The season of giving, getting and exchanging are finally behind us. Now we look toward the new year and the thought of making resolutions. Angeline Jolie want to adopt the Vienna Boys Choir And President Bush wants to take the Karaoke machine back to Texas.But what about you, what do you resolve to do? Will it be a new diet? An attempt to live healthier? Perhaps the goal to live inside a budget. I know that I have tried all of these and more and these are all great resolutions, but what about making a resolution this year dealing with your time. I don’t mean managing time more effectively. I mean spending the time we are given in a more joyous way. Think about it, are you happy with how you spend your time? Do you make commitments that you don’t want to honor? Do you waste time procrastinating or dreaming about what if? Do you waste time waiting for the right time to happen? Everyday we are gifted with just 24 hours. It is up to us to decide how to use that time. Of course, we need to eat regularly. And we do require an appropriate number of hours of sleep, and then there are always the things that have to be done. But is there something more purposeful you would like to include in your daily or weekend routine that you don’t feel you have the time for? Maybe this year is the year to rethink how you are spending your time? Read more »
I love what I do, I make decent money, my kids are grown up and independent and I am strong and healthy. Call me oblivious, but I was at a point in my life where I had few worries and every day held a new promise. It’s strange, but when the economy was stable and my investments were growing, I hardly gave much thought to retirement. I knew that I was going to wait until I reached 66 but I didn’t think much past that. However, that seems to have changed considerably since this past October. Lately every thought in my head, every plan that I make seems to be overshadowed by the damage done to my retirement fund. I can’t stop thinking about my future; will I have enough money or will I have to work longer? With the contributions I have been making over the years, I always assumed that I would have more than enough to settle into my golden years without worry but, I can’t loose this nagging feeling that it isn’t going to be enough. I have talked to friends who feel the same way too. It’s such a rude wake up call that none of us were expecting and it is coloring every move we make.
An article in US News & World Report reminded me to let go of these negative thoughts because there are still many reasons to be optimistic about my retirement prospects. One of the best reasons is that Social Security guarantees cost-of-living increases. I had forgotten this simple fact and even though most years that increase isn’t much, it does help. The government is going to have to find a better way to manage Social Security, but they are never going to do away with it for those of us who have already paid into it. You know it’s funny, but as I read this article, I also realized that I don’t need to start drawing down my 401K immediately after I retire. I can wait until I am 70 1/2, so that still gives me 10-1/2 years to recoup my losses (not 6) if I need it. Compound that with the fact that I am still investing regularly and getting bargain prices, means that my losses should evaporate much more quickly when the economy begins its upswing. There are still some concerns I have about medicare and health insurance in general, but I need to see what this new administration proposes before I decide what I need to do about that. Right now, while I am working, I have good insurance so I don’t need to worry about that for a while.
I know we are in for a bumpy ride and a lot can happen in the next six years but I think that things are going to be financially okay for me and I will be able to stick with my retirement goals. If not, I will work another year or two. After all, it’s not the worst thing that could happen.
As I was cruising through my favorite selection of blogs, I came across the amazing story of Ruth Hamilton, a 109-year-old woman who died too soon. She was truly a life-long learner and simply amazing. Just some of the highlights in her live included being married to a Major League Baseball player and being one of the first women to host a radio show. In fact, in 1937 when she came face to face with Hitler she tried to warn the world. She was also the first woman elected to the Legislature from New Hampshire. These are just a few of the things that made Ruth a national treasure. However, what really interested me about Ruth was that with the purpose of passing some of her wisdom along to others, she filed dozens of video blogs on GrowingBolder.com, making her the oldest person ever to blog and the oldest person to be a member of a social network web site. At 109 she is definitely a pre-Baby Boomer, but she sets a great example for the rest of us. I hope you take some time to view Ruth’s blogs because there is so much to explore, discover and enjoy about this woman. She proves that the journey of life holds many adventures.
It isn’t always easy to get into the gym and have productive workouts even when things are going well and you have good intentions of taking care of yourself. But now, the holidays are upon us and we think we have a good excuse to kick back and put our exercise routine on hold for a while. But, according to Dr. Peter Snell, the major benefits of exercise come from regular workouts so we need to find time to stick with our exercise routine despite the excuses. Dr. Snell offers several suggestions that might help. For instance, we can combine exercise with socializing. Grab your friends and go skating, take a hike in the woods or build a snowman together. It will bring out the kid in you and what fun a change of scenery can add to both spending time with friends and getting exercise; not to mention the memories you are creating. Another idea is to change up your exercise routine. Try alternating high and low intensity workouts to get more exercise in in a shorter period of time. And finally, use stress as an excuse to get that exercise routine in. Taking some time at the gym will help relieve tension and help make it easier to sit back, relax and enjoy the holiday offerings. Remember, these days we have with friends and family are treasures and it would be a shame to tarnish them because we are too stressed to fully enjoy them. Read more »
NEVER SAY NEVER - Ten years ago, I moved to a very rural northern town. Isolated from friends and family, my children worried about me, especially driving at night and so they gave me a cell phone for Christmas. I never wanted a cell phone, and I definitely wasn’t going to get hooked on one, After all, I had done without one for my first 50 plus years so why would I need one now? Boy was I off base on that one! My first “mobile” phone was a one piece, black “Nokia” brand phone - it didn’t flip open, had no “sliding feature”, it didn’t offer texting, didn’t have the Internet, it had no camera, no fancy downloadable ring tones – it was just a newer, smaller, portable version of the simple old ma bell phone I grew up with. I didn’t have the heart to tell my children that service was iffy at best this far north making reception pour even on clear days; but, I used the rationale that it would be handy to have in case of EMERGENCIES. So, I threw it in my purse along with the other non-essentials I carry and tried to forget about it. However, like most rural areas, time eventually catches up up with us and signal towers began popping up among the trees and along our highways. My phone began to ring on occasion and the more I talked on it, the more I grew addicted to this wireless “demon” and soon we became one! It became a semi-permanent attachment to my ear and it was never far from reach – I learned to drive, shop and walk one-handed! I was content and all was right with the world. But my coming of age in this techno-phase didn’t end there. The cell phone industry created new and better, faster, more hi-tech phones that my children felt necessary to bestow upon me. Alas, I was left in the wireless dust! I was lucky to be able to program in the names and phone numbers of friends and family, but all of a sudden there were more options on my phone: display options, screen saver choices, ring tones, text messaging, etc. - all too overwhelming for a novice such as me. Read more »
Every day should have some laughter in it, so If you feel like you could use a little laugh today, you might get a chuckle out of the following article I found on the Internet.
The Clown Scientists have found that all our problems can be placed under one main causal heading: Seriousity. It is the leading cause of everything from Cancer to Reincarnation. Top scientists from the National Clown Research Institute have now discovered a new source of healing, a psychic energy point located between the heart Chakra and the throat Chakra. This remarkable point is called the Clown Chakra.
If people are feeling miserable, if they have financial problems, if their relationship situation is the pits, if they are in ill health, if they have a need to sue people, if they find fault with their brother, then obviously, their Clown Chakrais closed. When this happens, the scientists have observed under a high-powered microscope that the cells of every organ display a sad face, and when the Clown Chakra is open and functioning normally, the cells display a happy face.
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In October, when the stock market did a free for all, Jane Bryant Quinn did the practical thing She panicked. I think many of us can identify this past October with that feeling. Traditional investment planning lulls us into a sense of security and creates an illusion of stability. But nothing happens every year exactly as planned. We do know that life is uncertain, and that uncertainty for most people especially applies to managing their personal financial affairs. It seems that even during normal economic times, some investors find themselves overwhelmed with information and conflicting advice while others don’t have the time or interest to manage their personal assets and liabilities in a disciplined manner. We create the best investment plan we can with the knowledge we have, set it aside with the faith that we are investing enough money and pat ourselves on the back when those investments grow. Then when the bears take over on Wall Street, we feel overly anxious because all of a sudden, our financial future is staring us in the face. What was gently tucked into the recesses of our minds now colors every move we make. Read more »
Downsizing, Upsizing and Rightsizing. Boomers were the first generation to be able to graduate from high school and enter the job market expecting to earn a living wage. Now, they are the first group of employees that are perceived by management as ‘LESS’ valuable than younger, entry level, lower paid Gen Xer’s entering the job market today. You probably know of at least one baby boomer who was forced to take early retirement or who was forced out of the job market due to cut backs and streamlining. These boomers find themselves too young to receive any social security benefits and apprehensive about going back to school to acquire new skills. But, without a college degree or high technology skills, many are currently working in lower paying jobs or sitting home frustrated that they want to work but can’t find employment. Compound this situation with the current inflation and a failing economy and the question arises, will our generation, the one that was promised a better life than our parents, end up worse off than our parents? Read more »
I just read some really harsh and little known statistics about the Baby Boomer generation that I want to share with you. A quarter of the more than 1 million Americans who filed for personal bankruptcy in 2007 are 55 and over. They are the fastest group of bankruptcy filers in America. In fact according to an AARP study conducted last year, personal bankruptcy filings soared by nearly 151% among people 55-64 and by almost 178% among those 65 to 74. People 75 and older saw the highest jump in filings, a whopping increase of 567% from 1991 to 2007. These are astonishing statistics, especially for the generations of people who grew up thinking that bankruptcy was a shameful occurrence. The reasons for bankruptcy and financial crisis are different for those over fifty compared to those who are younger. Most often it’s not due to excessive spending, but rather the bankruptcies may be attributed to high health care costs due to serious illness and expenses not covered by insurance. Also, some seniors go into debt trying to help their children or grand children during these difficult times. No matter how old we get, it is in our nature to take care of our children first. Those over fifty also tend to use their credit cards to charge necessities like groceries, unanticipated home repairs and especially medical expenses and prescription drugs. Read more »
The Calorie Restriction Society believes that it is possible to live an extraordinarily long and healthy life, start a different career at age 70 and pursue that new ambition with the same zeal that you had when you were young. They claim that the geriatric generation can function at a very high performance peak without the significant decline that most experience as they age. How do they do it you ask? Very simply by taking in fewer calories and maintaining adequate nutrition by replacing calorie dense food with calorie-sparse nutrient dense foods. In theory, this is an interesting concept, but I think my body has become addicted to an occasional sweet and it would retaliate if I deprived it of deserts all together. And what would I do on those days that I need comfort food? Would I get the same satisfaction if I turned to a raw carrot for sympathy? On the serious side, I have read several articles on CR over the years and understand that many people are successfully thriving on this diet, but it still sounds like a controlled form of anorexia to me. If we noticed a change in eating habits accompanied with weight loss in a grand daughter, we would definitely react, intervene and seek help for her. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept that CR is dangerous for young girls and equated with them having an unhealthy body image to being acceptable in older adults who depend on CR to give them longevity and vitality. They both sound like eating disorders and this seems like an oxymoron. Read more »