An accomplished storyteller with two novels to her credit, Margie Taylor's latest work, "60 is the new 20," combines comedy with incisive research.

Throughout her new personal finance guide for baby boomers, the former CBC Radio host and producer dishes out zingers reflecting her philosophy that "Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."

CreditCards.ca: As far as using credit cards goes, do you think we are any wiser at age 60?

Margie Taylor: Older, definitely. Wiser? Perhaps. More cynical? Certainly! By the time you get to 60, you've been subjected to just about every marketing ploy the world has to offer. You realize that if the offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

When you're younger, there just seem to be a lot more reasons to rely on credit cards -- your kids need hockey equipment, textbooks and school uniforms. You do what you have to in order to survive. And for most of us, that often means putting things on our credit cards.

The great thing about getting older -- and there are some great things -- is that there are fewer and fewer things you absolutely have to have. A new pair of shoes, or even a new car, won't change your life. You are who you are and, for the most part, you accept it. As Mark Twain said, "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." 

CreditCards.ca: Will credit card spending slow as we age?

Taylor: Yes, credit card spending does and should reduce as you get older -- unless, of course, you are one of the many boomers with grown kids still living at home.

In Chapter Two, "Two's Company, Three is Just Wrong!" I mention that in 2006, 44 per cent of young adults between the ages of 20 and 29 were still living with their parents. And this was before the recession hit -- I'm willing to bet that figure today is higher.

Think about it. Almost half of Canada's so-called senior citizens are still, in effect, raising their children. Makes you shudder, doesn't it?

CreditCards.ca: Do you have any personal credit card stories that you'd like to share?

Taylor: For me, the use of credit cards, while handy and at times indispensable, has always come with the potential for self-humiliation. Let me give you an example: Many years ago, my husband, a self-employed medical publisher, took me and his five employees and their partners, to a Christmas dinner at a local restaurant. One of his sales people, hoping to impress his girlfriend, ordered quintuples of brandy and handfuls of Cuban cigars. The end result was that the bill ballooned to twice what we'd originally expected.

My husband only had cash on him, but it wasn't enough. He borrowed my credit card, and the waiter, after disappearing into the kitchen to consult with the maitre d', returned to inform me that my card was over the limit. He then asked whether I would mind accompanying him to the kitchen, just for a minute? To make a long, rather mortifying story short, the evening ended with the credit card company telling the waiter to cut up my credit card, which he did, with rather unseemly pleasure, it seemed to me.

It was my first experience with the finite nature of credit -- a good lesson to learn and one that has stuck with me ever since.

CreditCards.ca: Do you have any parting advice to help fellow boomers cope with money matters?

Taylor: Chapter Thirty says it all: "Don't Worry ... Be Happy." As simplistic as it sounds, a sense of humour is your best tool when it comes to dealing with life's challenges, and that includes worrying about money.

The good news is that, apparently, we get happier as we age. According to a recent Gallup poll, our stress levels peak at age 22 and reach their lowest point at 85. We worry pretty continuously until we're 50, and then, for some reason, we stop. We also, apparently, get more enjoyment out of life as we age, and although there's a slight dip at the end, we never again reach the low point of our early fifties.

Maybe it's biological -- changes in the chemistry of the brain and all that. Or maybe the people answering the survey were lying through their teeth. Who knows? If scientists can't figure it out, I certainly won't try. I like to think of it, though, as another example of the whole "life is a trade-off" thing. Mother Nature says, "Okay, I'm taking away your youth, your skin tone and your ability to remember the name of your second-cousin-twice-removed, but I'm replacing it with happiness. Deal?"

Deal.

See related: How to overcome the payday blues; Author Q&A: Debt and "The Happiness Equation"