Author: Abidemi Agidee
Reviewer: Kenneth Athekame
Publisher: Purplebloom, 2025
Fifty is often described as a milestone. For some, it is cause for quiet celebration; for others, a moment of introspection tinged with anxiety. It is a juncture where the past meets the present, where unfinished goals collide with emerging realities, and the future, once imagined, may suddenly feel uncertain. Financial security may still be a work in progress, personal ambitions may feel incomplete, and the societal pressure to “have it all together” weighs heavily.
In The Retirement Blueprint, Abidemi Agidee confronts these midlife anxieties head-on. Rather than presenting retirement merely as the cessation of work or accumulation of wealth, she reframes it as an opportunity for deliberate reinvention. Her book blends memoir, financial guidance, and lifestyle strategy, offering readers a comprehensive roadmap for living intentionally in midlife and beyond.
Agidee opens with a vivid anecdote from her own life: her 50th birthday celebration in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Surrounded by friends and family, she discovers that her birthday coincides with Coptic Christmas Day, a symbolic alignment she uses as a lens to rethink her life. What might have been just another milestone instead becomes a turning point, a “launch pad for reinvention,” as she describes it.
This narrative immediately signals that the book is not a conventional retirement manual. It is a story of personal evolution, resilience, and intentional living. By anchoring financial planning in her lived experience, Agidee makes abstract concepts tangible, relatable, and emotionally resonant.
The early chapters recount the turbulence that preceded this milestone. Agidee’s life, like that of many readers, was not linear: the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routines and careers, health crises prompted reflection, and personal relationships were tested through divorce and transitions. Her candid reflections on uncertainty, fear, and the challenge of starting over at fifty are both relatable and instructive.
Yet, Agidee does not stop at storytelling. She translates personal experience into structured tools and exercises designed to help readers navigate midlife. The Retirement Bucket List prompts readers to envision the life they truly desire, while the Wellness Wheel Assessment evaluates physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual wellbeing. These tools are deceptively simple but profoundly effective, transforming vague anxieties into actionable steps.
Where The Retirement Blueprint distinguishes itself is in its fusion of financial literacy with emotional intelligence. Agidee introduces the concept of “money dysmorphia” a phenomenon where one’s perception of financial insecurity diverges sharply from reality. Through journaling exercises, self-assessments, and reflection prompts, readers confront anxiety, reframe scarcity thinking, and develop a balanced approach to wealth accumulation.
In Nigeria, where financial planning tools are often inaccessible or underutilized, this combination of practical guidance and emotional clarity is especially compelling. Agidee’s advice is grounded in realism, yet it remains aspirational: she encourages readers to plan thoughtfully without succumbing to fear or comparison traps.
The book also emphasizes shared financial responsibility. Chapters like Partners, Money & Lifestyle explore how couples can align goals, resolve differences in money mindsets, and plan collaboratively. Worksheets and scenario exercises provide actionable ways to navigate these conversations, framing relationships as strategic assets that can support both emotional and financial wellbeing.
Agidee stresses that retirement should not be defined solely by income streams or investment portfolios. Rather, it is about crafting a life rich in meaning, wellness, and wonder. Travel, hobbies, volunteering, continuous learning, and community engagement are framed not as optional luxuries but as essential pillars of a fulfilling midlife.
Her holistic approach blends finance with self-reflection, health assessments, and relationship audits. Readers are encouraged to consider income, emotional wellbeing, social contribution, and personal growth in tandem. Retirement becomes a multidimensional project one that requires foresight, intentionality, and adaptability.
The From Here to “Enough” framework is particularly noteworthy. Agidee prompts readers to define what “enough” means in their lives across savings, lifestyle, relationships, and personal satisfaction. By setting realistic, personalized benchmarks, she helps combat the anxiety, comparison, and “keeping up” pressures that often dominate midlife planning.
The Retirement Blueprint excels in its balance of narrative warmth and actionable insight. Agidee’s storytelling draws readers in, making the challenges of midlife approachable and relatable. At the same time, practical tools, checklists, exercises, and frameworks ensure that the book is more than an inspirational read; it is a guide that can be implemented immediately.
For business-minded readers, the book offers lessons in risk assessment, strategic planning, and resource allocation that transcend personal finance. Many of the frameworks can be applied professionally, from managing career transitions to evaluating long-term goals and aligning teams.
While the book is comprehensive, it occasionally leans heavily on personal anecdotes, which can slow the momentum for readers seeking concise, technical guidance. Some financial strategies assume prior knowledge, and those entirely new to investing or retirement planning may need supplementary resources. Nevertheless, these minor limitations do not detract significantly from the book’s overall value.
Abidemi Agidee’s The Retirement Blueprint is more than a retirement guide; it is a manifesto for intentional midlife living. By blending memoir, financial planning, and lifestyle strategy, Agidee equips readers to confront fear, embrace change, and design a retirement that is financially secure, emotionally fulfilling, and deeply purposeful.
In today’s fast-paced, uncertain world, the book’s message is clear: retirement is not a distant endpoint; it is a strategic opportunity to realign, reimagine, and reinvent life. For executives, entrepreneurs, and midlife planners seeking clarity and actionable guidance, The Retirement Blueprint is a timely and indispensable resource.
