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The internet's grandma has advice for late bloomers: 'It doesn't all have to be perfect'

Cnbc · 🇺🇸 public United States · · 522 words · By Jennifer Liu
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What to know about The internet's grandma has advice for late bloomers: 'It doesn't all have to be perfect'

Many Americans are waiting longer to hit traditional milestones like getting married, having kids, or buying a home.

Claims checked 7
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left20%
Center60%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Many Americans are waiting longer to hit traditional milestones like getting married, having kids, or buying a home.

Why it matters

Gail Rudnick has some grandmotherly advice for these late bloomers: "It doesn't all have to be perfect" to get started.

Common ground

The 84-year-old is part of the duo behind "Excuse My Grandma," a podcast where she and her 30-year-old granddaughter Kim Murstein discuss dating, careers, family and other topics from their own generational perspectives.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/16/grandma-gail-advice-for-late-bloomers-it-doesnt-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 7 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3
verified Verified By Reference 3
verified Verified 1
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Claim 1: “The 84-year-old is part of the duo behind "Excuse My Grandma," a podcast where she and her 30-year-old granddaughter Kim Murstein discuss dating, careers, family and other topics from their own generational perspectives.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that Gail Rudnick and Kim Murstein co-host the podcast 'Excuse My Grandma'. While the specific ages (84 and 30) are not explicitly listed in every snippet, the relationship and the podcast's existence are confirmed across different sources.
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web search NEUTRAL — Gail Rudnick and Kim Murstein — the no-nonsense hosts of hit podcast series “Excuse My Grandma” — are The Post’s brand-new advice columnists. From family feuds to friendship fallouts, money, marriage …
https://nypost.com/author/gail-rudnick/
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web search NEUTRAL — The podcast is called Excuse My Grandma, and it's definitely worth a listen. Not only does it dispense some pretty sage advice, it's also kind of adorable. The super-cute podcast is hosted by Kim Murs…
https://littlethings.com/family-and-parenting/excuse-my-gran…
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web search NEUTRAL — Grandma Gail Rudnick and her granddaughter, Kim Murstein, are here to fix your mess — with a loving but no-nonsense touch! Head to nypost.com/ema and drop them a note about what you need sorted.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/grand…
verified
Claim 2: “And in the dating realm, half of single people say they're scaling back on dates because of rising costs.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provided consists of math calculators and unrelated Wikipedia entries about the Gaza war and music. There is no evidence regarding dating costs or the percentage of single people scaling back on dates.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — As of 28 August 2026, at least 76,621 people (74,582+ Palestinians and 2,039+ Israelis) have been reported killed in the Gaza war according to the Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) and Israeli Ministry of Fo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Gaza_war
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup consis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_They_Know_It's_Christmas?
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "The Fate of Ophelia" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. The song was released on October 3, 2025, thro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fate_of_Ophelia
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “Many Americans are waiting longer to hit traditional milestones like getting married, having kids, or buying a home.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including CNBC and other web search results, confirm the trend of Americans delaying marriage, parenthood, and homeownership.
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web search NEUTRAL — This shift is part of a broader trend: Americans are delaying life milestones like marriage, parenthood, and homeownership, even pushing the average first-time homebuyer age to 38. The result?
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/john-burns-research-and-consu…
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web search NEUTRAL — Notably, younger adults are delaying traditional milestones such as marriage and parenthood, leading to a shift in homeownership patterns. This delay has contributed to a rise in single-person househo…
https://www.bdmag.com/later-life-milestones-reshape-homeowne…
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web search NEUTRAL — Say goodbye to traditional life milestones like marriage, children and buying a home — according to new research, 61 percent agree these are no longer important. The poll of 2,000 Americans found p…
https://nypost.com/2020/02/03/more-americans-choosing-financ…
+ 1 more evidence source
verified
Claim 4: “Americans are spending less time socializing today than they did 20 years ago, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence includes general Wikipedia entries for the Bureau of Labor Statistics and definitions of the word 'bureau', but contains no actual data or reports regarding the amount of time Americans spend socializing compared to 20 years ago.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and stati…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Labor_Statistics
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Erika Lee McEntarfer (born January 1973) is an American labor economist who served as the commissioner of labor statistics from 2024 to 2025. McEntarfer graduated from Bard College with a bachelor's d…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_McEntarfer
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The nature and power of organized labor in the United States is the outcome of historical tensions among counter-acting forces involving workplace rights, wages, working hours, political expression, l…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_history_of_the_United_St…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 5: “"At the age of 79, I went to work," she says of starting a new podcasting career with her granddaughter in 2021.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of unrelated entries for GAIL (India) Limited, an AI service, and various Wikipedia lists. There is no evidence confirming Gail Rudnick's specific age or the start date of her podcasting career.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Addams Family is a fictional family and franchise created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. The Addams are an eccentric old-money clan who delight in the macabre and the grotesque and are see…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of American films released in 2000.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_2000
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following are notable writers, performers, stage managers, directors, producers, and musicians who have collaborated on revues at The Second City.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alumni_of_the_Second_C…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 6: “Many Gen Zers see marriage as more of a "capstone" experience than a "cornerstone" of their lives, clinical psychologist and relationships expert John Gottman told CNBC Make It in July.”
VERIFIED
Web search results explicitly quote John Gottman stating that many Gen Zers see marriage as a 'capstone' experience rather than a 'cornerstone'.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This page lists notable students, alumni and faculty members of the University of Washington.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Washingt…
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web search NEUTRAL — Politics and Religion. Marriage as capstone rather than cornerstone.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2013/04/marriage-as-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Gottman said, "Many Gen Zers see marriage as more of a 'capstone' experience than a 'cornerstone' of their lives." What to Watch. Postponing marriage delays the availability of financial perks such as…
https://www.briefs.co/news/only-37-of-gen-z-adults-view-marr…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 7: “Researchers say a sense of belonging is essential to a good life, and a lack of social connectedness can contribute to a greater risk of heart disease, stroke and self-harm.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Clarity Today, Stride, and other web results) confirm that social isolation/lack of connectedness is linked to increased risks of heart disease and stroke.
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web search NEUTRAL — There was a 29% increase risk of heart disease and 32% increased risk of stroke in individuals with poor social relationships, either as a result of social isolation or loneliness. Social isolation ha…
https://stride.podiatry.org.au/articles/the-impact-of-social…
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web search NEUTRAL — Both pose significant health risks, increasing the likelihood of premature death by 26% and 29%, respectively. Lack of social connection can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, raising the r…
https://www.talenttransformation.com/post/why-social-connect…
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web search NEUTRAL — Social connection for seniors protects the heart, brain, and mood. Learn why isolation is risky after 60 and practical ways to stay connected.Social isolation is associated with roughly a 50% higher r…
https://claritytoday.org/conditions/staying-socially-connect…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.