Over-50

What U.S. Baby Boomers & iGens in Japan/Europe Have in Common

Two generations have gotten badly burned by financial upheavals. 

Those are we Baby Boomers in the U.S. and iGens (those born in the mid 1990s and beyond) in Japan and Europe.

As a result, reports Bloomberg, both our generations have developed a mindset of frugality. That entails everything from a predisposition not to spend money at all to shopping in thrift stores versus traditional retail.

We Baby Boomers experienced the Perfect Storm.

There we had been the generation who benefited by the post-war economic boom. We were the first generation in America to attend college en masse. U.S Corporate America was growing and even we females were becoming members of The Professional Class. We not only grabbed onto the American Dream of home ownership. We purchased getaways.

That was then. 

Soon our nest eggs took a gigantic hit in the stock market crashes of the early 21st century and 2008. Age bias in the workplace forced us out. We went from being in-demand to unable to land any well-paying job. Some of us haven't worked since The Great Recession. Others had to start over again. Here, free to download, is my guide on pulling that off Download Outwitting ageism.

Both Japan and Europe suffered dramatic reversals of economic fortune. In those regions iGens saw their parents lose jobs - and their sense of self. The labor market didn't offer youth much opportunity either. It was a closed systems. Members of iGen never experienced affluence. 

Essentially, both ends of the generational mix have embraced minimalism. We can get by without big materialistic dreams. We have no hope of making a big killing and catapulting to the good life. We take it day by day. We just want to make ends meet. Homelessness isn't unthinkable.

Of course, that reduction in consumer spending could negatively affect economies. That's why Bloomberg is covering the subject.

To replace that there has to be a generation which decides to return to conspicuous consumption. If they are influencers they can make frugality appear to be unpatriotic. Spending excessively could become, once again, a national religion.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

That Career Is Over - So?

" … [Madonna'] 'Medellin' failed to catch on. It rose to number 9 on iTunes briefly, and now sits at number 32 … Beyoncé's 'Homecoming' album, released the same day, has sold or streamed a total of 43,000 copies in 48 hours." - ShowBiz411, April 19, 2019. Here is the article. 

Here is the audio - chachacha - from "Medellin," which is the lead-in to Madonna's new album "Madame X." Out in mid June, "Madame X" is supposed to be the 60-year-old's comeback platform. 

Nothing about "Medellin" is fresh.

That's why Madonna is being positioned and packaged as "washed up."

It isn't her age per se.

Betty White, a relic from the Mary Tyler Moore era, is in her 90s. She did fresh. That was through creating the persona as the designated role model for aging. That process, she hammered in her book, wasn't for sissies. The world loved it. Still love it. She remains marketable.

The issue Madonna raises is the scary question for all aging who are still working: Is it time to leave?

But what they are leaving might well be a very narrow career path. No, it isn't necessary to hang it all up, disappear into a retirement community in Oro Valley, Arizona, and compulsively do yoga. 

ShowBiz411 points out that the last several albums Madonna has put out have been "flops." 

Instead of continuing to do what isn't panning out, she could be testing out other ways to distinguish herself through work.

Maybe she can launch a training institution for the performing arts in Lordstown, Ohio. GM recently shuttered the plant there, putting about 1,600 out of a good job and hope. She can open the door to the light for all the Youngstown, OH metro area. The region still is caught in the shadow of Steel Yesterday.

How do the aging and those no longer perceived as "young" come up with the courage to change?

I don't know about others.

What I do know is that for me the pain of becoming invisible was greater than the anxiety involved in trying out new lines of work. That experimentation in my professional life began when I was 58. Then, that same courage took over the decisions I made in my personal life. Here is one of those stories of brutal moments of clarity and then transition.

A useful read for those caught between career paths is "Necessary Endings" by executive coach Henry Cloud. Here you can order it from Amazon.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

Status - Breaking Free, Finally

The post-war economic boom.

That rising tide lifted the boats of so many of us kids from low-income families. We wound up going to college and making more in a year than our parents did in 20 years.

With that came the burden of status. We had to work at brandname corporations or professional services firms. Entrepreneurship hadn't caught on yet. There were the right neighborhoods. Upscale cars. 

That was then.

Now, as part of The New Aging or living for years and years we are shaking off the status imperative. Some of us have to. Some have simply had it with all that. 

About 18 months here in Ohio, I applied for a part-time job at a pawn shop. I was crushed that I wasn't hired. All those interesting characters I could have met.

When I relocate to Arizona in the fall I will try again. The odds are I will be hired. There's less age bias there. Simultaneously, I will also operate my communications and coaching boutique. 

Friends my age have been breaking free in similar ways. One is struggling to nail down a job manning the counter in a jewelry store. Eventually she wants to make jewelry. For several years another has been driving a school bus. A year ago a third got his license for handling a big rig. 

The question we ask ourselves is this: If status were available again to us, would we grab it? Sure. That wasn't so bad. Now that we have had a break from it, we could go back. Freedom comes with knowing we don't need it.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Yeah, They're Gunning for Us

The research documents what we all have been observing.

The "system" will push more than half of us 50 years or older out of their jobs. And only 10% will ever make comparable money, at least from that kind of job. That research had been conducted by the Urban Institute and ProPublica. Here is a copy for you to read.

That's the reality.

Yes, employers are gunning for us.

The bias against age is severe. Here is the article I published in Odwyerpr.com.

A recent lawsuit claiming age bias is "Alan Laufer v. Pryor Cashman." At age 61, Alan Laufer was cut loose by his law firm. That was even though he was a top producer of revenues. Here is a copy of that litigation. The judge said it can move on to trial.

The good news is that for us aging this negative development is not our first rodeo. We have had plenty of experience with adversity since that day the commencement speaker told us to reach for the stars. 

Finding that first real job was hard. Adjusting to going to work harder. 

Relationships were continually changing. Yet, we had no training in how to navigate them. Marriages fell apart. Best friends let us down. 

Our graduate degrees didn't have the ROI we anticipated.

So, we have the mindset and problem-solving tools to also get through this one.

Here is what many of us have learned already about thriving financially in an economic and social system tilted against us. 

•  Downsize spending. If the children are headed for college, they may not be able to choose the college of their choice. Shop price. State schools are terrific with a good track record for job placement.
•  Watch the market for the ideal time to sell the family home. Home ownership brings high uncertainty about funds outflow. A natural disaster not covered adequately by insurance can wipe us out. 
•  Relocate to where the cost of living is lower. When I migrated from the New York Metro area to southwestern Arizona I cut my monthly nut of fixed expenses in half. Then when I moved with a client to eastern Ohio I cut another 10% off.
•  Develop multiple sources of income or side hustles. In AZ, in addition to the two businesses I was operating, I picked up three part-time jobs. I learned new technologies "on the company."
•  Make it your business to develop new skills. It is possible to start out on a fresh career path. 
•  Sell yourself to employers and prospective clients by hammering "Here's what I can do for you," not a laundry list of credentials. 

There is no reason to "be retired." There is also a buck to be made. Only, we have to pursue income in continually changing ways.

The tough nut to crack is embracing the ordeal of leaving our comfort zone. Here, free to click on, is my guide on that. It has more than a million downloads. So, you know you are certainly not alone in this pickle. 

And if you have been out of the game for a while, here's how to snap back to bringing in income, no matter what Download Outwitting ageism.

Career coaching for the over-50 available on a sliding scale fee structure. Here is my backgrounder Download BACKGROUNDERJaneGenovaCoachingOver-50. Complimentary consulation available - janegenova374@gmail.com. 

You Are Among the 2,400 Who Lost Jobs in Media Q1 2019

On the one hand, former bigwig at The New York Times Jill Abramson laments that commentary is replacing facts in media.

That's her rant in "Merchants of Truth."

However, as every college freshman learns, journalism, because it is created by human beings, will never have 100% objectivity.

Some of us are taking a peek at "Merchants of Truth" and rolling our eyes. On Amazon, readers give it about a 2.5 out of 5 rating. Its sales have plummeted to the 29,172 ranking. That's even though it was published just last month. 

On the other hand, the world of media has become the scene of authentic human tragedy.

As BusinessInsider reports, so far in 2019, there have been 2,400 layoffs. Among the most recent are the 32 job cuts at New York Media, parent of New York Magazine and Vulture, and the 41 at the Cleveland Metro area's The Plain Dealer. 

Those losing their jobs will find it difficult landing comparable jobs. Publishers at most media outlets haven't yet figured out how to make money in a digital era. The exception has been the leadership at The New York Times, at least for now. The black can turn back to red. 

Among the most vulnerable are the older media players.

As Dan Lyons chronicles in his book "Disrupted," when he was 50-something, he received that tap on the shoulder at Newsweek. He could be replaced by a much less seasoned journalist at a third of his salary.

Not only did he lose doing the only thing he knew how to do to make a living. He lost his employer-paid medical coverage. At home he had a sick wife and two pre-teens. 

Lyons grabbed a nutty kind of job at a tech startup. Mostly for the health insurance. Essentially it was hire, burn out, and turn over the labor force. His next employment stop was Gawker. That went out of business with the $140 million jury verdict for the plaintiff in "Hulk Hogan v. Gawker." 

Others who get the boot have been crowding into ghostwriting, marketing communications, and social media. 

As a result, more and more positions in communications have shifted to being a buyer's market.

Compensation is going down.

Treatment can be raw.

A recent re-run of "Chicago PD" refers to the field of journalism as over. The producer Dick Wolf creates plot lines ripped from real-life headlines. 

One solution for those who are determined to hold on in communications is to develop side hustles or multiple sources of income.

That not only helps pay the bills. Spreading the risk gives writers and editors unique negotiating power. They can choose what full-time jobs or assignments to accept. The lack of desperation improves their sales pitch.

The challenge in that is to keep the work identities separate. Clients who need a journalistic type newsletter developed for their real estate firm probably can't absorb that the content-creator drives a school bus. Here is my article, published in Odwyerpr.com, on how to navigate what I label "mutt branding."

Among my side hustles is coaching the over-50 how to get, hold, and move on to better work. Here, free to download, is the guide for that Download Outwitting ageism.

Ironically, it was through that side hustle that I was able to launch a well-paying new niche business in developing marketing communications for global firms in the career transition and outplacement box. But, to focus adequately on that I had to give up chasing after those fascinating assignments in journalism per se.

One day we wake up, we have that moment of clarity, and we say that part of the journey is over.

A useful read on how to embrace those brutal realities is Henry Cloud's "Necessary Endings."

In 2011, I was sitting in Barnes & Noble, which also would hit up against emerging marketplace darkness, flipping through "Necessary Endings." Immediately obvious was this: I had to change just about everything, ranging from what I was going to try to sell to how.

This blog wishes insight and strength to those displaced from media who have to search for a new path - or paths.

Here, also free to download, is my book on how to find and take the ramp out of comfort zones. It has had a million downloads. Yes, many of us are in the same pickle of the marketplace having left us behind. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Debt - Beyond Just Funds Owed

This explains a lot. 

The National University of Singapore's Social Service Research Centre conducted research on the cognitive and psychological consequences of debt. What they found was surprising. Owing money can actually impair cognitive functioning. In addition, it boosts anxiety and lowers impulse control. Here are more details from MarketWatch.

The obvious takeaway is: Pull out all stops to prevent taking on debt. And, if we get into it, pull out all stops to get out of it.

In 2003, I had that moment of clarity: I was in six-figure debt. Here is the e-book, free to download, which tells that story. It has had more than a million downloads. Obviously, I wasn't the only one to get into such a pickle.

Around this time in 2014 - that is, five years ago - I paid off the last of the debt. And I haven't acquired any since. 

During those 11 years, just as the research documents, I was making plenty of bad decisions. I had developed an anxiety disorder. And a lack of impulse control resulted in the beginning of health problems.

Once the debt was gone, my business really took off. I could sleep through the night most nights. The "numbers" medical doctors test for sprung back to normal.

An unexpected benefit is that I got the courage to shake off relationships which should never have been resurrected after college.  In his best-seller "Necessary Endings," executive coach Henry Cloud hammers how hard that is but how necessary.

Many are probably thinking: Noble idea to have a mission never to get into debt again. But probably impossible.

Those many could be on the money. Debt, though, can be avoided if we get the hang of what's being called "radical saving" or "minimalism."

Once I got my brains back in 2014, I could figure out ways to spend less. By 2016, I had opened a brokerage account with Edward Jones. That includes a Roth IRA. Cashing out gains from the Roth IRA is tax-free. So, if I need to buy a car to replace the one I have had since 2011, I will withdraw the funds from the Roth versus taking out a loan. 

Another way I have become smart is that I don't make the same mistake twice. In 2018, having H&R Block do my 2017 taxes saddled me with a $440 tax-preparation bill. In 2018, I made it my business to find an alternate. That has been Tax29. The friendly folks there prepared the 2018 return for 50 bucks. They estimated they would have done the 2017 return for 80 bucks. 

Lux spending does go on but is planned. Several weeks ago, after setting aside the funding for it, I took a long weekend in the New York Metro area. Actually, it was more business than recreation. I investigated if I could afford to move back "home." Anyone who lives there knows what I concluded.

Advice on how to exit debt? 

Start slowly. After having to sell my house to avoid taking on more debt, I rented an upscale apartment. Emotionally, I had to. Then a year later I was ready to bunk where the budget-challenged people do. 

Pick up side hustles to bring in more income which will pay down debt faster. During a 26 month timeframe, I worked at a few part-time jobs in addition to operating my business.

Forgive ourselves for making mistakes, even big ones. My relocation to Arizona was premature. That was expensive. So? Now, I am ready for AZ. I will be relocating there, again, this coming August.

And, don't take on new debt. Does that rule out buying a house? Maybe.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

 

Retirement: (Mostly) Unafforable in Any State in US

Retirement has passed the threshold of affordability.

That's even in low-cost cities such as Cleveland, Ohio. According to GoBankingRates.com, there, over-65 households need $38,147 annually to just make it.

And retiring has become nearly impossible for households over-65 in locations such as New York City, where they need about $100k a year.

Here are more details in MarketWatch. 

The conclusion: Maybe retiring shouldn't be on a bucket list. Instead of envisioning total freedom from work during The New Aging, it might be more realistic financial planning to just save for some fun travel on vacations from work or between gig contracts.

More and more of the assignments for my two communications businesses are associated with preparing work-search materials for those who assumed they were retired.

Here is my guide, free to download, on how to navigate that shift.

And, here, also free to download, is my book on how to get, hold, and move on to better work, no matter one's age Download Outwitting ageism.

One day those who have retired wake up and have that brutal moment of clarity: They are sliding into debt. To pay off that debt and prevent its return in the future, they need more funds coming in.

Yesterday, a 67-year-old currently unmarried male came to my office. During the past week we had discussed options for marketing services he could provide. The best shot was a niche within higher education.

For several hours we knocked out the must-needed promotional material, then moved on to retrofitting his social networks. The next step would be to set up a website, along with a blog. This weekend in the loop will parachute a friend of his to produce podcasts for the enterprise. 

Like so many retired he had come to the fork in the road: Return to working, even full time or research relocating to overseas locations such as Ecuador or Mexico.

Regarding the latter, the International Living folks are operating a very successful line of business. The chatter on social networks among my age peers is increasingly about permanently settling near a beach outside the US. Some of those are also looking into launching online businesses in their Expat Paradises.

Meanwhile, some over-65 could wind up to be in the front lines of what could be a new trend: Nomading.

They bite the bullet and relocate from, say, ABC to X or Y. But that first plan doesn't pan out. They can't take the heat. They miss the familiar lifestyle. They are unable to develop new friendships. The rentals surge in price. They want to be closer to the grandchildren.

So, they move yet again.

The typical example is the couple who left Pennsylvania for Louisiana. The wife still picks up personal-care gigs. To make ends meet more easily, they recently sold their motor home. Now they are in Ohio. Will you settle in here? That's what I asked them. Their response is becoming typical. It's: We don't know. 

In 2014, I pulled up roots in the New York Metro area and assumed I was going to make my new life in Tucson, Arizona. That got pricey and too careerist. In 2016, I drove four days to Northeastern OH. Here I earned enough from my businesses and invested enough to afford to try again at finding Paradise. That will be at the end of August. If that disappoints, the next stop will be outside the U.S. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Starting out on FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), No Matter Our Age, Or External Circumstances

In 2003, as I chronicle in this e-book, I was lugging around 6-figure debt.

My industry had collapsed. So, obviously, I had to do a career change.

I was over-50 and feared age bias.

Meanwhile, genius cognitive therapist Amy Karnilowitz, LMFT, based in West Hartford, Connecticut, mandated I get a survival job, any job. That's where humor kicked in. Five-foot me somehow wound up doing security in inner city retail. 

For about 6 months now, I have been doing a FIRE (financial independence, [semi] retirement). That is, my customized version of it. I continue to work about 45 hours a week. But it's totally on my terms. I only agree to accept work I decide is stimulating, with clients who are simpatico, and where the fee structure is fair. 

How did I go from being a pawn in the system of capitalism to one of its masters? Here is how I interpret the key steps in the journey:

Took a vow of poverty - now called "radical saving" - and stuck with it. Even for professional attire, I shop (carefully) at Goodwill and higher end consignment stores. Although I can afford to buy a house again I don't take on the financial uncertainty associated with the American Dream.

Picked up fast that I had aged out of doing business in New York Metro area. Actually, it took 3 trips into Manhattan from CT to pitch for accounts for my two startups to get it: The "they" perceived me as old. Therefore, paying that high rent wasn't paying off. I retrofitted my businesses to being totally telecommuting and relocated to the lower cost of living Arizona. 

Picked up even faster on what else was changing. Where I residing in AZ was becoming gentrified by those relocating from California. Of course, the cost of living was no longer low. I researched other locations and, again, moved.

Another shift I sensed and acted on was that I had to purge my network of people who were not good fits - probably never had been. Here is how that process played out. And, here is my more recent insight on the need for an ongoing Network Cleanse. 

Invested. That was scary. There are no sure things. Those safe investments might not track with inflation. The ones in equities could be total losses. But, now I have enough of a locked-in reserve not to have to worry. 

Navigated emotional lows in cost-efficient ways. It doesn't take a trip back to Manhattan to shake off whatever. I can't explain the dynamics but a day trip to a large lake in the worst of winter can unleash the same mood-lifting magic.

Learned extreme self-forgiveness. Damn it, I got played two weeks ago by a brandname in my industry. I invested lots of work at the front end. The expectation was getting a piece of action in a big project. Humans plan, the gods laugh. Had I not been able to forgive my gullibility, I wouldn't have been able to reach out for help. The best advice I received was: Pray he gets what he deserves. I pray that every day. 

What specific advice would I give to other over-50 who feel they will never be able to row to the Promised Land of being whole again, emotionally and financially? 

Answer: Take that leap into self-love. It's never too late. And, all too often, it takes the worst of times to see and accept the best in ourselves.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Planning to Retire? You May Be Double-Screwed

Who can forget the residential real estate crash that brought those fire-sale prices around 2012?

Even the most optimistic about the American Dream of home ownership were re-thinking if the financial straightjacket mortgages put you in was worth it. In short, faith was deeply shaken in a house as a smart investment, along with providing the joys of privacy. 

That was then.

Soon enough, it could happen again. MarketWatch discusses how home price growth has already shut down. What could follow next is the ongoing decline in the price sellers can propose until 2025. 

The reasons behind this second nightmare include:

•  Rising interest rates ramp up the amount of money buyers have to lock in.
•  Wages have been stagnant, making income not aligned with traditional selling prices.
•  Millennials with student debt are unable to buy.
•  The Chinese buyers have left the market.
•  The run of high prices over a sustained period has triggered the decision to just give up the American Dream and rent.

Not that renters are sitting pretty.

With fewer able or willing to buy homes, landlords have the upper hand. It really is LandLord Nation. Across the nation, rents keep going up. 

Double-screwed are those near retirement who need to unload the family home and will go on to rent. They will likely have to continually lower the selling price and they hit a rental situation in which renewing the lease means absorbing a hefty increase annually.

Likely, housing will be a major issue in Election 2020.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Eating Out May Be Beyond Your FIRE (financial independence, retire early) Budget

You will get push-back on this one.

People enjoy eating out with other people. It's almost a guaranteed feel-good. Rarely can that particular social situation go wrong.

So, when you inform your networks you no longer are eating out they will inform you that is not good for you. Yes, there will be dogmatism.

They probably will cite all kinds of research (likely made up) and anecdotes (the woman who cut out eating out and went into a clinical depression) documenting how humans need to eat out, at least every now and then. 

Why you will decide to halt the luxury of dining in a real restaurant where you are served and pay a tip is that you have opted to do a FIRE, that is, Financial Independence, Retire Early. 

Eating out has to be axed when on a FIRE plan because, as MSN reports, the cost of dining in a restaurant has gone up faster than the rate of inflation. For example, last January, according to the consumer price index, it went up 2.7% from the year before. Restaurants are charging more because their own expenses have escalated.

In April 2014, I committed to radical savings so I could control my financial destiny as I aged. My goal was not retirement but what is probably thought of as "semi-retirement." That is, I wanted to be in the financial position that I could choose what work I wanted to do, for what kinds of clients, and at what fee I was willing to accept.

My particular FIRE approach was to exit the New York Metro area and half my rent by relocating to the Southwest. Immediately, I liked what was happening in my money matters. The cost of gasoline, car insurance, hair cuts, and more also went down. After one meal out with new acquaintances I recognized how that threw off a budget. That was that. Now, I simply tell people that's not how I want to spend my money.

Friends don't make friends eat out. At the end of 2018 I was able to semi-retire.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com.