June 24th, 2009
 When our neighbors were discussing their upcoming cruise and how much it would cost to board their dog, my husband and I decided we would offer to watch “Muffy,†an eleven year old Shitzu.
The irony is when we were working and gone most of the day, we always had a pet. However, once we retired and had more time to have a pet, we have remained petless. So, this was our opportunity to see if a dog would prove enjoyable with our new lifestyle..
Dogs are still the pets of choice in the United States with 74.8 million households having dogs. However, for sheer numbers, cats outnumber dogs with 88.3 million, since many households have several cats. For those looking for pets with a little less upkeep, (although I am sure that is debatable when it is time to clean the tank)12 million households have freshwater fish and 9.6 have saltwater fish. 16 million households have birds, while another 24.3 million have small animals. 13.8 million households have horses, followed closely by 13.4 million with reptiles. So, what does this say about Americans? I am not sure, but apparently many people derive great pleasure taking care of something other than themselves.
There is no doubt that pets require a commitment. Just like our traveling friends, if you have a pet that is not traveling with you, someone must take care of them in your absence and it is not an inexpensive proposition. They also require time and planning. No longer do we just walk out the door. We now have Muffy to consider. Has she been outside lately? Has she been fed? Not that we have to worry. It soon became apparent that Muffy would train us in no time. The first few days she was up at the crack of dawn and ignoring her was not an option. No matter how often we begged her to go back to sleep, she would have none of it. She was then ready for her morning walk.
Ironically, when people saw me walking my new pet while they were taking care of theirs, they confided that as soon as theirs went to the Great Beyond, they probably would not rush out to get another one. However, I have other friends who have lost pets and rush to get another to fill that void they are feeling.
Unquestionably, research shows that petting an animal can lower blood pressure and add another dimension of pleasure to life. But it’s not for everyone. I have enjoyed having Muffy, partly because I know I am helping our friends and she will be going home. And it was an opportunity to see if we would enjoy having a pet. I no longer feel guilty to say I don’t .
My advice: never be pressured to get a pet. Try caring for a friend’s pet for a couple of weeks and you too may come to the conclusion we did, pets are not for everyone.
Tags: blood pressure, companion, dog, Health, lonely, pet, pet sitting, retirement, shitzu
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May 24th, 2009
 Several years ago, when I retired, one of the first things I noticed was that I had time to do things with some forethought. That included shopping. No longer did I quickly run in after work and pick up something off the shelves. I was able to read labels and do some comparison pricing. Now, with the current recession, I am doing comparison shopping, but with a different goal: saving money. On a limited budget, finding ways to save is a necessity and I have become one of the best. Here are some of my tricks:
There is a certain sense you develop when shopping retail. If you see something you want, let’s say a dress, you have to assess whether it will go on sale. If there are a limited number in your size and if you don’t act, you have to weigh how disappointed you will be if you don‘t get it. Nine times out of ten, things will go on sale and then the real game becomes how low will it go. In this economy, stores are marking things down to incredible savings. Now, the beauty of retirement kicks in. When you read the ads or see something on-line that you have been wanting, you have the time to beat everyone else to the sale.
Shopping for cosmetics is also an art.  I have tried to hone the skill of waiting, but am not always successful. If I see something I want, I ask for samples. At least then I can try it before spending a lot of money. Also, if I decide that it is something I must have and call a store to send it, they will often waive the shipping fee, if asked. Also, if you develop a rapport with staff in certain lines, they will alert you to sales, or give you complimentary gifts. I have a friend who always buys her perfume from the same salesperson. She is alerted to the new scents of the season and she is also rewarded with free samples.
Clipping coupons is something I would have never bothered with when working. Now it is fun. Sunday’s paper if full of coupons and as more and more papers disappear, coupons are available on line. I try to plan our weekly menu around what is on sale. I also look for two for one specials and share them with our neighbors.
This is also a time when companies are willing to negotiate to keep their best customers. Always pay your bills on time. Never be afraid to ask if you are getting their best price. Things change and although you might have needed 70 cable channels in the past, you might not need them now.
My last trick is really a wake-up call. Again, it is practicing the art of patience. Instead of buying spontaneously, I write down what it is I want and how much it costs. In a week or two, I go back and review the list. If it is something that I still want, I may buy it, or I will note how much money I have saved by waiting. Remember, the whole art of negotiation is being able to walk away if the price is too high!
Retirement is tricky. There is a fine line between having enough money to enjoy things and being too frugal that you forget how to enjoy things. Becoming a savvy shopper helps.
Tags: recession, retirement, save, shopping
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April 25th, 2009
No matter how old I get, there are two things that never seem to change: in the fall, I want to buy school supplies and in the spring, I want to get in shape. I want to be swimsuit ready for the summer, even though I notice that each year that seems a little harder to achieve.
I always find it ironic that Girl Scout Cookies are sold in the same month that the Sports’ Illustrated Swimsuit issue arrives at the check-out line in the grocery store. However, when you think about it, these events are somewhat related.
First, you want to be able to enjoy life. You can’t give up everything and Girl Scout Cookies come but once a year. However, just when I am ready to open another sleeve of Thin Mints, I am reminded that moderation, or more likely deprivation, is the way to the toned abs and sleek thighs of the swimsuit models.
I belong to a gym and go with some regularity, but it is this time of year that I want to kick my routine up a notch. I begin noticing the muscle-bound trainers and their students. Recently, I mustered enough courage to ask a trainer how much he charged and if he would be willing to train me. His response made me really question what I am willing to do. He asked, “What are your goals?â€Â My goal is to be in shape. But am I really willing to do what would be necessary to achieve that goal? And what does it mean to be in shape? Does that mean being able to walk a couple of blocks to our favorite restaurant or does it mean being able to run a marathon?
Do diets really work? Maybe for the short term, but nearly every article I read stresses that fad diets just don’t work over the long term. But after I have been on the treadmill for ½ an hour and see that I have only burned 200 calories, I realize that exercise without some diet modification is probably not the answer either.
Dr. Dean Ornish, president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, has recently published a book called Spectrum. In it, he advises people to eat with awareness, noting that you get more pleasure and fewer calories when you really pay attention to what you are eating. He thinks exercise is an important part of staying healthy, as well as losing weight.
In a recent article in “Allure Magazine“, he contends that walking 20 or 30 minutes a day, not even all that fast, can reduce premature death rates by half. More intensive exercise makes you more fit, but really doesn’t add much to your longevity, according to Ornish.
So, maybe the key is to exercise, eat with awareness and use the money I would have spent on
Tags: female, fun, funny, senior, summer, swim suit, women
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March 25th, 2009
There are have recently been many events affecting retirement. It is hard to know when we will pull out of our current recession, but it does make one wonder if we will be the last generation that will be able to retire. The American Dream, as we once understood it, may be very different for future generations.
For people that have been retired for awhile, it is a scary time as retirement funds continue to dwindle. People looking forward to retirement may postpone it, if possible, and continue to work until things improve. The latest government report shows household net worth dropped by 9 percent in the third quarter, which is the most since records were first kept almost 50 years ago. Even if people want to go back to work, the outlook is bleak as more people are losing their jobs and the number of unemployed has reached an all-time high with 5.3 million people receiving unemployment benefits, with another 1.4 million receiving extended benefits.
For the first time in history, there are as many women as men in the work force.
While women have made strides in recent history for equality in pay, we are still not there. So the fact that more women are working is a mixed blessing as it also means that those being laid off are often those with the higher pay, with women being retained due to their lower pay. Loss of pay is only one of the affects of unemployment. Families that that suffer this monetary loss of income, also suffer from emotional loss of self-worth and purpose.
Everyone is ready for this recession to be over and to go back to life as we knew it. Economists and newscasters continue to look for signs of progress and sometimes report hopeful stories. So when the stock market goes up, will people believe that it can be sustained?
I have always heard people speak of the American Spirit. From what I have observed, we are actually witnessing a time in history when people are showing hope, when all the indicators would show otherwise. It is a time to stay positive and to stay away from people who blame the government for all our ills and offer no solutions themselves.
Hope and optimism are contagious, but unfortunately, so are doom and gloom. Our country was built on optimism and I believe we will return to more optimistic times. Let’s make it so.
Tags: 401(k), American spirit, retirement, stretch money, toughtimes
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February 25th, 2009
 This past week over 550,000 people filed a new claim for unemployment in the United States. The reality is that in the coming months millions of additional Americans will lose their jobs.  Is this a recession or a depression? To the millions of people who are losing these jobs with little hope of finding a new one soon, it is a depression!
There is a disturbing trend during these economic hard times. Most companies and governmental entities are attempting to solve their economic problems through layoffs. This week three venerable American companies all announced layoffs: Microsoft, Starbucks and Harley Davidson.  All are profitable companies who see these hard times as an opportunity to do what human resource professionals call “right sizing“, the politically correct term for eliminating higher paid positions, often filled by senior employees, to improve the bottom line profits. Oftentimes these executives who are leaders in this “rightsizing†movement in America are awarded for their efforts with fat bonuses.
A new term for staff members in our American companies is human capital. This human capital is even accounted for like other capital and a price is placed on it and compared to other capital expenditures like buildings and equipment. This concept is not limited to the private sector, as I noted this week when one high ranking public school official in our area said he thought it would be less desirable to close some school buildings than layoff some school employees. Unless, of course, he became that laid off staff member.
I fear that this recession will be tougher than past ones because of our lack of respect for the people who work in our companies and organizations.  Not only is it now fashionable to layoff staff to improve the bottom line, we see another revolution to lower the wages of people that are already paid the least in our companies. I do not believe that we can be a great country without good wages and full employment. We are going to exacerbate the current hard times if we do not realize that the life blood of our country is the American worker who certainly deserves a better future. People are not human capital but our relatives, neighbors and friends, a group that deserves a lot more respect and consideration than they are receiving today.
Tags: finance, layoffs, recession, retirment, senior employees
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January 23rd, 2009
 January ushers in a season of hope: a new year, a new president and another chance at making things the way you want them to be. However, as optimistic as I try to be, the current economy makes it hard to enjoy my retirement years as I had envisioned.
I don’t like it when I am listening to economic analysts who have pretty much written off the entire year, predicting that 2009 may make 2008 look good. And I have to admit that if I allow myself, it can get pretty depressing listening to the dismal projections that seem to bombard us at every turn.
So, when I heard the interest rates were at an historic low and that banks are once again beginning to lend money, it seemed like the perfect time to explore refinancing our home. Being on a fixed income, or retiring and relying on your savings that are no longer what they once were, can make the idea of refinancing and reducing monthly payments very appealing. Average rates for a 30 year fixed rate loan are now below 5 percent. This translates to savings of about $200 a month on a $200,000 loan.
Being of retirement age, my husband and I have bought and sold homes throughout our careers, but when they say times are different, they aren’t kidding. I am reminded of Harry Truman’s adage that when your neighbor loses their job, it’s a recession, but when you lose your job it’s a depression. Similarly, we had watched the stories of declining home values, but we thought that applied to our neighbors, not us. So, in applying for a new mortgage, it never occurred to us that our home value had dropped as dramatically as the appraisers reported.
I don’t want to say I was over-confident, but when the process started, we were told we had a good credit rating, not only good, but very high. Therefore, I thought, this should be easy. Just pay your non-refundable application fee of anywhere from $400 to $1000 and wait for them to call us for the closing. After all, we are attempting to refinance through the same bank that currently holds our mortgage, and our principle has decreased through the years, so were are actually asking this same bank for less than we originally financed the home for.
Now the sobering reality.  Your home may not be worth as much as it was when you bought it and your financial institution may not be as inclined as they once were to even loan you the same amount you currently owe on your home!  Yes, this seems incredible that we home owners who have never missed a payment on any debt in over 40 years may no longer quality for a loan on our principle residence.
Whether or not you decide to proceed with refinancing, or to keep your current loan, it is an opportunity to think about what you want to do in the new year to make it a great year. After all, even in bad times there are opportunities to do things that will improve your future.  It is all about looking for that silver lining in the dark clouds that surround us, and refinancing at historically low rates may just be one of these opportunities to consider.
Tags: home sale, interest rate, refinance house, save money
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December 21st, 2008
 As the year draws to a close it is only natural to reflect on all that has happened. We made history in so many ways. Some of the things we thought would never change have probably changed forever and retirement is just one of them. Retirement does not look like it did even a year ago, as so many of us watch our 401k’s become 201k’s. The idea of retiring from work completely is less likely than six months ago and may even be out of reach for some of us.
So, if you are considering re-entry into the workforce and want to be trendy and hip, there is probably something you should know: yellow is the “in†color for 2009. Pantone, which provides color standards to the design industry and influences what colors fashion designers use, has designated yellow as the optimistic color, so let’s all be optimistic and wear a little yellow, paint a wall or two yellow, and think yellow thoughts, as we all need an optimistic attitude for the New Year!
Since so many people are “in the red†that was apparently a bad color choice. Green would have been in bad taste, since few of us have seen much green lately. Orange appeared a few years ago and a pale blue was the choice for 2008, so yellow is really the only choice we have. Yellow is the color of sunshine and happiness. Many people have abandoned a sense of optimism, so if seeing splashes of yellow in our living space and on our clothes helps; that is an easy fix.
But for those who are looking toward a year where new fashion is a luxury and new furnishings may not be in the mix, there is one thing everyone can take into the new year. And that is hope. Hope that the things can and will change, like bigotry and skepticism. And that going forward we all have hope for the future, no matter what color it is.
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Tags: boomer, new year 2009, retirement
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November 23rd, 2008
 While some pundits compare our economic climate to those suffered at other times during our history,I disagree.
What we are going through has never happened in history. While some compare our crisis to that of the the Great Depression, this one is different on many levels, but no less traumatic!
If you have recently retired, or are thinking of retiring, it is a particularly stressful time. As 401K values plunge and home values spiral downward, it is hard to be optimistic about the future. Quite frankly, there is little to compare too, as the whole world has joined our bad times with no end in sight.
However, I was recently reminded that there is a big difference between retiring and being laid-off. Most people have planned for their retirement, and have some assets to rely upon during hard times.Being laid-off is a whole different experience and, unfortunately, is a predictor of just how long and painful our current recession could last, since the worst and most fearful symptom of recession is the loss of jobs and the devestating impact this can have on millions of lives.
In the last month, I have seen at least one person I know layed off each week. This is the most real evidence I have seen of what is happening. While, it may not be you or I, when our neighbors and friends are laid-off, it affects all of us psychologically. Some may have seen it coming, but some may have been caught totally off guard.
With the holidays coming and economic forecasts bleak, it is hard to keep our resolve and not to become discouraged. But perhaps, this is when we need to draw upon lessons from history, and the laws of nature. Historically, when times are rough, we still can draw from optimism and the hope that things will get better.And we can also thwart the theory of self-fulfilling prophecy, where we make things happen that we don’t want to occur.
It is a time to be hopeful, but if each of us reaches out to others that may be suffering just a little more than we are and offer them assistance and solace during the holidays this could be our best Christmas ever – a Christmas when look to help the fortunes of others even when our own prospects may not be as good as we had expected last year.Christmas can be a time of giving to others, so let’s embrace this idea not only in the presents we give but all our good deeds.
Tags: Christmas, depression, finance, hard times, money, recession, Thanksgiving
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October 27th, 2008
 If you are of retirement age, perhaps you have heard people talk about what it was like to have lived through the times called “The Great Depression”. ‘Those that lived through those hard times were forever changed by the experience. For better or worse they and their world were never the same.
Now, it is our time to experience something no one has ever lived through before and it will be interesting to see where it all takes us. In a way, it is comforting to me that economists are admitting that they don’t know what to expect. It is also scary because I always thought they did know. If you are like us, we are watching our retirement accounts dwindle away, and the very concept of a comfortable retirement has changed.
For many of us, working beyond retirement age has become a necessity rather than a luxury; second homes and yachts a fading thought; and extensive travel plans have turned into weekend trips to Paducaville.
If you listen to the TV News Shows, you can get different advice from as many people as you listen to. Perhaps, some of the best advice I have heard came from self-help coach Tony Robbins. In an interview on the Today Show he gave some tips for getting through this historic time. While it would be easy to get depressed, don’t. Realize what is important in life and that we will get through this. In times of strife and crisis, it is a time to realize what is important. He cited a recent health scare that both he and his wife have had. It has been said many times, but if you have your health, you are indeed fortunate. He also called on people to get outside themselves and do something physical. There is a mind body connection that can’t be denied and research shows you do feel better if you exercise or do active hobbies. Don’t sit behind the computer or television and watch the world go by, get out there and experience it yourself. We are a generation that was known to get out and experience things. Now is not the time to become inactive and unengaged.
It would be very easy to become discouraged with the world economic issues, so perhaps, November, which brings the holiday of Thanksgiving couldn’t come at a better time. We are living in historic times and we are fortunate to live in a democracy where we will have a chance to vote in an election that will change history. Get out a vote, whoever your candidate, for it is time to make a change, and strong leaders will be required.   Now, more than ever, we should reflect not on what we have lost, but what we have. These are historic times but resist the temptation to be an observer. Hard times are also times of great opportunity and those of us that live with a view toward the future rather than the past will be best prepared for what lies before us.
Tags: Finances, recession, retirement, stock market
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September 25th, 2008
 If you are like most Americans, you may suddenly be questioning what is going on with the economy. And if you are recently retired you might be questioning whether you did the right thing. While I am certainly not an economic advisor, I do realize there are things one can do to minimize the stress associated with rising prices, loss of investment value and a fixed income.
First it is important to take a realistic assessment of your current situation. It is time to sit down with family members and talk about the current status of investments. If you have money in the stock market it is imperative to know how much you have lost, or in rare cases, gained. The mortgage crisis necessitates that one look realistically at the market value of your home and what are your total costs of home ownership, including any mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance and utility costs. I always think it is good to put the information on a computer spreadsheet, or paper, so you have a visual reference.
It is also important to look at where you have your money. Investments we thought were safe a few years ago may not be that safe anymore. Money should be in a bank of good standing. By that, I mean one that is identified as one of the top five banks in the country. The government will insure savings up to $100,000 for each depositor. Therefore, if your retirement nest egg exceeds that amount, it may be a time to move savings to make sure all your money is secure.Also, look at what your investments have earned you in the last year, the last five years and the last ten years. Diversification is the key in this investment environment. Losses are minimized by diversifying your portfolio in most cases.
If you do not have a financial advisor, it may be time to go to one that is recommended by someone you trust. With the instability of the housing market and stock market, it may be time to put money where there is minimal financial risk, such as CD’s. When you find a financial advisor, make sure he is not paid by commissions on transactions he or she may make for you. You never want a person who would churn your money but one that looks for stable, long term investments.
On the bright side, I feel very fortunate that now that I am retired I do not have to commute to work each day and pay the high gas prices. I recently read there is a shortage of bicycles in major cities because people are reevaluating how they get to work. There are always errands to do and this is the perfect time to start riding a bike, or walking to places that before would have seemed too far away.
Another factor that may bring peace of mind to retirees is you can always go back to work. You may not want to go back to the high pressure job you had before, but you might sleep better at night if you bring in a few extra dollars to hedge against rising prices. Retirees are often highly sought out by employers who know they can employ well trained staff members who have a history of reliable work habits.
Finally, we are not alone. We are all in this together. While it might be scary to face the truth, it is the first step to assessing what really needs to be done.
Tags: economy, finance, part time job, retirment, woryy
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