At 75, I wanted to fix my weak and creaky old-lady voice. Let me tell you how that worked out. I’m Rachel McAlpine, I’m learning how to be old, and I’m talking to you, with my very own voice.

At 75 I wondered whether my social life was future-proofed, if that’s possible. Research shows that loneliness is literally a killer, so I wanted to be proactive and prevent loneliness in old age. It's hard to make friends when you're very old, which I would be one day. So I audited my social life and took two small steps to improve it.

I decided to commit to hobbies as part of my preparation for old age. Hobbies provide a transition from paid employment to retirement, plus friendships, a role, and a chance for perpetual learning. I love my singing and dancing groups, but would I pass my hobbies-audit?

"Manage finances for old age" was the fourth task in my boot camp for the bonus years. I was 75 and likely to live to 98: would my retirement savings last that long? I had no idea. I really, really didn’t want to listen to a financial adviser. Yet now, with a realistic budget and a sound financial plan, I know where I stand.

I wanted to be fit and strong in old age. So how was I doing with exercise? I’m Rachel McAlpine and I’m learning how to be old. Let me tell you how I audited my exercise habits and started to fix them. Strange to say, it wasn't difficult. Using BJ Fogg's approach I've done pretty well by joining a gym) and starting some tiny habits.

When I was 75, I audited my eating habits. Then I started a few tiny habits for better nutrition. I’m Rachel McAlpine and I’m tweaking my food now for my aging body and brain, investing in a happy old age in the future.

The first task in my boot camp for the bonus years was to audit and adapt my apartment for old age. I do own my apartment which makes me very privileged and grateful. I love my home and try to treat it well. But was it sufficiently safe, shareable, and shipshape for the very old person that I would one day be?

WIth the prospect of longevity, I wanted to do something to improve my chances of a happy, healthy old age. It was an enormous goal, so I broke it into 12 modules and tiny actions. I would be shaping my own old age.

If I was doomed to live to 99, I wanted to prepare for my future as a very old woman. I began with a review of research on aging. Much of the data coincided with common sense but there were also surprises. Now I had scientific evidence on which to base a personal boot camp for the bonus years. In this podcast episode, join me as I launch into an evidence-based self-help programme for well-being in old age. Starting with a poem.

1000s of scientists study aging. They all know what to do now for well-being in old age.

At 75 I got curious about my projected life span. How long would I live, actually?

I was subconsciously expecting to live to about 84. That was my imaginary expiry date. (What’s yours?) On the other hand, statistics predicted that the average New Zealand woman of my age would live to about 90. But who’s average? Not you, not me. So I researched my personal life expectancy on four different websites, and got an entirely different number. When I got the prognosis of my personal life expectancy, I was enraged. But why? Why did those bonus years seem such a terrible, awful, dreadful, horrible thing? What did I expect?

Other people go through this experience. Denial works for some, but others start taking those bonus years seriously. For me, this information changed my attitude towards the remaining quarter of my life.

One way to face your bonus years of life expectancy: an adult tantrum