Over-50

Now Also This: Your Student Loan Debt

Aging, as Betty White hammers, isn't for sissies.

Along with the the many challenges for those of you over-50 is student loan debt. No matter how little you might have borrowed years and years ago for a program in higher education, it might have ballooned into what you may never pay off during your lifetime, reports BusinessInsider. Meanwhile, it is putting  severe limits on everything from your lifestyle to your ability to sleep at night.

According to AARP, 8.4 million of you  are responsible for 22% of student loan debt. That totals about $336.1 billion.

The underlying problem on those loans is that interest rate. It could be 10% annually. So the $100,000 you owed in 1980 could have crept up to nearly $110,000 in 1981, minus what you paid down on the loan during 1980s. 

The obvious takeaway on this is: Don't get into this pickle if you haven't already. That is, you may be toying with enrolling in a degree program to increase your marketability for good jobs or plum gig assignments. The problem with that is not only the loans you may have to take out to finance that bit of higher education. In addition, by time you finish that program the market might have changed.

To upgrade skills or reskill there are low-cost online training and certificate approaches. In addition, there is the blue-collar route. Some of the former white-collar workers I coach reskilled in the trades. One drives a rig cross-country. He did take out a $7,000 loan. But with the earnings from long-distance driving he was able to pay that off in two years. 

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Now That Inflation Is Roaring Back ...

PRICES RISING EVERYWHERE
CONSUMERS SQUEEZEDFor many aging - retired, semiretired or working - inflation will change much. Unfortunately, some of those I coach remain in denial about the impacts on them. Don't you be.Your primary focus has to be protecting your assets. Those range from your investments to your savings accounts. You don't want to be dipping into them - at least not for as long as possible.The next step is to figure out if, given what could be galloping inflation, if you can afford your lifestyle for the next several years. If not, what modifcations should you be making? For example, do you need a better-paying job? Relocate to lower-cost-of-living section of the country? Move outside America?And, fourth, what should you stop doing? One client had a dream that once she retired she would move from Ohio to Texas. Now that TX is where everyone is going that's not smart. Meanwhile, most parts of OH remain quite affordable. 

Blogging - Still a Power Tool in Developing New Business, Launching a New One

Most established enterprises are moving on to TikTok. That's added on to all the other social networks that have become must-dos for marketing communications. LinkedIn is increasingly important.

So, business players, overwhelmed with the daily routine of "keeping up on social," ask me: Is blogging still worth it?

After all, it's a mature medium.

Frequently the matter covered requires long form.

And, even with repurposing the post, the question is if there is enough bang for the buck.

There is no ambiguity: If the blog provides information and insight not available elsewhere, the fundamentals of search engine optimization are used but not overused and there is provocative repurposing (think catchy headline), blogging can be a power tool in new business development.

For about 17 years, now and then, I have received assignments in the hospitality industry. Those included describing the main attractions for 15 day tours of China sponsored by Chinese firms. I had been a brand consultant to a major hotel chain. 

During COVID, I was feeling burned out in the categories of business I had usually pursued. Burnout is all about losing fire in the belly about what we do.

So, several months ago, as an experiment, I launched a travel blog on Blogger. It's free. It's easy to navigate. Google seems to love it.

I made it my business to visit on my own dime off-beat locations. I figured out catchy angles. In addition, I became a sort of expert in the booming recreational vehicle industry. Then I folded in macro material such as trends in the recovering travel and tourism industry. 

So far, I have become a regular contributor to a publication which welcomes articles on RVing, produced blog posts for a startup which matches up traveling companions and am now creating marketing communications for a travel site supported by advertising. 

Yes, blogging can still be a platform for attracting business or even parachuting into a fresh niche. 

In about six months I will pitch to public relations agencies specializing in hospitality. That's where the big money could be.

The investment of time and thought in blogging can yield an excellent return. 

Jane Genova helps travelers feel like an insider, all the way around the globe. Contact her for assignments janegenova374@gmail.com.

You're Making Yourself Part of The American Outdoors

"According to Tripadvisor’s 2021 Summer Travel Index more than two-thirds of Americans are planning to travel from June through the end of August. Of those, 74% expect to take a domestic trip while just 13%  plan to travel internationally. And it’s not surprising with the State Department announcing last month that 80% of countries would likely be placed on a 'Do Not Travel' level 4 list." - Harriet Edleson, MarketWatch, May 7, 2021.

So, where are you likely to go?

The most popular spots are:

The U.S. National Parks

Coast of Maine

Dakotas

Obviously, The Great Outdoors are where folks want to be after more than a year of various forms of lockdown. In addition, it plays into wellness. Hike. Bicycle. Jog amidst breathtaking scenery. 

Of course, The Great Outdoors provide opportunities for low-cost camping. Some are boondocking, that is doing camping without the creature comforts of showers or electricity. Others are arriving in RVs. If the RVers set up themselves off the grid they save the money of renting space at parks.

But if you plan to bunk in a discount motel, quaint bed and breakfast or a luxury hotel, better make reservations. That part of the hospitality industry is bouncing back quickly. Since you;re a senior, when at the check-in desk, state that. Most senior discounts are not processed automatically. And just being a senior usually gives you a higher percentage discount that your AARP or AAA membership.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

"Gray Divorce" - You Have Been Soul-Searching ...

A new version of divorce denotes a positive development among older Americans. It's called "Gray Divorce" and it results more from soul-searching than outright conflict. 

The Wall Street Journal, of course, focuses on the Gray Divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates. But, its coverage is really about this opportunity in life to have a fresh start. During COVID, more aging had the time to reflect on if the life they were living with someone they married years ago was the one they wanted to go forward with.

As with the Gates, the parties in a marriage find their children grown and the overall professional struggle over. They can relax. Also, given increased longevity, there might be 30 or more years ahead. 

However, those in the family loop and on the divorcing couple's networks might experience emotional dislocation by this change. Will they have to choose sides? And the unraveling might continue for years. 

Way back when my middle-aged sister Anne Murga-Ring and her husband Victor Murga divorced. Over time I tended to bond more with her former husband than her and her next husband Scott Ring. To me Victor is "family." Actually, I never met Scott. 

Obviously, those considering a late-life divorce have to plan for their separate financial future. Lawyers have a special mission there to help prospective clients protect their assets. This could represent a niche business under the overall divorce umbrella. To brand themselves as specializing in Gray Divorce they can provide those in-person seminars on must-dos for those toying with launching the next chapter without the spouse of many years.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Retirement Is Playing Out Very Differently Than You Expected

Vivid in your memory banks might be the image of 50s television stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans riding off into the sunset. They are crooning "Happy Trails to You Until We Meet Again."

That confidence and calm are what most of you have expected for your retirement. That is what the Employee Benefit Research Instititue found, reports MarketWatch. 

But what you so confidently and perhaps smugly envisioned likely isn't playing out. For example, about half of you wind up retiring sooner than you anticipated. The median age is 62, The median planning had been for 65. Three-fourths factored in working during retirement. Only about 30% found work. 

The survey confirms that too many of you have been too optimistic.

Can you turn this around in your retirement?

Probably.

And one-third of you are already doing that, confirms the Federal Reserve. That's called "reverse retirement." You give up the leisure and return to the workforce. Here's my complimentary guide on getting, holding and moving on to better work, no matter what your age Download Outwitting ageism.

Another strategy is relocation. Because inflation is back, you may have to do that more than once to lower your cost of living. For instance, although I am still operating two boutiques I have relocated three times in order to ensure I don't have to dip into my investments or savings to pay the monthly bills. 

A third is to rethink spending habits. Should you be so generous with gifts for the grandchildren? 

If you have a hunch coaching can parachute onto a confident and calm lifestyle, I am here. Complimentary consultation, then sliding scale fees (janegenova374@gmail.com.)

 

Travel and Tourism Industy Not a Monolith - Your Niche Might Never Recover

"Occupancy rates in Hawaii’s hotels reached 49% for the week ended April 24, according to hotel data tracker STR. That is still below the 57% occupancy level nationwide, STR said. Hawaii has experienced a slower recovery than many other destinations on the U.S. mainland. One big reason is that travelers from Japan, a crucial source of the state’s tourism, and other foreign visitors haven’t much returned." - Ester Fung, The Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2021.

This provides a clear warning to those whose jobs and businesses are associated with hospitality. The message is: Recognize that the recovery is uneven. If their way of making a living had been based on tourism in Hawawii they may still be in the dismal state of unemployment and underemployment.

On the other hand, in another article in The Wall Street Journal, Rachel Wolfe reports on a possible summer boom in tourism for New Orleans, Louisiana.

In addition, the RV industry, as Yahoo documents, continues to explode in growth. That mode of travel took off during COVID. Post-COVID, it's not abating. 

The obvious takeaway is for the workforce and business owners not to approach hospitality as a monolith. Some of it may never return to pre-COVID levels of profits. Others may atract new kinds of market segments.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

The Gates' Divorce - No, We Shouldn't Have Been Blindsided

"Melinda Gates: Being married to Bill Gates is ‘incredibly hard’ sometimes" - MarketWatch, April 23, 2019

We baby boomers came of age professionally with Microsoft.

We followed how it produced better personal-computer systems than had IBM. (Remember how IBM almost went under in the early 1990s because of that upstart competition.)

Of course, we read all about how this genius Bill Gates was, well, atypical.

Then, Bill found himself a wife. It was Melinda. And we didn't know whether to consider her in for a difficult relationship or blessed to make her life with a tech leader.

The move into philanthropy for the two seemed to humanize both. Here, we assumed, was a solid couple out to do good.

But, come on, we had to suspect that Melinda had more than the average share of challenges inside the marriage. And, in 2019, she confirmed that. She summed up that experiences as "incredibly hard."

Now this: divorce.

The media outlets treat it as breaking news.

Charities are reeling.

And, we who have reviewed the divorce petition Melinda filed are stunned that she used the phrase "irretrievably broken" to describe the marriage.

However, that hysteria shouldn't have been unleashed.

No marriage had been made in heaven. Over time, most reach a tipping point of the parties having to change or split up. And the marriage between a genius and a non-genius from the get-go had to embed unique problems.

Of course, though, the media will keep chasing details.

At the top of the list is: Who will be the lawyers representing each of them?

Juicy bits for the tabloids will be if either are dating.

Then, the psychologists will weigh in if the divorce process damages adult children.

The Gates, both Bill and Melinda, will be made to "pay" for their life of celebrity, wealth and influence.

Human beings have a very dark side. 

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Wrong Mindset: Envisioning Replicating Earlier Success After Stumbling

The media outlets did a fast pivot.

At the time of Prince Philip's death and funeral they were focusing on how Harry essentially had been driven out the royal family and business. He would be toast. But, no, we should not cry for Harry. The designated person we must cry for was the Queen. 

Now, news organizations like Daily Mail are highlighting Harry's new identity: American rock star. Yes, he could make it all the way  like those other British imports - the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. There he was on center stage at Vax Live, with J-Lo and Selena Gomez. 

Meanwhile, the media centers have embraced speculation that the royal institution is finished. It is bound, goes the narrative, to collapse after Queen Elizabeth dies. If not sooner. 

The career lesson in all this is obvious: Take risks. Including bold ones. 

When Harry began gravitating away from the royal ethos no one, probably including he himself, could predict how the risk-of-the-century would pan out. 

The takeaway is that he stuck with it. There was the unambigous message that he was not turning back to what had been. 

New entrepreneurs who leave their big corporate jobs, lawyers who exit brandname law firms and recent freelancers like Paul Chaney who don't seek another "good job" embrace the ethos that there is no going back. If their plan derails they will put together another one which continues to move them away from the past.

The major mindset mistake I observe in professionals who stumble is the longing to replicate a part of their career which had been successful. That is, their focus is on the past, not opportunities in the present. Where they wind up is stuck. 

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

 

The New Normal - As Captured by Drudge Report

 

HAPPY DAYS: 64% OF AMERICANS OPTIMISTIC
COMPANIES SCRAMBLE TO MEET DEMAND
CONCERTS RETURN TO LA

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)