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Smart Job Changes In Midlife

Can You Handle A Midlife Job Change?

Do you want a midlife career change, or has one been forced onto you? This can be a very stressful experience for many older workers. Lots of older workers have been forced out of their past jobs, and may actually have to change careers in order to find employment. Consider some tips to make the transition as quick and painless as possible.

It is very important to be realistic about a midlife career change. This may be a hard time to go after a totally different type of job. At 55, you may not be able or willing to return to school for several years in order to get an advanced degree. Since you have been working for many years, you can bring a lot of experience to a new career.

What sort of career changes could you manage without having to sacrifice a big investment in retraining? Can you find something that does use a lot ofyour past experiences?

For example, I know a lot of technical workers who have turned to teaching. Quote a few former teachers found that they could learn to be good managers. If you teacher can manage a classroom of unruly middle school aged students, she should have no trouble supervising adult workers!

Your task will be to convincce hiring managers that your past skills and experience will enable you to perform a new job well. One thing you may need to accomplish, before you can even speak to a hiring manager, is to produce an updated resume and cover letter. Hiring managers look for different things than they did several years ago. Have you been at your old job for decades. If so, you may want to learn how to produce a resume that will impress current employers.

Networking is a good way to hear about new jobs. Many people get frustrated with large job posting websites, classified ads, and traditional headhunters. Finding a job through people you know is usually the fastest, least painful, and most efficient route. You do not have to go out and meet a lot of new people in person to do this. You may have good luck with online social networking. If you want to grow your network quickly, these websites are great tools. If you let your offline and online friends know that you are job hunting, they can be a great resource.

It is not impossible to make a midlife career change. You will probably have to be realistic about your possible limitations as you search for a job.

Can Extreme Measures Hasten Retirement?

Can You Speed Up Retirement Despite Setbacks?

The Extreme Frugality Movement Stretches A Dollar!

Here’s some depressing news. A quarter of all working Americans plan to wait until they are, at least, eight years old, to stop working.

Where did all of our big dreams go of quitting the day job to travel, work for a non-profit, or pursue some hobby or goal? Well, the economic recession that evaporated our savings accounts and home values may have popped our dream bubbles a bit. Many current workers, especially older ones, just do not have enough money saved in order to have a secure retirement.

Not everybody’s backing down though. Lots of people, from middle class workers to well known writers have just taken another tack to fulfill their dreams of early retirement. These same people are usually middle class, and they have suffered the same setbacks as everybody else. With their backs against the wall, they have decided to fight back by arranging their financial lives in a manner that is both very old fashioned and very extreme!

Extreme Frugality And Early Retirement

When you picture very frugal people do you think of some guy living in a shack, eating the fruits of his own fishing, and burying all his money in a jar by the old oak tree? Yeah, that’s what I first thought of too. But as I explored the topic of extreme frugality, I saw a lot of well educated and talented people staying in their fairly normal homes, but just deciding to shuck consumerism as much as they possibly could.

These people took modest income – close to the US median income – and really stretched them. Some of you may be very interested to see how much money middle class people make.

Anyway, the new frugal class figured out how much money the absolutely needed to survive, how they could produce some things so they could spend less money, and then they figured out how to sock any left over money into a place where it could work for them.

Get a good example of one individual who calls it early retirement extreme. I think his pattern makes it easier to understand the whole concept. He did start out doing this when he was very young, but more and more older workers are beginning to take small steps or big jumps towards this frugal lifestyle in order to plan a different retirement than the one they had originally planned.

Here are some of the steps you may ponder if you think early retirement is a way out of working until you are 80 years old!

• First, look at your living arrangements. Because of the downturn in the real estate market, some people really cannot get out of their current homes. Their current home is the most frugal choice. Others may find that selling a large home they may have thought they needed to raise a family no longer makes sense when kids are grown and off on their own.
• Look at your spending habits. Most of us just spend too much money on impulse buys, and we have a lot of stuff around our homes that we never even use. Can you analyze your spending habits over the last few months to see what you have spent at the grocery store, on the latest gadgets, etc. How much money could you have saved if you just purchased things that you really needed.
• Can you shock yourself into a more frugal life with a zero spending week. This seems drastic, but has helped a lot of families get back on track.

Frugality Is In, But Not New!

You may realize that you will not be inventing something new. Instead, you will be taking on a lifestyle that is more similar to your depression era parents or grandparents.

Middle Age Spread?

The Middle Age Spread Is Real!

We are told us that the worst place to accumulate fat is around the belly, and that is exactly where fat likes to build up in middle age. This is joke. Hormonal changes can make us more prone to weight gain in middle age, no matter what body type we used to have when we were in our 20s or 30s.

Women tend to gain weight around the rear and things when they are younger. A higher proportion of “male” hormones tend to cause this weight to distribute itself around the tummy as we get a bit older. Not only is this belly unattractive, it can also be dangerous. Belly fat can signal an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Foods To Beat The Over 50 Bulge

Keep in mind that our metabolisms do slow down as we age. Many people complain that they have not changed their diet at all, and weight keeps creeping on. This may very well be true. Some people do need to cut out about 200 calories a day to main the same weight they enjoyed as younger adults. Others find they can lose weight by simply cutting out certain types of food.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are IN. Most Americans do not eat enough produce every day, and as we age, it is even more important to watch our diets.

A lot of refined breads and other starches may be OUT. In fact, a lot of people report that they lose a few pounds, fairly painlessly, by just cutting out white bread, cake, and other starches, without actually having to watch portions or calories.

An Apple A Day….

A nice juicy apple can be just as satisfying as a sweet role. Try replacing one sugary snack with some fresh fruit, and see how much better you feel! Add a 20 minute walk to that, and you can be well on your way to finding your waist line again.

Serious Ways To Attack Credit Card Debt Without Pain

Credit Card Debt And Retirement

A lot has been written about boomers and credit card debt. We do know that if we want to meet our goals for building a nice retirement nest egg, it will not help to have large payments to make just to service debt that was accumulated years ago!  If you are struggling just to meet your minimum payments, it may seem impossible to ever reduce the balance. However, there are some serious ways to lower your balances and payments that you may not have ever considered!

Credit Card Insurance

Did you get talked into buying credit card insurance when you signed up for your last retail loan or credit card? If you carry a a balance, this product may be adding to your balance, payments, and length until payoff. Is it really doing you any good, or do you already have other ways to handle the same issues?

In my opinion, the charge for this product is almost like having an additional interest charge. If you already have other life or disability coverage, you may not need this additional product.

Balance Transfers

Did your bank raise your APR? Vote with your pocket book and find a low interest balance transfer. A lot of card companies want to attract business, and they still offer 0% balance transfers to qualified applicants. The offer usually only lasts for several months, but those few months of reduced interest can give you some time to breath!

Do You Save or Slash Debt?

Here’s a hard question when you are working with, as most of us do, a limited budget! This is a tough problem, but for most of us, we just have to strike some sort of balance. The ideal situation is to save and reduce debt of course. In my opinion, it is very important to have an emergency cash fund because it will reduce the need for more debt in the future. However, getting those balances paid down will mean you have more money to save, and it will also improve your overall credit score and financial life.

Do You Even Know What You Spend Money On?

A lot of times, people get into trouble because of impulse buying. Of sure, we all want to be able to go out and buy some stuff when we please. That is part of the fun and adventure of life. However, sometimes those trips to the corner pharmacy or convenience store can really add up. If you are having problems, it is time to print off your bank and credit card states to see where your money really went last month. Sometimes this simple exercise is enough to help you spot problems and resolve them.

The Accidental Blogger

Guest Post From The People at Jobless 50s.

I am a 50ish woman who for the past 33 years has had the role of mother, wife, and dutiful employee.  There was never any time to do anything other than the endless tasks.  The pressure then and now is to raise children who are not only good students but accomplished at something by the tender age of five. So I encouraged the piano lessons, soccer, lacrosse, and everything in between. This added the title of taxi driver and social coordinator.  I acquired another time consuming activity to balance with a full time job.

When our daughters left for college, I thought now I get my time/life back. Unfortunately both my husband and I had aging parents with health issues.  The time was then taken with doctor visits, home attendants and navigating the world of Medicare. Our daughters are now in their late twenties and are both doing well.  We are empty-nesters.  I quit my job.  I thought I could catch up on all the chores around the house that had long been neglected. I cleaned, scrubbed and approached being at home with gusto.  My sisters encouraged me to get on with my life. It was my time.  They gave me a computer for my birthday.  The first thing I did was check my email and found 345 messages in my inbox. Becoming more at ease with this technology, I joined Facebook.  I started surfing and to my surprise found that I had not kept up with anything.  The world had changed and I was still tethered to the old one. When did I get old?  My last recollection was my age bracket was part of the in-crowd.  The block of people that advertisers, employers and thought leaders wanted to hear from.  The reality was, I had slipped from the thirty to forty nine demographics into a group that no one cared about.  No one cared about my buying habits except AARP, pharmaceuticals companies, life insurance and pre-paid burial insurance.  I seldom know celebrities on television who are suppose to influence my decisions.  The ads for anti-aging products and hair color star people who will not have to deal with these issues for another twenty to thirty years.  The movie industry does not seem to have any interest in making movies that feature a mature cast.  Even when the occasional film starring someone like Jeff Bridges, Morgan Freeman or Helen Mirren is a blockbuster, they are written off as flukes.  How can this be? How can a community that was raised by “the greatest generation” be irrelevant?

I became committed to finding a way for the baby boomer community to communicate and support each other. I decided not to let my limited experience with computers hold me back. I started a blog with my husband with the confidence that this old dog can learn a new trick.  Our site is in its infancy but it is up and running.  Our goal is for this forum to grow and become better at serving its target audience. With our determination and support from all of you, we have no doubt that this can be useful to a special group of people.

We are a vibrant group of people who live actively and responsibly.  Yet we are also the generation that has redefined the concept of age and have no plans of slowing down.  I hope our blog gives voice to this important community of people.  We have varied interest and life styles.  We are still consumers and have time to pursue our passions along with our needs.  Working together, we can gain the respect and representation we deserve.

We do not have to experience life’s hurdles alone.  We can share thoughts and ideas with each other. Perhaps one of you has just the advice or word of wisdom that someone else needs at the moment.  It can be uplifting to know that someone else has gone through what you are going through and survived intact.

What Are You Worried About, Boomers?

What Concerns Baby Boomers?

Baby boomers are concerned about lots of things. Some worries are personal like savings, health, and employment. Others are more global like the environment and the economy. We have read a lot about geeral anxiety with the population of people that  ranges from their late 40′s to mid-60′s today.

Some of us have unique problems we do not share with every other boomer, of course. We may still be raising kids while trying to care for elderly parents. We may be trying to figure out how to qualify for individual health insurance because we do not get any job related medical benefits.

Sound Off About Your Concenrs With The Baby Boomer Worry Poll

Anyway, let’s stop guessing. Tell us what interests and worries you!

Visit the Top Baby Boomer Concerns Poll so you can get heard and find out what other online baby boomers worry about the most.

The Top Life Insurance Product For Your Future Plans

What Is The Right Type of Life Insurance For You?

Comparing Life Insurance

Financial products are sold, not bought, and life insurance products stand first in this category. This is because we trust the recommendations of the commission- based sales force and forget to analyze our individual needs. There is not one simple answer to which is the best policy or everybody. An informed consumer and good insurance agent will try to understand your individual needs.

How can you find the right policy?

 Making a life insurance decision generally involves two steps:

• The  first step is to understand your requirements based on our unique situations.
• The second is to identity the right insurance product that corresponds to your needs.

 The role of an insurance expert should be to aid you in the selection of the appropriate insurance product. Apart from this, getting acquainted with the basics of these insurance products complements our decision making process. Get help finding a good insurance agent!

                   Human needs vary according to our situations, and from individual to individual. Therefore, a careful situational analysis is indispensable. Remember, many factors like individual’s age, occupation, financial background, annual salary, family size, planned retirement age and employment benefits have to be considered in detail.

People generally adopt either the ‘Human-Life Approach Mean’ or the ‘Needs Approach Mean’ to understand their requirements. Under the human life approach, our main objective is to estimate the financial loss that a family would incur on the death of the insured person; whereas, our main goal under a needs approach is to estimate the expenses to cover funeral ,college, rent ,loans ,estate obligations and medical bills. One can adopt either one of this approach based on their unique situations.

                   When it comes to choosing the right insurance policy,     the first step is to decide whether to opt for a pure insurance product or insurance cum investment product. Term life insurance falls under the first category, and Whole life insurance along with its variant Universal life Insurance comes under the second category.

So, many peope need to decide between term vs whole life vs universal life insurance.

Term policies are cheaper.

Term life insurance provides cover against the risk of death during a definite term, such as 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. The death benefit is nothing but the face value against which the premiums are paid over the entire term, and the beneficiary of the insured gets this benefit in the event of the policy holder’s death within the term. The policy expires at the end of the term and the beneficiary is not entitled to the death benefit after the expiry date.

Whole and universal life policies cost more, but have some added benefits.

The whole life and universal life insurance policies remain in force as long as you live and have a savings vehicle attached to it. Under a whole life insurance policy, the premium is fixed over the entire period and part of it accrues as cash value. Although you do not have the option to withdraw your cash value, one is given the option to borrow on the accumulated case value tax –free. When you have an option to adjust the premiums, cash value and death benefit as and when your needs change, it is called universal life insurance. The cash value component under a universal life insurance policy is invested in stock market and it is subject to the vagaries of the market forces.

The premiums under universal life and whole life insurance are very high when compared to term insurance. Our current income and future earning capacity play a very important role in this aspect. An apt insurance policy is always tailored to the needs that are firmly anchored to our unique situations. Therefore, always anchor your insurance decisions on your unique situations.

One easy way to start comparing products is just to find out how much various types of policies, and also various coverage amounts will cost – Online Life Insurance Quote Comparisons.

Introducing A Happiness Project

Could You Use A Little Happiness Help?

One exciting new website that we want to tell our own visitors about is Be Happy Youself. This website proclaims itself as a happiness project.  The website developers call it a project because they recognize that, for many of us, happiness is a goal we have to work towards, and not just our natural state.

The first contributions to our mood span a lot of topics. Visitors can learn how to get mental health help without money, how to be happy with less stuff, and much more. Are you ready to start working on your own happiness project? Start today.

Fran May – A Musical Survivor’s Story!

Dear Boom Baby!

Fran May

Fran May is now 56 years old. She has not stopped working as a corporate photographer but she has started something new.

Eight months after the death of her husband through cancer, Fran found herself looking at his guitar, and realising she had never done anything musical in her life, decided to learn to play it.  She found a guitar teacher in the form of Richard Newman, who happened to be looking for a handful of guinea pig students on whom he could test a guitar teaching method.

Listening to her spoken voice, Richard decided Fran should sing.  In a panic, she replied, ‘No no, I have never sung, and anyway at school at the age of twelve, my music teacher asked me to mime. I have never inflicted my voice on any one.” Richard took one look at her, picked up the phone and booked Fran into a recording studio to have a try, impressing on Fran, his forty-year track record in the music industry, recording and producing those that were at the very beginning of the London Rock music scene.

In the studio, Fran sang a track by Steve Nicks titled Sara. When she heard it played back, she cried tears of regret. True to spirit, never to be deterred with a better late than sorry, attitude, Fran asked Richard Newman to help her create a Music CD. He agreed, and for just over two years, Richard taught Fran everything.

Fran created a storyboard for the project. It was to be based on Fran’s life, a cathartic release about what she had gone though in her own life, which she felt, many women of her own age might also relate to.

” When it came to finding any music which related to me as a post child bearing, creative, healthy, energetic, professional who had balanced child rearing with a career, been married and divorced and known bereavement – I could not find any, so I decided to make some for my self”.

There was nothing new, written for this demographic, by a person of her age in the music genres of her choice – Blues-Rock and Rock music and Love songs. The range reflects all the emotions and feelings that women experience.

The project grew exponentially. The music was absolutely amazing. As Richard said, the band was playing some of the best rock music to come out of this country. Twenty-five recorded tracks later, dizzy with the euphoria of the experience, Richard and Fran decided to take stock of their achievements. They plan to play live in the near future, with their band, now named Indigo.

Meantime, a collection of the early tracks can be found on iTunes under the name of ‘Pink Blues’ by Fran May and Richard Newman and on a dedicated website, www.pinkblues.net

More tracks can be heard on Fran’s Photography site www.franmayphotography.com

The remaining tracks are currently being ordered into two CDs. Read about the project on Fran’s website, www.franmay.com where sample CDs of nine tracks can be requested. These are free to the first 250 people, in return for feedback for her project!

Warmest regards,

Fran May

How To Think Positive When Crap Happens

How To Think Positive When Bad Things Happen

How to Be Happy and Positive

You probably have heard a lot of advice about thinking positive to overcome negative emotions and situation. But sometimes, when really awful trouble hits, it seems impossible. Sometimes, it is easy to get the idea that overly optimistic people must be missing something!

Everybody has to overcome some obstacles in life. Most of us have lost loved ones, failed to get the job we wanted, or been frustrated with relationships. Some have had to face illnesses or accidents. Many people, these days, are losing their homes to foreclosures or storms.

A positive mental outlook cannot cure all of life’s problems, but it can improve your situation and, possibly, your health. You may be thinking that a “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” attitude sounds great, but you have no idea how to get there.  And by using the phrase, get there, I mean to imply that your search for happiness may be a journey.

Tips To Make Yourself Happier

1. Spend some time thinking about things that are going well. Do not spend all of your time worrying and complaining about what has gone wrong. For example, take the case of of the millions of workers who have had to endure higher prices without getting a pay raise for many years. Many are learning to adapt a more frugal lifestyle to compensate. They are concentrating on the things they actually need to survive, and so they find they are not actually made unhappy after making some tough financial choices.
2. Make an action plan to improve your future. If you spend some time researching steps to make things better, and then actually carry out some of these steps, you will be entitled to feel some sense of accomplishment. And since you are concentrating on the future, and not just the tough situation you had in the past, you will probably find that our outlook has improved!
3. Get help when you need it! Some problems are bigger than we are. If you are confronted with trouble that you cannot deal with on your own, it is OK to ask for help. Many of us love being self sufficient and independent. But there are times when the only sensible thing to do is to accept help and hope you can pay it back by helping somebody else in the future. You may need a therapist, job coaching, or simply a small loan from a friend. If you get an offer of help,  and you want to refuse it right away, step back and think about why! After all, a wise man I once knew, said you could not eat pride. He was right.

Take baby steps and turn them into giant leaps. Learn more here: Female Motivational Speaker! Also refer to some concrete examples: Positive Thoughts