Random thoughts from a Baby Boomer
Nest Egg or Next Egg » Posts for tag 'Finances'

Investing 101

 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 »

Retirement 101

 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 »

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