A woman in her 40s recently took to Reddit’s personal finance community with a question many adults quietly wrestle with but rarely say out loud: Is it strange to have a roommate at this age?

After selling her house and landing in a temporary living situation, she said she’s considering moving in with a friendly co-worker under a month-to-month arrangement. The setup would let her dramatically increase her savings while still enjoying life, but emotionally, she admitted it feels like she “should have hit certain milestones” by now.

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A Practical Move Or A Social Taboo?

The numbers were hard to ignore. Living alone in her high-cost-of-living area would mean paying roughly $2,800 a month for a one-bedroom, while sharing a three-bedroom condo would allow her to save about $1,500 a month instead of $700.

“I’d like to build up my savings more quickly,” she wrote, listing goals like covering dog health emergencies, taking a multi-week trip to Europe, and eventually buying a home with a yard for chickens. Even modest homes in her area start around $800,000, making slow savings feel discouraging.

She also shared more personal context. She’s single, a relatively recent widow, and carrying about $3,500 in personal loan debt from an emergency surgery, down from $10,000. While she has an eight-month emergency fund, she said her retirement savings are lagging.

“If I move in with my co-worker, I would be able to save $1,500/month AND enjoy life,” she wrote, adding that the extra breathing room would mean spa days, fine dining and concerts “without stress.”

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The idea of dating didn’t factor into her thinking. “I  have no desire whatsoever to date in my near-ish future,” she told one commenter. “I’m not on the prowl at least.”

The response from Reddit was overwhelmingly supportive.

“I think you are probably old enough to recognize that what everyone else thinks and their judgment is completely irrelevant,” one top commenter wrote. “You are living your life. Not anyone else.”

Others pointed out that the arrangement was low-risk. “If it’s month to month, if you hate it just move on,” another commenter said. Several people added that roommates in their 30s, 40s and even 60s are far more common than social norms suggest.

The original poster eventually revealed that her co-worker is also a woman her age, with similar goals. “She wants the same things I do: pay down some debts and build up some savings faster,” she wrote. “I kind of see no downside.”

One moment that resonated with many readers came when she reflected on why the idea appealed to her beyond money. “I am a relatively recent widow so I think not being in an empty home right now is maybe good for me,” she wrote. 

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For people who manage to free up extra cash by downsizing or sharing housing, the next question is what to do with that money. Some choose to simply rebuild emergency savings, while others look for longer-term ways to put those dollars to work.

Platforms like Fundrise have grown in popularity among everyday investors looking for simple, low-barrier ways to invest outside the stock market. With minimums as low as $10, it’s an option for people who want to invest consistently over time without turning it into a second job.

For the woman who started the conversation, the verdict from thousands of strangers was that if the arrangement helps her save faster, feel less alone and enjoy her life more, there’s nothing shameful about it.

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