes a lot easier with a plan of action and supplies and gear designed to make these jobs doable, even for someone with a bad back or a bum knee.

A power outage plan with nobody to take shifts

One of your primary goals is to have at least one backup power source. Think about a gas-powered generator that only needs the push of a button to start or, even better, can be started with a remote control. A power station or two can be large enough to keep most of the house running and can be charged with solar panels if the outage goes out for days.

Keep a charged power bank or two for your phone, since your phone is your lifeline. If you use oxygen, a CPAP, or other powered medical equipment, ask your electric company about its medical or critical care registration program. Registration doesn’t guarantee your power stays on or comes back first, but it can mean advance notice of planned outages. My post on power outages and home medical equipment walks through backup options.

Finally, add one or more battery-powered light sources to each room — you never know where you’ll be in a nighttime power outage. Headlamps ensure you have your hands free for other tasks.

Take heat and cold seriously

As we get older, our bodies don’t regulate temperature as well, and we may not feel thirsty or overheated until we’re already in trouble. The CDC notes that adults 65 and older are more prone to heat-related illness, and some medications make it worse. When you live alone, there’s no one to say, “You look flushed, you need sit down and have a glass of water.”

Decide now where you’ll go if the house gets dangerously hot or cold. It could be a cooling or warming center, a library, or a friend’s house with a generator. In winter, layer up and have a plan to stay in the warmest room of the house. My post on staying warm without electricity has plenty of ideas.

Find the shutoffs you can physically turn

When we walked into our house during the big Texas freeze of 2021, the first thing we heard was running water — water that shouldn’t have been running. Within seconds, my husband was out in the backyard turning off our water main. At that time, I had no idea where to find it, nor how to shut if off.

Do you know where your water main, gas shutoff, and breaker box are? More importantly, can you physically turn them and do you have the right tools handy? Some water valves are stiff, buried in a box at the curb, or need a special water meter key. Go try each one now. If you can’t budge it, buy the right tool or ask a plumber to replace a stubborn valve.

Gas is the exception. Ready.gov says to shut off natural gas only if you smell gas or hear a hissing sound, then leave and call the gas company from outside. Once it’s off, a professional has to turn it back on.

Know when to leave instead of riding it out alone

It’s one thing to ride out a storm as a family, with multiple people on hand to deal with most every issue, but it’s quite another to be alone. Riding it out alone, with no power, rising heat, and a medical condition is something else. Think about likely scenarios in your area, and decide now what your “go” line will be. For example, it the power is out for more than two days in the summer or winter with no end in sight or if local officials say it’s time to evacuate. When you know what that line is, for you, it takes the pressure off any last minute panic when you might not be able to make a sound decision.

An evacuation plan with no one to help load the car

Think about what you can realistically load by yourself in 15 minutes. Keep your go-bag, medications, and pet carrier near the door during storm season, and keep your gas tank at least half full. Pick two destinations, one nearby and one out of the area, and tell someone your plan. If you don’t drive or might not be able to, ask your county about special needs or transportation registries for evacuations. My evacuation checklist can help you move faster.

Sometimes, an evacuation doesn’t have to be miles away. If a nearby neighbor has a generator, that could be your destination, or if floodwaters are rising, a hotel just a few miles away at a higher elevation might be the safest choice. You want to be able to get to a safer place quickly — not start off on a long journey to a bug out location that you may or may not reach. Especially if you’re on your own.

Things Someone Else Used to Handle

When I told my husband, battling those horseflies, that he’d better not ever die, I wasn’t kidding. As women, we come to rely on the guy who can kill a tree roach, turn off the water main in freezing weather, and knows how to jumpstart a car’s dead battery. For many women after a gray divorce or widowhood, the hardest moment isn’t the big emergency. It’s that dead car battery, the tripped breaker, or the generator that won’t start because he always handled it. That’s a gap in your skill set. Not a failure on your part.

Learn the breaker box and generator

Open your breaker panel on any regular day. Are the switches labeled? If not, flip one at a time and label them with a friend calling out what turned off — Kitchen, Bedroom #1, Hall Bath, and so on. Learn how to reset a tripped breaker. If you have a generator, start it yourself every month or two, and learn how to fuel it safely, never while it’s hot. Start with my post on buying your first generator, or consider a smaller portable power station if pull-starting a generator is hard on your shoulders.

Basic car upkeep

You don’t need to rebuild a carburetor or replace the brakes yourself, but you do need to know how to check tire pressure, recognize dashboard warning lights, add washer fluid, and use a portable jump starter. A tire inflator is a lot easier to use than trying to change a flat tire along the side of the road. The right tool for the job makes all the difference in the world.

Know where every account and password is

If your spouse handled the bills, you may be finding accounts you didn’t know existed. Make a master list of bank, retirement, insurance, utility, and subscription accounts, and store passwords in a password manager like 1Password, or a written notebook kept somewhere safe. The Grab-n-Go Binder is a great way to keep your important papers together.

Line up trusted repair people

Almost never mentioned, this might be your most important prep. The time to find a plumber is not when water is pouring through the ceiling. Ask friends and neighbors who they use, and save a plumber, electrician, HVAC company, handyman, and mechanic in your phone. Be wary of door-to-door “contractors” after storms; my post on scams after disasters explains why.

One skill you’ve always let someone else do

As you’ve been reading this, what’s the one skill or task that comes to mind as the one you really, really need to learn. Maybe it’s grilling, mowing the lawn, hanging a picture, using a drill, or reading the water meter. Pick something, watch a YouTube tutorial or ask a friend for pointers, and add it to your skillset.

Your People

We were never meant to do life entirely alone. Even the toughest among us need to depend on others, and staying connected is one of the best things you can do for your health. Loneliness has been linked to higher death rates, depression, heart disease, and even cognitive decline — the one thing you can’t risk losing! (If you’re also looking out for an older parent, see Preparing Elderly Loved Ones for Emergencies.)

Choose your emergency contact

When there’s no spouse and no adult child nearby, your emergency contact might be a sibling, a close friend, a neighbor, or someone from church. If your family is spread out, my guide to a family emergency communication plan works just as well for a circle of friends. Keep your emergency contact consistent across any forms you fill out, but have a second person in mind in case that primary contact is away on a cruise or visiting grandkids.

Daily check-ins (if you need them)

I’ll be honest. If you’re 58, healthy, and hiking on weekends, a formal daily check-in probably sounds like something your mother would make you do. You don’t need one. Coffee with a friend every week and a neighbor who waves when you walk the dog will cover you.

My advice changes if you have a chronic health condition or a disability, if you’ve fallen before, or if you’re recovering from surgery. Just keep it simple — one text each morning, and your contact should know to personally check up on you if you don’t respond after a second text or call within a reasonable amount of time.

Get to know two neighbors

No need to expect your neighbor to be your next BFF. You just need two people nearby who know your name, have your phone number, and would notice if your newspaper piled up. When our neighborhood experienced an 11-day power outage after Hurricane Beryl in 2024, we immediately noticed our next door neighbors had no power on Day 1 and then Day 2. We checked on them and discovered they didn’t have a generator, which we were happy to lend them.

A ride-home person for procedures and the ER

Many outpatient procedures with sedation, like a colonoscopy, require a responsible adult to drive you home, and some facilities won’t accept a cab or a rideshare (verify with your provider). Figure out who that person is before you schedule. Some Medicare Advantage and private insurance plans offer transportation benefits, but Original Medicare generally doesn’t cover routine rides. Check with your insurance company and medical provider to see what’s available and whether the transportation meets the facility’s requirements.

A plan for who takes your pets

If you were hospitalized tonight, who would feed the dog? When you can plan ahead, a trusted pet or housesitter is ideal, but in a sudden emergency, you might need to ask a friend or neighbor to be your pet’s emergency caregiver. Give them a key or the code to your lockbox, and put the plan in writing, along with vet information and feeding instructions. Ready.gov has a pet preparedness guide, and you’ll find more in my post about packing a pet evacuation kit.

Papers, Money, and Health

This last section helps make sure you’re the one decides who gets to help you if you can’t speak for yourself. It’s not exciting, but the few minutes it takes can save a lot of confusion and red tape later. The rest of this section covers keeping scammers away from your money and keeping yourself healthy enough to fully enjoy this chapter of your life.

Power of attorney and a HIPAA authorization

A durable financial power of attorney and a health care power of attorney (sometimes called a medical POA or health care proxy) let someone you trust act for you if you can’t. When I think of who will take this role on my behalf, a few things come to mind:

• Are they trustworthy with money and private information?
• Are they willing to take this responsibility?
• Will they follow my wishes, not their own?
• Are they organized?
• Do they live nearby or can travel quickly to be with you?
• Are they younger and healthier, if possible?

Much of the time this is a close family member, but if these questions cause you to doubt that choice, take some time to decide on an alternate. And, you can choose one person to manage things like paperwork and finances and another person to deal with healthcare.

Caring Info has a clear guide to advance care planning. Also sign a HIPAA authorization with each doctor so they can talk to your chosen person. HHS explains what doctors can and can’t share with friends and family.

A trusted contact on financial accounts

Here’s a simple step you might not know about. Banks and brokerages can let you name a “trusted contact person” on your accounts. This person can’t move your money, but the institution can reach out to them if somethint looks fishy, like a big withdrawal, or they can’t reach you. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has resources on protecting older adults from financial exploitation.

It’s hard to believe, but every year, Americans over 60 lose billions of dollars to fraudsters. The creativity of these scammers is mind-boggling, and more than once I’ve had to double check a sketchy text message or email. The Federal Trade Commission tries hard to stay on top of this, and they cover all types of scams on their website.

An emergency fund for a one-income household

With one income (or one Social Security check), there’s no second paycheck to handle a sudden, expensive emergency. The CFPB’s guide to building an emergency fund has practical tips. This is general information, not financial advice; talk with a trusted advisor about your own situation.

Get a medication review

I’ve noticed that for every side effect of a prescription drug, another drug is prescribed to deal with that side effect! This can eventually end up with individuals being over-medicated.

Once a year, bring every prescription, supplement, and over-the-counter medication to your doctor or pharmacist (in a bag, the “brown bag review”). Many pharmacies, Medicare, and some insurance companies will do this for free. Ask whether anything interacts, whether anything could make you dizzy (a common cause of falls), and whether anything could be dropped. Update your Vial of Life and Medical ID with whatever changes.

A balance or strength class, and setting up your patient portal

If there’s one thing in this whole post that pays off in every other section, it’s this: stay strong. If you’ve been sedentary for a while, that’s a hard habit to break. Take it from someone who works from her laptop most of the day!

But one good thing about getting older is this — a lot of health insurance companies, medical facilities, gyms, and community centers want to help keep us in shape! And, they offer free memberships and discounts.

The bottom line is that everything in this article, from being prepared to handling a power outage or tripping on a rug becomes more manageable the healthier and more fit you are.

When I was close to needing a knee replacement, my primary doctor gave me an aquatic water therapy routine instead, and saved me from that surgery. As we all get older, strength training is emphasized more than anything else. Your health insurance, YMCA, or Medicare Advantage plan may cover a gym memberships and other opportunities to get in shape. This is also an easy way to get connected with people around you.

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Related Content

• Power outages and home medical equipment
• A prepping essential: the grab-and-go binder
• Avoiding scams and fraud after disasters
• What to do if your phone is stolen

The Final Word

Being over 50 and on your own isn’t a problem to be solved. It’s a season of life, a new chapter, and it can be a good one. Some of us are going strong with only the occasional ache, and some of us are working around real health limits. Either way, the plan is the same. Keep your preparedness supplies sized for one, know what to do when something goes wrong, learn the skills someone else used to handle, keep your people close, and keep your body as strong as you can for as long as you can.