Over-50

Even in Strong Baby Boomer Economy, Choosing Wrong College Major Could Be Catastrophic

ZipRecruiter surveyed 5,225 college graduates who were searching for jobs.

Among them, the major they most regretted spending four years studying was English.

Out there pounding the pavement (or the keyboard), what they came to realize was this: The problems with majoring in English were that it was impractical and unmarketable. Here are the results of that ZipRecruiter survey.

On the other hand, the majors with the least regrets were computer science, math, business, engineering, and various niches in the health field.

The problems with English aren't new. Even when good jobs were plentiful and stable, unless you were heading toward high school teaching, English was a hard sell.

To do anything with it, at least directly, graduate school was necessary. So off to doctoral programs we Baby Boomer English majors went. Then, in the early 1970s, the demand for college professors of English collapsed. Those few who did land jobs often couldn't hold onto them.

Those of us who didn't wandered in the employment wilderness until we could put together a way to make ourselves marketable and change our academic persona from nerdy to engaging. Five years into all that an oil corporation hired a bunch of former doctoral students, including me, to be ghostwriters/speechwriters. I was saved. But I was five years behind my peers in career progress.

Of course, I regret majoring in English. Members of iGen and their parents who come to me for guidance already recognize the major has to be marketable in a number of ways. For example, a business degree can be positioned and packaged for a variety of jobs. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Transitions - I Would Have Preferred to Pass Up the Growth

Brilliantly, Nicole and Charles play out the dynamics of transition.

That's in "Marriage Story," which is really a film about divorce. 

The meme is that, yes, everything is working nicely until it stops working. Then, human beings get plunged into the pain and possibilities of adjustment and building a platform for what is next.

Currently, both in relationships and professional life, transition is the new normal. That's among the reasons "Marriage Story" resonates with so many.

The need to let go of what had been so very okay begins - how we all remember - when we graduate from college. Even if we are continuing formal education that will be in the more serious, emotionally sterile, highly competitive corridors of law school or graduate degree programs.

The bonds of college cannot hold. Adulthood seems all too hard.

What Baby Boomers didn't expect was that the transitions would continue right into semi-retirement/retirement/reverse retirement.

In the 1980s, we got knocked out of the corporate box through downsizing and technology.

The self-employment option was one we likely never anticipated taking.

Then there were the economic downturns following 9/11 and the worldwide financial crash.

Recovery wasn't evenly spread around in an America that favored youth and digital natives.

Then retirement? Maybe not for long. The Federal Reserve documents one-third of those who left the workforce have bounced back in. That even has a title: reverse retirement.

Of course, the generations following the Baby Boomers all had and are having their own kinds of transitions. And, for all it seems to be a bitch. Consider the epidemics of clinical depression, substance abuse, and suicide. 

The rah-rah crowd clucks about the growth achieved through transition. "Marriage Story" questions that kind of extreme optimism.

How some of us yearn for the whatever it takes to live the lifestyle of real-life character Christopher Knight. It was essentially transition-free.

In "The Stranger in the Woods," Michael Finkel captures the tale of 27 years living in the woods of Maine, without job, any human companionship, and sophisticated technology. In the single-minded focus on survival, Knight encountered few transitions. And even those few could be anticipated, such as the summer crowd leaving and that source of the food he would pillage cut off.   

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Preparing for Reduced Income - Getting the Hell Out of Car Game

It's been documented that more than half of the over-50 will be forced out of jobs. Those who land on their feet and do get another job will likely earn less. Only one in 10 of those will receive comparable income. Here is the recent research from ProPublica. 

That means that with aging come challenges about getting and sustaining financial solvency. The risk of homelessness is real. Elder homelessness is increasing.

One now-common way to lose a grip on finances is to take out a large loan to purchase a new car.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, with cars costing more, the amount of the loan is more. More and more there is coming a time when the new car owner can't afford the monthly payment and the car is repossessed. Or, there is simply an angst-filled struggle to pony up that monthly nut.

In addition, NerdWallet estimates that the yearly cost to operate a car driven 15,000 annually is about $8,469. 

In short, driving used to be a cheap activity. Currently it isn't.

Some Baby Boomers recall GM's success with the old commercial to see the USA in one's Chevrolet. That was an experience open to most families. Now, car ownership can eat a big hole in a budget.

Financial planning for semi-retirement and retirement could include exiting car ownership.

That entails, first of all, being in a location with plentiful, reliable, and affordable public transportation. All three are necessary.

The New York Metro area has only two of the three. Even the subway is less affordable. And crossing bridges and hopping on the Metro North to commute to Manhattan had become pricey.

The good news about cities and towns with all three is that there is usually a senior citizen discount. In Toledo, Ohio that's significant.

Also, for seniors who download ride-hail apps there are Uber and Lyft. Meanwhile, even using traditional taxi services still is less expensive than car ownership.

The aging focused on fitness can make it their business to approach bike-riding as basic transportation.

Maybe balance is off. Then, there is the adult tricycle or, as it's called, the "trike." Its three wheels guarantees a feeling of stability when traveling. Trikes come with just one gear or multiple gears.

There are also e-versions of trikes. They have an electric motor to supplement peddling. 

The biking culture creates unique opportunities for socializing and participating in special events. 

Another kind of solution is co-living, where resources are pooled. For example, the widow is determined to hold onto the house. She screens "boarders" for private bedrooms and use of common areas based on their ability to extend what she can do. The ideal boarder would be a car owner whose vehicle is paid off and who has the know-how to maintain the auto on the cheap. 

Full Disclosure: On the last day of September 2019, I got out of the car game.  I donated the 2010 vehicle to Kars4Kids. That is, the loan had already been paid off. 

Opting to go carless has eliminated the bills for insurance, gasoline, washes to remove the salt on the undercarriage in winter, oil changes and other kinds of maintenance, and repairs. Regarding the latter, a stone which hits the windshield can throw off an already tight budget. 

If I want to see the USA I will pull up on the internet those online deals for cheap car rentals. They provide calculators to estimate how much that travel will set a driver back. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Millennial "A Million Little Things" - What's in It for Baby Boomers

"Katherine is going to turn on D."

The breakdown of long-term bonds among Boston friends in "A Million Little Things" is what is grabbing the attention and loyalty of us Baby Boomers.

Yes, we have been there.

We assumed it would be friendship forever.

Then there were fractures.

Eventually, we never spoke again.

Some of us even decided to move out of that city and reset our emotional lives.

In the place of the earlier affection and support there were resentments.

"A Million Little Things" captures what Judith Viorst calls "Necessary Losses" in her classic book on embracing change, especially in relationships.

You bet, we Baby Boomers were right. Katherine has sharpened her cat (and lawyer) claws and has gone after Sweet Mother Earth D.

In last night's episode Katherine demanded that D. tell her children that Charlie's father is Eddie, not Jon.

D. refused.

But that might not be for long. The previews indicate that Katherine threatens to go legal if Eddie's name isn't put on Charlie's birth certificate.

And what about the restaurant partnership between D and Regina? Isn't that bound to fray? D. is no businesswoman and she is emotionally involved with Andrew, who has become Regina's enemy. Most business partnerships fail. And along the way the relationships they had been built on slide into a million little and big hostilities. 

It wasn't supposed to be that way.

After the War to End All Wars, there was the baby boom which produced us 76 million human beings. We were anointed to restart American society with a fresh set of values. They embedded a Disney ethos.

Most of us could hold onto those myths of how life was supposed to be until we graduated from college. Then there was no avoiding it: We had to learn to navigate how the world really worked. That was brutal. What should have been the first thing to go were the friendships, dating back to the old neighborhood and extended family ties. They weren't. We had been socialized to honor those. That made growing up more difficult than it should have been.

Those who did make it through and found inner peace are transfixed to observe yet another generation endure the catastrophe of necessary losses. The marriage of Katherine and Eddie will make it through. Several othere relationships probably will not. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Bankruptcy Among 55 - 64, Up 66% Between 1991 and 2016

On the one hand, the ability to file bankruptcy is a blessing. Some or all debt can be wiped out. Financially, those doing the filing can have a fresh start.

On the other hand, the process can be emotionally traumatic. Also, there will be a big blow to the credit rating. That will make it more difficult or even impossible to rent an apartment, apply for a loan, and purchase a car on credit. 

Currently, a paper by Robert Lawless, professor of law at the University of Illinois found, reported MarketWatch, that bankruptcy filings among those 55 to 64 have increased 66% between 1991 and 2016. Among those 65 through 74, during that same time period, the percentage of increase had been 204%.

The primary reason for the inability to pay bills is this: The expense of medical treatment. The high cost of healthcare in the U.S. is well-known. More and more news programs and documentaries tell the story of those requiring complex procedures such as cardiac treatment who have become medical tourists. In other nations the medical system can be both excellent in quality and affordable. 

In addition, dental work is also not always affordable in the U.S. That's why too many seniors opt for dentures versus implants or root canals. An option is dental tourism. Going to Nogales, Mexico is doable. A passport isn't needed. Members of the border patrol only need to see a birth certificate and driver's license. If you are from Arizona, park the car for a few bucks at a fast food restaurant and walk across the border. From out of town? Bunk at a nearby motel for peanuts and Uber it. 

Reflection: For those who are well enough to travel medical and dental tourism could prevent bankruptcy. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

A Girl (at least in her peddle-power) & Her Trike

It was bravado. But, part of me believed it at the time I purchased the trike (adult tricycle) at Wersell Bike Shop, Toledo, Ohio. 

I had to believe that three-wheel contraption could really get me, an over-50, everyplace I wanted to go.

So, with great confidence I informed the salesperson Brett Gibson I was going to use the trike to peddle my way to the Toledo Museum of Art. That was about six weeks ago.

Here's my story. When I still had a car I had become a member of the Museum and got an emotional/spiritual lift weekly when I roamed the exhibits, nursed one affordable coffee in the cafe, and gazed out at the garden. Afternoons of heaven.

The car I had donated to Kars4Kids.

See, I couldn't shake the trauma of an accident in Michigan at the end of August 2019.

The sound of the crash and the look in my dog's eyes when the accident happened, they dominated my consciousness.

In addition, State Farm, although it was my first accident and no one was hurt, more than doubled my insurance. After that, I yanked my homeowner's insurance and placed it with another insurance company. It also covers the trike for the replacement value.

Peddle by peddle, I worked up to making it to the Museum. First it was the 40 minute bike ride to my support group meeting on Sylvania Avenue. Within a week I got that down to 30 minutes. Obviously, I was making progress. I also connected the dots on wearing layers. It was an experience of total cool having a backpack. 

Then last week there was the 90 minute peddling to the main shopping district and back. According to calorie calculators, that has lightened my calorie count for that afternoon by 805. On Facebook I asked my friends if I came across as thinner.

I made it my business to study city maps. Somehow I identified a shortcut from Lewis Avenue to Monroe Street. I took it, but didn't trust my directional instincts. 

For once, they were on the money. I arrived at the Museum parking lot. My member sticker was on the bike. That would allow me to park w/o the $8 fee.

Then, a wrench in the works.

"No bikes in the lot." That's what the attendant said.

My heart sank to the crusty envelope encasing planet earth.

Then, the attendant indicated there was a bike rack in front of the museum.

I backed out my trike (manually) and headed there.

There was a new exhibit on light and shadow. Because I was a member I didn't have to pony up the $12 bucks for a ticket.

Then I studied Andrew Wyeth's "The Hunter."

It reinforced for me the importance of angle in creative projects. Wyeth approached the subject from on high in a Sycamore tree. The bark was peeling off. Since it was fall there were few leaves. That renewed my determination to go for out of the box angles in my ghostwriting, even if clients seemed to want (the issue is always: do they really want) platitudes. 

"The Hunter" stuck with me. I needed to think more about Wyeth's technique.

So, I took the long long way home. One stop was at an apartment complex closer to the action of downtown. Should I move?

The issue became: Maybe I needed as much peddling distance between me and what my soul craved. During the six weeks of triking the clinical depression I had struggled with since age 11 had gone into remission. 

Reflection: Harvard Medical School might do a global experiment on triking and putting a dent in the worldwide epidemic of depression. Instead of giving the world a Coca-Cola, give 'em trikes. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Shattering Reality - Young Intend to Work Beyond Retirement Age, Aging Find Themselves Not Able to Land Work

America's youth is counting on working way beyond traditional retirement age.

According to the AARP survey the over-35 found that more than half of them have that plan.

But, as BusinessInsider reports, currently, the aging are discovering they can't land work or, if they do, they can't hold onto it long enough to become financial solvent. The top three reasons are:

Age Bias

Health

Layoffs.

Of course, that might change by time the under-50 become the over-50. But, overall things don't look promising. The pattern, found Publica, is that more than half of those over-50 will be forced out of their jobs. And, after that, only one out of 10 will regain their previous level of compensation.

Therefore, financial common sense says: In spending, don't count on being able to bring in income for years and years post-50. The time to build sustainable financial assets is in youth. That could mean not chipping in so much for the children's college education or maintaining the kind of high standard of living others in your profession are. 

But, those with tenacity can still find, hold, and move on to better work. That requires a shift in mindset. Here, free to click open, is my book about that Download Outwitting ageism. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on aging.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Even Powerful Law Firm Partners Hear that Tune "Happy Trails to You"

"Retirement" has a negative connotation.

The sound of that old Roy Rogers - Dale Evans sign-off tune "Happy Trials to You" isn't sweet to many.

But it is a reality.

Yes, more high-chargers find that they don't have the drive and energy to keep pushing. Others land in it because they are forced out. And, in some organizations there is still a mandatory retirement age. Retirements keep happening and check LinkedIn and you will find more profiles deleted. Those players are gonzo. 

For law firms, observes Law.com, the issue of retirement is tricky. Even bringing it up can throw partners into a panic - or, enraged. In these volatile times, more of them are being axed because of not enough billable hours or not bringing in more new business. Another reason for being eased out is that their practice area is no longer in such demand.

Yet, law firms are finding out they have to be proactive on this issue.

That's because, as Altman Weil documents, 25% of the business is controlled by Baby Boomers. It's necessary for the law firm to hold onto those aging partners' book of business. As many know, in professional services, clients are linked to a particular partner or principal, not the business per se. So, law firms better do this right.

One smart solution for succession planning is to tie compensation to results in transitioning client relationships from the entire control of the partner to other lawyers. Money talks. The compensation should be distributed both ways: to the partner who will be retiring and to others in the loop. Partners near the end of their career get it how important money is.

In addition, progressive businesses are designing services to help professionals embrace retirement. Those range from arranging reduced work schedules to advising about selling the house versus aging-in-place. 

Meanwhile, there is the other matter: What about partners who want to hang in there and yet are perceived not to be the lawyers and rainmakers they once were? Such a situation had been brilliantly featured in the television series "Boston Law." Law firm founder Denny Crane was sliding into dementia. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

There's No Place Like Home - After Relocating for Financial Reasons, The New Aging Find We Can Circle Back

Savvy media outlets such as MarketWatch have ramped up the number of articles published on relocation and retirement.

Most of them position and package the issue in financial terms. The features range from the couples who could no longer afford Seattle to those realizing they have to make it on less than $2K monthly. Sure, a few focus on the aging's longing for more moderate weather but not many. Relocation is really a money story.

Seven years ago I was finding myself in that financial squeeze. Even in a lower-cost city in Connecticut - New Haven - rent, gasoline, car insurance, property tax on autos, and services such as pet care were galloping beyond my ability to make ends meet. 

I researched locations outside the U.S. such as Ecuador and Spain and inside ranging from North Carolina to Arizona. Also, I talked with a lot of people. Most directly said that I was committing career suicide if I left the New York Metro area. However, most weren't aware how quickly communications assignments were shifting to the telecommuting mode. 

Of course, I was beyond terrified to almost catatonic. But by spring 2014 I had decided, yes, I was going to relocate. And for me to get up the courage to do that it had to be exotic. Tucson, Arizona filled the specs. There were the mountains and the deserts. 

I was on the money. I am still on the money. I paid off debt and socked away a bundle in an investment fund.

Eventually I experienced AZ as too alien for me and too hot. Research turned up Ohio. It is less weird to me than AZ. And even more affordable. (With folks from California migrating to AZ, the state isn't as low-cost.)

But, and that is a but lots of us migrants from what had been home for decades are feeling: I miss the New York area. 

No, I still can't financially manage being back in CT. However, in about two years, my financial planner, accountant, and executive coach assure me I can return home. The new version of it will be a pocket in NY or even New Jersey that is currently within my budget.

That budget has more flexibility since I donated my car to Kars4Kids. That's an "unburdening" more of the New Aging should take.

The expenses for insurance, repairs, gasoline, oil changes, washes, and parking are finito. Nerd Wallet puts that at $8,469 a year. Also disappeared is the angst. I no longer lose sleep over a rattle which might indicate need for a major repair. Days of heaven.

Thanks to being fit, I can get just about anywhere on the trike (adult tricycle) I purchased from Wersell's Bike Shop in Toledo, OH (wersellbikeandskishop@gmail.com, 419-474-7412). There, the all-wise Mr. Bike Man Brett Gibson taught me the ropes on how to steer it, without losing my balance. It was the diminished sense of balance, which many seniors are stuck with, that had me pass up on a traditional bicycle. 

Gibson also clued me in on internet myths about preventing trike theft. So far so good. The locking mechanisms he recommended have been effective. However, homeowners' and renters' insurance, at least with the right company, cover the replacement value. 

In addition to lowering my breakeven point through going carless, by constantly modifying how I develop new business, the revenues from both communications and coaching are fine. No, leaving New York Metro is not career suicide.

More than five years of minimalist living and super smarts about marketing have put me back to where I can think like Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz." You bet, there is no place like home. In about 22 months I can be home. 

I am part of a growing trend. That is, those hammered by financial realities who relocated far from home and now recognize that did not have to go quite that far.

Maybe they can no longer bunk on the Upper East Side of Manhattan or Greenwich, CT, but they still could hold on to a piece of home. 

It isn't only the college freshman who experiences extreme homesickness.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Side Hustle with Wag: Could Be Solid Platform for Next

The pet-service enterprise Wag is well-organized. 

For example, it makes it easy for clients - that is, pet parents - and its contract employees to facilitate the common service of the dog walk. A lock box is attached to the door. 

As Recode reports, though, Wag, as it typical of many startups, aimed to grow too quickly. That got it into trouble and now sources say it is in talks to sell itself. Interestingly, just like fast-growth failure WeWork, Wag is backed by SoftBank. You bet, the SoftBank brand is taking a beating.

But, Wag's troubles shouldn't stand in the way of older folks looking for work trying out walking dogs. In my former Youngstown, Ohio neighborhood, several over-50 Wag dog walkers told me that the gig helped them connect the dot about how to start earning some serious money. 

According to them, Wag bills the client about $14. They get around $9, plus a tip. Since pet parents want their four-leggers treated well they are likely to also tip well.

One 56-year-old teacher who anticipated she would be forced out (she was) found dog walking in the evening and weekends showed her how much growth there was in the pet niche. She began developing a portfolio of articles published in third-party media about pet issues. When she is ready she will launch her own pet-care brand. 

The rub on that, of course, is that it requires supreme belief in one's ability to go from point A to Point B, then Point C in struggling to make a living when aging. Here, free to click open, is my book which can get that mindset started Download Outwitting ageism

The reality is the more than one-half of the over-50 will be forced out of their jobs. If they land on their feet and are able to get another job, only one out 10 will make comparable money.

In 2003, after my business collapsed, I did a holiday gig job in Sephora as a security guard. That led to a full-time job in loss prevention, including health benefits, with then Allied Barton Protective Services. Soon enough I regained the confidence to launch another enterprise. Actually that turned into two: both communications and career coaching. 

Takeaway: Working at a paid something, anything, brings more and better paid work.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on aging.

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.