Over-50

Good Bless Social Security

We woke up this morning and smelled the fear. The numbers in our portfolios were look-aways.

The brilliant news guy that he is, Matt Drudge focused on that - extreme economic angst - instead of politics. The headline featured the $945 billion wiped out in tech stocks.

Other content linked to a prediction that the DOW would lose 2,000 points and that a recession was likely.

All that was missing to spread terror throughout the land was the Drudge Report's signature flashing blue light.

After the global economic crash of 2008, any darkness hovering over our portfolios, any signal the housing market is in trouble, or any stupid move on the part of BigBusiness throws earth off its axis. 

This Thanksgiving the talk around the table and the flat screen watching football games will be about the economy. Those loving conspiracies might speculate the recent activity has been engineered by politicos to distract attention from X or Y.

Reflection: I don't think I will putting a new car in my stocking this holiday season. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

Why We Didn't Save More - 10 Reasons

It's almost universal: the regret that we over-50 didn't save more. 

And, that is making retirement or the thought of retiring/semi-retiring angst-producing.

Recently the RAND Corporation and Max Planck Institute researched why we didn't save more. Essentially, there were 10 reasons, reports MarketWatch. 

Those reasons are:

Lack of financial literacy

Health problems that made working for income not possible

A layoff

Earning less than expected

Divorce

Bad investments

Medical bills

Overestimating Social Security

No long-term planning. 

However, the good news is that, in my coaching, I have found that the financial distress makes us open to change. That ranges from being willing to relocate to what kind of work we are willing to do. 

Here is a guide, free to download, on how to start bringing in money, no matter what Download Outwitting ageism.

The key is to be open. 

Coaching and Thought Leadership Ghostwriting about Issues Associated with Aging.

Complimentary consultation, sliding scale fees. Please contact Jane Genova at janegenova374@gamil.com.

 

That House in Connecticut - You'll Probably Never Be Able to Unload It, Retire

Smart professionals, bad investment. 

A house in Connecticut, particularly in Fairfield County, once represented wealth. The assumption was that you had to be well off to purchase in CT. And when your career was over, either involuntarily or through retirement, you could cash out the assets and be financially more than okay.

That was then, of course.

Overall, the real estate market remains 15% below the 2007 peak. Here are more details from the media. 

Of the 169 municipalities, only 12 have recovered.

The McMansion, which had been an arrogant version of the American Dream isn't marketable.

Families are smaller and property taxes keep shooting up in that financially distressed state. Also, consider the cost of energy for heating and cooling what is now a white elephant. Will public affairs player Bob Dilenschneider be able to unload his Darien "castle?"

New industry isn't moving in to replace corporations like GE which are moving out.

And commuting on the main highway I-95 becomes increasingly horrific. One accident can put the counties in gridlock for at least 90 minutes. 

The implications are huge. 

At the top is that home owners can't count on that asset for retirement.

Those who can't sell their houses, at least for the price they want, might have to put all plans on hold. Those range from relocation for whatever reason to retirement.

Fewer professionals coming to the New York Metro area will shop for property in CT. A better bet could be the gentrifying Jersey City.

And, down on its economic luck CT won't soon recover.

Meanwhile, over in Queens, New York, which used to be a symbol of nowwhereville, property owners are sitting pretty. The coming of Amazon is raising all ships.

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

Get FIREd Up, At Any Age, Your Way

In a growing number of career paths we professionals are aging in dog years. 

By time we are in our 50s, too often we sit at our desks and daydream about how we can retire.

Yet, the cool new way of doing that - FIRE (financial independence, retire early) - seems beyond our grasp. We assume it's too late to get FIREd up.

Wrong. 

Radical savings can produce, within a few years, the option to shift to no work, a different type of work, or the same work but according to our own terms and conditions. The big misunderstanding is that FIRE indicates stopping working entirely. It may or may not.

More good news is that there is no one way to get FIREd up. After all, we are all different. And where we can adopt extreme frugality is therefore different for each of us.

One lawyer I coached after he was released from prison launched an online business off the grid in a cabin in Oregon. The only concessions to the modern age have been the electricity for the digital devices and what it takes for internet access. 

Me? My version of FIRE involved first paying down six-figure debt. The universe was smiling on me. It was before the real estate and global financial crashes. The house in West Hartford, Connecticut sold for a nice profit. High paying work came my way.

The debt out of the way, I had the option to go totally FIRE.

The dog and I took the I-95 ramp out of expensive CT to the dirt-cheap desert of Arizona. That was after we donated all our worldly goods, including his boxes of toys, to charity. That enabled me to choose what assignments I would accept - telecommuting, of course. 

Soon enough I had saved enough to return as far east as I was willing to pay for. That has been Ohio. I missed the four seasons. 

The next phase of FIRE will be to migrate next fall to a U.S. town on the border of Mexico.

My rent will be a third-less of what I pony up now.

Also my choice of assignments will expand because I will have access to all the western states (time zones matter) as well as enterprises in Mexico.

There, I can cross the border to Nogales, Mexico for dental tourism. Replacing any of my aging crowns will cost about a third what U.S dentists charge.

Recreationally, I can see the U.S. in my (2010) Chevrolet. I hate airplanes, which also seem unduly expensive. 

However, you may not want to embrace FIRE.

It's not for everyone.

One 50-something vice president of whatever I coached continues to spend lavishly on his avocation - classic cars. So far, he has been able to do that without destroying his health or his marriage. But, no, he doesn't like his job. That he can blow off.

We are all different. I couldn't shake off doing assignments I didn't find stimulating.

Coaching and Thought Leadership Ghostwriting about Issues Associated with Aging.

Complimentary consultation, sliding scale fees. Please contact Jane Genova at janegenova374@gamil.com.

 

The Retirement Plan - Universe Smirks

Many baby boomers and the oldest of GenX assumed they were mighty smart.

They carefully put together The Retirement Plan. The dream of relaxing and living a life on their own terms helped them navigate those rough career patches. That great boss had been replaced by an idiot. The promotion didn't come through. Longer hours were expected. 

Then, as The Wall Street Journal reports, The Retirement Plan had to be put on the back burner. There is also the dread that never will those two generations be able to retire.

One major wrench in the works is that the generations' parents and their children are both bellying up to them for financial support. Often that includes housing.

Those expenses drain and drain. No, all those people can't live as affordably together as the couple who assumed they would be empty nesters. 

Meanwhile, continuing to earn income becomes more difficult as one ages. Here is my article published in Odwyerpr.com on that common financial tragedy. And, here is my e-book, free to download, on how to continue to earn a living, no matter what.

The delay or the impossibility of retirement seems like a cruel joke the universe is playing on those who played by the rules. The push-back is for aging workers to have the courage and imagination to make their own rules.

For some, that can even be an adventure. A couple who assumed they would be empty nesters transformed what became a three-generation household into the kind of commune they bunked in during their 20s. It is turning out that the generations are learning from each other and enjoying the unique version of "community."

Takeaway: Plans are just plans. Life is what actually happens. 

Coaching and Thought Leadership Ghostwriting about Issues Associated with Aging.

Complimentary consultation, sliding scale fees. Please contact Jane Genova at janegenova374@gamil.com.

 

FIRE - That Dream Darkens

Several key players at his law firm have left. My client, a partner, has been mulling over doing a FIRE - that is, Financial Independence, Retire Early.

Then he can do what he wants in terms of work, without the long days and extreme pressure.

However, like so many considering getting off the traditional career path, his plan might have to be put on hold. Indefinitely. That is, unless he wants to adopt a lifestyle of minimalism. 

The stock market is getting lots of folks jittery.

The Wall Street Journal today warned that the deepening international economic slowdown can derail the U.S. robust economy.

Also, Steve Cohen, iconic hedge fund guru, warned of a possible bear market.

As MarketWatch reports, Cohen was attending a fundraiser when asked about the stock market. Essentially he observed that if, and that's a big if, it holds up, then the expectation should be for just marginal returns for the next two years.

However, there is the possibility that it won't hold up.

The value of a portfolio could sink. For too many that means waving good-bye to financial independence, at least for now. They probably can't retire early. Minimalism isn't an option most professionals want to embrace. 

In addition, the housing market has slowed, especially in the Northeast. The timing is poor to try to cash out the equity in what is usually players' biggest asset.

If early retirement is bypassed, the implications are obvious. In organizations the upward mobility pipeline will be clogged by those who feel they have to continue to hang in there. Meanwhile, aging professionals will have to struggle to remain productive and relevant.

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

Gender-Bias Lawsuits - Remembering When They Were Unthinkable

Distressed Avon should be braced for lots more stress.

This time it will be on its branding as a business that empowers women.

Eventually, the pressure also could be financial if there is a verdict against it in a jury trial or if it ponies up a hefty settlement. 

In addition, there could be a massive shakeup at the top. Male leadership could be replaced with females attuned to the specific needs of employees who are mothers or are in the process of becoming a mother. 

For a while now,  legal and business media outlets have been covering the initial litigation by Caroline Ruiz. She had been recruited by Avon for a procurement position. After a short time with the corporation she requested special accommodations such as working partly from home because of a high-risk pregnancy. She intended to continue fulfilling all her duties. Long story short, soon she was fired, allegedly for performance reasons. She had come to Avon with a great track record. 

What grabbed attention is that Avon supposedly is supportive of women. The reality, though, it came out was this: Its leadership is primarily male. And, according to Ruiz it was operating on the male experience at work as the default standard. 

Since then, the Wigdor law firm, representing Ruiz, has expanded that individual lawsuit into a putative class action, which had been filed yesterday. It requests a jury trial.

The amended complaint  has two clients and three other possibilities, so far. Many more could participate. 

All plaintiffs contend they suffered professional discrimination and some were actually penalized because of issues associated with maternity and child care (e.g. breastfeeding). Here are more details from Jason Grant at Law.com. And, here is a copy of the amended lawsuit. 

The timing of this lawsuit couldn't be worse for Avon.

Not only is it struggling for a turnaround in a changing global cosmetic marketplace.

This, of course, is the era when employment matters related to females are totally high profile.

#MeToo is just the tip of the iceberg. 

More a symbol of the changing values in the workplace is the risk top professional women have been taking in filing gender-bias lawsuits against their well-known employers. That kind of risk-taking is relatively new. But it is being embraced by more female players. 

For instance, brandname employment-discrimination lawyer David Sanford currently is representing, among others, female partners in law firms who contend gender-based bias. That ranges from compensation to promotability.

Sanford had been a pioneer in that, taking on GE in 2007. Unthinkable then, lawyer in the GE legal department - Lorene Schaefer - claimed gender discrimination.

That litigation, requesting $500 million in damages, sought class action status. Here are more details. GE settled before the complaint went to court.

More recently, Sanford's Sanford Heisler Sharp has been the law firm which achieved the settlement for Kerrie Campbell, who had been forced out of her law firm when she sued. Since then, she has launched her own boutique law firm and had been a guest speaker at Harvard Law School, discussing that experience.

Avon also has to anticipate a probable informal boycott. I have already steered clear of purchasing its whatever. Like most baby boomer female professionals, I put up with horrific gender bias, standard back then. Litigation wasn't considered an option by us "good girls." Instead, we would cry. 

Currently, more female professionals have been socialized to think like a lawyer. 

Litigation Communications

Making points of law, policy issues, and politics accessible and engaging for the public, media, investors, and more. Complimentary consultation. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Retirees Who Had Found Affordable Living, Community, and Joy: Ridgewood Mobile Park

The West is different from the East.

One of the first of those differences a transplanted East Coaster picks up on is this: There is no stigma in thinking about buying a mobile home.

In fact, you know you are becoming part of the scene when those you meet in PetSmart or Fry's supermarket encourage you to purchase a lot in their little piece of heaven. That happened to me after I lived six months out west.

So, I get it how, as The New York Times describes Ridgewood Mobile Park, "closely knit" those living on the 97 lots had been. There was no shame about being part of the mobile-park concept. 

That kind of shame is what creates barriers among people. I know. I grew up in a tenement in the New York Metro area. Everyone had to show everyone else that he or she was clearly superior.

Instead of feeling less-than the residents likely felt proud that they had found a way they could afford to live in California. Most of those were retirees. Meanwhile, as the media outlets report, the middle class is fleeing CA because they plum can't afford the cost of living any more.

According to the NYT, only about 20 of the residents of the 97 lots have been accounted for, at least so far. Perhaps not all the others perished in the fire. But, the assumption is that enough did to suck the soul out of that community.

Soul was all that was left. The mobile homes are gone. Those who couldn't stretch their monthly Social Security payment to cover insurance won't be able to purchase another. 

But even those who can fund buying another mobile home can't bring back the kind of community caring they had built over the years.

This blog asks the universe to help the survivors from Ridgewood Mobile Park to find the courage and strength to absorb the losses. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

No Absolutes

The dream is to be sitting sipping a cold beverage, watching the ocean, and having the deep satisfaction of being-debt-free.

However, for 35 percent of those 65 to 74 and 23 percent of those over 75 that's not how it plays out, documents the Federal Reserve. Those are still lugging a mortgage into retirement or semi-retirement. Here are more details from MarketWatch.

That can be an a financial dark cloud hovering over a time when earned income could be declining. But it is not necessarily the end of the world. And personal finance experts warn against the knee-jerk reaction to pay off the mortgage by withdrawing a big chunk of money from a retirement fund.

Long story short: The taxes have to be factored in. Also, that reduces the reserve available for emergencies such as a temporary stay in assisted living or purchasing choices in the future.

The bottom line on retirement and semi-retirement for our generation of baby boomers is that there are no absolutes.

We are pioneers. Sure, it's useful to research what experts are opining, listen to those who care about us, and observe choices others are making. 

However, we have to anticipate that we have to experiment. Embrace mistakes, and go on to Plan C or D.

Classic is the decision to retire in university town Austin, Texas, and that isn't the right fit. Or, as in parts of Arizona. With all the folks piling in from California, the lifestyle is no longer affordable. Then we have to uproot again.

The supposed golden years can involve as much emotional shock and being open to whatever as the years following our graduation from college. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

Forget Cosmetic Surgery - Sue to Change Your Date of Birth

In the Netherlands, 69-year-old Emile Ratelband sued local authorities. It was because the powers that be there refused to change his date of birth on official documents.

He requested that the "clock" officially be rolled back 20 years. He had been told he had the body of someone much younger than his nearly 70 years.

With his date of birth changed, he was convinced that he would have an easier time getting dates on Tinder and being hired for work. 

In his lawsuit he argued that transgenders can officially change documents about their sexual identity. The same right should extend to modifying the date of birth legal material. The court accepted the complaint and will rule in about four weeks. Here are more details from the Daily Mail. 

Ratelband's approach is only one kind of solution to the age issue. Another would be to forbid mediums of all kind from disclosing age. Currently, age is regularly provided in the news media and all over the internet. 

Some are old enough to recall when it had been standard procedure in newspapers to identify the race of the persons arrested for crimes. Then, that was banned. Today, of course, it seems unthinkable that such a practice was common place.

Ageism is a serious problem in western societies. And, unlike bias based on race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, employers are still able to get away with it on a regular basis. Many of them have it down to a science how to blow off older job applicants in perfectly legal ways. 

As for Ratelband's Tinder activities, he may find it difficult to develop meaningful relationships with women 20 years younger. They are part of a whole different generation. He may have the body of middle aged man. However, internally he has all the emotional wear and tear of someone who has experienced 69 years of life. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com