Over-50

Tucson, AZ - No Longer Paradise for Retirement/Semi-Retirement (or budget-challenged)

Blame the middle class in California who could no longer afford the high cost of living there.

They have been migrating to southwestern Arizona.

In the process, they are transforming what was once the affordable paradise for retirees and the semi-retired (as well as those fleeing the extreme careerism of the Northeast Corridor) into a location that is increasingly pricey.

In April 2014, I bit the budget bullet, took the I-95 ramp out of New Haven, Connecticut, and headed to the Vista Montana rental complex in Tucson, Arizona. Rent was peanuts. Actually I cut the cost of keeping a roof over my head by half. I also eliminated the property tax on my car and reduced the car insurance by a 100 bucks.

Days of heaven.

My objective was to pay off debt and rebuild my communications business as a telecommuting one. That all happened.

The only bump in the road, totally unexpected, was a traumatic encounter with a former college classmate who had retired in Oro Valley, AZ. Here is the amazing that one bit of darkness. I still have PTSD flashbacks. Yeah, really.

The first time the rent was raised was by $50 a month.

The second time it was another $50 a month.

The real estate market was recovering and the price of houses was also making the Tucson Metro area no bargain.

I saw the handwriting on the wall.

The rent keeps fluctuating at Vista Montana. Today (1/20/2019) rent for a studio apartment starts at $530. Add on utilities. Those can run high in terms of air-conditioning in the 122 degree heat. Add on also rent for pets. Also there is the bill for internet. 

Aging professionals watching their pennies, the retired/semi-retired, and members of any generation needing to get on their financial feet may decide to rule out Tucson.

If they still are focused on AZ, rents are less a 90-minute drive south in Sierra Vista, AZ. It's near the Mexico border, which opens up the world of dental tourism.

However, it might be time to rule out AZ entirely.

What I did in September 2016 was zero in on Ohio. Right now I rent a large one-bedroom, with all utilities included and with pet rent covered, for $618 a month. That's in Austintown, OH, a small town near Youngstown and a 90-minute drive from Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

My next location, where I could settle in, could be the Toledo, OH Metro area.

Rents are low.

The advantage is being near Lake Erie. To my surprise, that body of water really does have waves and those waves crash against the rocks.

About an hour's drive away is university town of Ann Abor, Michigan with so many low-cost activities for those who are budget-challenged.

The takeaway here is that with so much change going on, no one concerned about money can rely on outdated information about what regions are affordable and which aren't. The research starts on the internet. Key in, for example, Tucson, Arizona - apartments for rent and media coverage of how the area has become all too popular. 

One good option for living well on a limited budget is to become an expat. Mexico, Belize, and the Philippines are affordable. At least at the time of this writing. But, you bet, everything changes. 

Get amazing results through out of box communications strategies/content. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. I help, not sell.

Promoting Our Businesses/Our Personal Branding - Owned Media/Social Networks Losing Reach

Everything changes. Especially in how to promote products, services, brands, causes, points of view, ideas, and oneself.

Now, it's back to the soul-wrenching experience of getting placements and being quoted in third-party media.

Yes, those are media outlets with gatekeepers. They range from old-line print like The New York Times to digital natives such as TechCrunch.

We have to get back nurturing relationships with the gatekeepers, then figuring out how to pitch. Leveraging our own media/social media has less and less reach. 

Once we succeed with third party media, then we have to repurpose, in OCD manner, that content - through our own media platforms, social media, curated sites, and email. We can also use that clip to pitch to other third-party media. Members of the media pay attention to what other members of the media have published. 

Here is the must-do I published on Odwyerpr.com today on how to get back into the third-party media game - and win, despite the odds.

Get amazing results through out of box communications strategies/content. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. I help, not sell.

No, Gig Work Not Dominating the Economy

Again, we get the message: Beware of what the experts assert.

Twice, Alan Kruger and Lawrence Katz had conducted surveys of supposed gig-economy workers.

They concluded that those alternate work arrangements represented about 5% of the paid work being done. Now they revised that to about 2%.

In a study last summer, the Department of Labor studied the gig economy and didn't find it had significantly altered traditional ways of earning a living.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, Kruger and Katz explain the reasons the research was flawed.

One factor was that the first study was done during an economic downturn. Those who grabbed temporary jobs to make ends meet usually returned to the traditional job when the recovery began.

Also, there were those in full-time positions who were doing side hustles. That is, they really weren't gig workers per se, at least not as contingent jobs were being measured. Here is the article I published in Odwyerpr on how to manage one's brand when having multiple kinds of paid work.

In addition, the gig work being done was largely in one category: driving for Uber. The phenomenon shouldn't be interpreted as an overall surge in gig-economy players.

Those of us who have had gone through a clinical depression recall the flawed research on antidepressants. The experts concluded that even one bout of depression mandated that we remain on the medication for the rest of our lives.

The side effects could be horrific. Some of those antidepressants trigged significant weight gain. Following the medical doctor's orders, I put on 50 pounds. Also, those which were still on patent were expensive. 

The obvious takeaway is that research findings should never be fully trusted. 

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

 

Everything Changed - Older Women Seeking Friendship with Other Older Women

It used to be college was the place those close friendships with other women were made. That meme hovered over Mary McCarthy's 1963 best-selling book "The Group." In 1963 I was a freshman, just like those in "The Group," at an all-women's college. 

Then, as more women became careerists, the place for bonding was the corporation, law firm, or hospital. It took a close female friend to clue us into the unwritten code of the workplace culture. At Gulf Oil (which merged with Chevron) my friend, mentor, and inspiration had been Dorothy Brown who managed media.

Eventually, those all-important careers wind down as we age. Some of us retire or semi-retire. Others, as The Wall Street Journal documents, experience reduced mobility and/or earnings.

So, we shift our focus to other parts of our lives. One of them is socializing and we find that as we age there are fewer barriers to female closeness.

The competition for whatever is less. Also, we like ourselves. And that helps us to accept other women as they are. Although single and always self-supporting, I stopped resenting women who were married and not self-supporting. 

The rub, The New York Times details, is that it is more difficult to find female friends when we are older women.

The workplace isn't the center of our lives. That's out as a meeting place.

Many of us have relocated from areas with high costs of living to more affordable regions. We have to adjust to the norms of our new hometown in order to attract friends. That could take two years or more.

In addition, social networks have already formed - and hardened. No "welcome" sign is put out there for us to attempt to enter. This ain't the college dorm.

One solution, reports The New York Times, is to launch our own network. That's exactly what Dale Pollekoff did when she relocated to Los Angeles at 70-something. She formed the group Finding Female Friends Past Fifty. Within two weeks it had 200 members. Currently it has 800.

Pollekoff's network is involved in plenty of social events such as visiting museums. Once at the setting members tend to do their own thing. Therefore there is a sense of belonging but also freedom to be totally the person we have become.

Starting over in forming female friendships may pan out better than returning to the past to revive dormant ones.

In 2014, I learned that hard lesson. I was thrown off my game by aging. After all, I had done a lot of things in life but aging hadn't been one of them. Also, I had uprooted from the pricey life on the East Coast to then low-cost Tucson, Arizona.

Long story short: Reaching back to college acquaintances was a disaster. The world had changed. They had changed. I had changed. Also, I was in a vulnerable state. That's no time to be reaching back or out. Wait until you are in a position of strength.  Here is that saga. Maybe you will learn something you have to learn.

So, what was effective in building friendships among older women in AZ? Here are six tips:

• Go slow. You don't arrive at 50+ and not be wary. Being too eager to enter a woman's life can scare her off. Observe the three time rule: Encounter each other at least that many times before suggesting coffee or a drink.
• Hold the story. No one wants to hear it and it can and will be held against you. Let this be a fresh start in a relationship.
• Keep busy through whatever, including volunteer activities, to artificially create superficial social bonds. That prevents desperate loneliness. Talking about the weather or traffic is better than not talking at all to another human being.
• Start a business, scale an existing business, and/or grab a part-time job or gig assignment. That involvement makes us more socially "marketable" because we remain embedded in capitalism. And, capitalism is the unofficial religion in America. The big breakthrough in friendship came when I grabbed a part-time job in order to learn CRM technology. Other women in the residential complex gravitated toward me. Because I had been hired "at my age" by someone, anyone I was a bit of a celebrity.
• Try out self-help groups. Members tend to be older. 
• Refrain from dishing advice. In Buddhism, the student must knock on the teacher's door three times before guidance is provided. There is absolutely no reason to assume we know how to fix anyone or any problem. And that will go down in the grapevine as our being bossy.
• Keep in touch with the old crowd through Facebook. 

Unfortunately, after I developed a few friendships, my business required that I move to Eastern Ohio, temporarily. Next September, probably I will be returning to AZ. However, I have a hunch I will have to return to Square One. The world changes. They change. I have changed.

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

Your Financial Planner Is Probably Ready to Talk About The Next, Instead of Retirement

Retirement. That was invented in the late 19th century. Before that there was no need for it since life spans were so short. 

Now, with life spans reaching triple digits, the concept is being phased out. What's replacing it is Next. 

Even the financial services industry, known for pushing various forms of retirement accounts, is recognizing the shift.

For example, in a TD Ameritrade television commercial, the client discusses how much he loves his work. He indicates he has no reason to retire. In response, the financial planner says that the focus then has to be on the Next.

Of course, not everyone loves working. But, the idea of entirely stopping working is fading as an option for many. Yes, retiring has had a short shelf life in the history of ideas.

The reasons why the concept of retirement is retiring are obvious. 

At the top of the list, as The Wall Street Journal hammered, is that more and more of the aging need to continue to earn income from working.

The number is bound to grow. Portfolios are losing value. Personal debt is increasing. Houses aren't selling. And, inflation is back. 

Also there is the reality that in capitalism you are what you do. When you stop doing that you become invisible.

Even at wholesome social events, people will look right through you and toward those with whom they can professionally network. 

In addition, decades without the challenges of work can become boring. And, we are living decades after leaving a career path such as practicing law or heading corporate communications. 

The tough nut to crack is putting together the Next. Usually that requires experimentation. The risk is looking foolish, including to ourselves. Here, free to download, is my book on navigating out of hardened comfort zones. 

When I was 58 years old, my industry collapsed. It took almost three years to find work I could do, enjoyed, and which paid well. Even after that, though, it's been constant scrambling. Everything, including myself, keeps changing.

There is not only no retirement. There is no settling in. During Q3, I overhauled how I market and sell. Despite the slowing economy, my business began to scale, again. 

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

The 10% Plunge in All 3 Stock Indexes in December 2018 Is Only 1/3rd of Your Problem

Back during the 2008 global financial crash, the aging in America got it: They many never fully recover from the downturn in equities, market value of housing, and job market.

Some were lucky, though, and made out big in the bull market.

Others entered their supposed golden years not able to stop working or struggling to make ends meet on the average monthly Social Security check of about $1,400.

About one-third, documents the Federal Reserve, have had to return to work after retiring. There is even a term for that: reverse retirement.

Now, all three sources of income are again being threatened.

But, as Tim McLaughlin reports in Reuters, many of those who are retired or near what should be the end of their careers are primarily in high angst about the stock in their portfolios. Just in December 2018, all three stock indexes have dropped 10%.

There are no absolutely right answers about whether to hold or to fold. Hold and the value of equities may plunge further. Fold and they lock in their losses and eventually the value of those equities could roar back.

What Reuters doesn't go into is the return of the ghosts of the value of the single-family home and lack of work - at least for older Americans.

In many regions, the housing market is slowing down. So far, no one is predicting a crash mirroring that of 2008. But the timing of the slowdown in sales is disrupting the retirement plans of too many.

For instance, in Trumbull, Connecticut, since GE announced it is pulling out of nearby Fairfield, CT, it's hard to unload property - at least at the price owners expected. Therefore, FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) becomes impossible. Those who have already retired find it difficult or impossible to keep up with the mortgage, taxes, and energy costs for the house they're stuck living in. 

The causes for the slowdown include rising interest rates, stagnant wages, and owners' creating sticker shock with the posted sales price. 

As for the labor market, for older professionals, it frequently can be shockingly lousy. This month The Wall Street Journal published a major feature on just how bad it is for the aging. 

About eight million are out of work or are toiling in low-paying jobs or gig assignments. It's documented: Once a worker hits age 35 and gets laid off, the resulting income from the new job will likely be lower than what had been earned before. Age bias is real.

My recommendation is to grab that survival job as a platform to scale back up to as close the income and status as one had had before. Communications clients have requested that I also provide career coaching, including assisting with job-search marketing materials.

Here, free to download, is my book on how to earn a buck, no matter one's age and then launch on an upward trajectory Download Outwitting ageism.

And, here, also free to download, is a guide on how to find a ramp out of the comfort zone that tends to harden with aging.

Being trapped in one's professional past prevents both survival and scaling in the present and future. Baby Boomers and the older members of Gen X have to become the Scramble Generation.

Another tip: Put together multiple sources of income or side hustles.

Here is the article I published in Odwyerpr.com on how to manage your personal branding when you are traveling several income paths. A way of thinking about that is Mutt Branding. 

Takeaway: Aging is a new experience for each and every professional. That means there's a learning curve.

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

You Didn't Stay in Your First Job, You Don't Have to Stay in This Survival One

Like the cliché "perfect storm," a stale buzzword has been applied to the global equities markets. The term is "rollercoaster."

But for the weekend, riders probably have received a pass to get off the ride and relax.

The Wall Street journal reports, "Futures pointed to a 0.4% opening gain for S&P 500 and Dow …"

It's 8:01 A.M. New York time. Those who checked our portfolios see losses still. But we are hoping there won't be crashes in value as there had been post 9/11 and in 2008. But, no one knows. Including not the so-called masters of the universe like one-time hedge fund czar Steve Cohen. His Point72 is down.

Of course, the aging like myself have the most to wonder about. We simply don't have the time to recover fully from investment disasters. Meanwhile, as the recent The Wall Street Journal article hammered, our earning power tends to decline, beginning at age 35. 

About eight million of us are unemployed or feel trapped in low-paying, going-nowhere jobs. But that doesn't have to be. Here, for example, free to download, is how to scramble to better paying work Download Outwitting ageism. That facilities making ends meet, no matter what is happening in our portfolios. Yes, most of us will have to continue working forever or to return to working. The Federal Reserve notes that one-third of retirees have unretired. 

The game is: Approach earning income from work strategically. Checking out groceries in Marc's today does not mean that's a long-term job. 

In 2003, I was earning a bit more than 11 bucks an hour doing loss prevention in an inner city big box. Look at me now. 

One 66-year-old professional who is no longer able to practice law is retooling his skills. Soon he will be able to market his business creating astrology charts. In some circles, that's quite in demand. For the time being he's doing odd jobs.

By this time, though, all gens should have embraced the volatility of everything (VofE) as the new normal.

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

 

Portfolio Blues - Mutt Branding Mandate

Those of us who had experienced a reversal of fortune know well the dynamics of magical thinking. 

Essentially, it plays out like this: X events represent only a brief negative interlude. Soon enough we will be back at the top of our game. And, post the trauma we will have a new edge since we will be able to learn from the ordeal.

Of course, that's not what happened. At least for many of us.

At Christmas dinner several of us big-time survivors of the economic upheaval of the 21st century conceded it is no longer so easy or even possible to land on our upward-mobile feet, especially as we age.

The Wall Street Journal confirmed that with aging, particularly via age bias, our ability to re-build wealth lessens.

One strategy, I have found, to continue to earn a good buck is through establishing multiple sources of income. Here's my article published in Odwyerpr.com on managing that kind of "mutt branding." 

Yesterday there might have been the last vestiges of magical thinking among professionals.

The Dow shot up over a 1000 points. There was some recovery but probably not a total bounce-back in our portfolios.

Today, at this time, the Dow is down 430.1. More of the excessively optimistic will have to get real about the steps they will have to take to navigate what seems like there will be very hard times. 

Last night I anticipated the current Dow downward trajectory.

I clicked on the video by American-Buddhist nun Pema Chodron about managing fear without fleeing or experiencing the hardening of the heart. Here you can view it.

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

Mexico - Even After a Reversal of Fortune, You Can Retire/Semi-Retire on Your Own Terms

"My girlfriend and I will semi-retire in Mexico."

That's what a 70-year-old professional told us at Christmas dinner.

Long story short, he had endured a reversal of fortune in 2008. It had been the perfect storm, ranging from major losses in his investments to a layoff in his media job. 

Like so many aging, as The Wall Street Journal reports, he hasn't been able to bounce back financially. Here and there he can pick up low-wage gigs. So far, his efforts at starting up businesses haven't yielded a profit.

No surprise, some at dinner jumped right in with the mythology surrounding Brand Mexico.

They warned him to abandon that "nutty" plan. Essentially, the location is being positioned and packaged as a risk-your-life force field. The message: Just about anywhere outside the U.S. but Mexico.

That's exactly why those who have experienced a very different lifestyle in Mexico or have researched it have to become the loudest voices in the room shouting the realities.

One is Chuck Bolten who belts out the good news in Forbes.

Another is International Living, the number-one resource for retiring or semi-retiring outside the U.S. 

A third are all those participating in chat rooms. Just key in "Living in Mexico - Chat Rooms."

Just as is the situation here in Eastern Ohio, there are safe and unsafe places in Mexico. Here is one of the myriad articles covering the details of that in Mexico. 

Also, there are huge differences throughout Mexico about cost of living, quality of infrastructure such as internet access, and the culture of various expat communities. Here is a backgrounder you can download to get you started in your due diligence.

Our dinner companion and his significant other are planning the next smart step in this relocation decision. They are saving their pennies to be able to visit the Mexican beach town which seems, at least in their research, to be the best fit for them.

The film "The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel" warns about relocating abroad without first checking out the promotional literature and media coverage in person. 

In addition, a wise approach is to test out this plan in small bites.

For example, there are those I coach (a side hustle growing out of communications enterprise) who are maintaining as much of the familiar as possible.

A 66-year-old lawyer in Massachusetts is relocating to the U.S. city - Sierra Vista, Arizona, on the border of Nogales, Mexico.  

There she can rent a 400-square-foot efficiency apartment, including utilities, at Westwood Village Apartments for $500 a month.

Through Humana, she can have her no-premium Medicare Advantage supplement.

From that base of operations she can explore potential places to settle down in Mexico.

Among her specifications for that are:

• Get around without owning a car
• Excellent infrastructure, ranging from healthcare to telecommunications
• Conducive to starting up an online business
• Friendly but sophisticated expat community
• Low crime rate
• Near water.

She is in no hurry to find her Dream in Mexico. For her, the search is part of the adventure of starting over.

This lawyer probably will have lots of company, both in renting in the low-cost southern tip of AZ and toying with the idea of becoming an expat in Mexico.

See, that's a common sense strategy to prevent homelessness. Soon enough, it won't seem radical.

According to Zillow, the median rent in the U.S. has risen this year 2.8% to $1,445. That's the biggest jump since 2016. Fewer and fewer can afford to buy. So, they are renting. Landlord Nation has taken note. At lease renewal time, more and more can expect big increases. 

Just in MA, during 2018, homelessness has shot up 14%.

Takeaway: There are sensible solutions to retiring on one's own terms - as well as dodging the homelessness bullet.

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

Paradise Lost? - That Can Be Your Experience Doing FIRE

FIRE - financial independence, retire early - represents a transition. In fact, a major one.

So, it should be no surprise that FIRE is not the gateway to utopia.

Transition often is a brutal experience.

That's exactly why society manufactured all the traditional rituals to encourage those embarking on change to continue to move on with it.

Classic are the graduation galas for youth going forth into careers after college. Who the heck welcomes exiting the womb of a sturdy friendship network, infrastructure of needed services (including the counseling center), predictable schedules, and being treated like a protected category?  

Perhaps society needs to cook up similar rituals for those embracing FIRE. In MarketWatch, Chris Mamula chronicles the harsh realities of leaving a career at age 41. Essentially, his message is that the process is exchanging one set of problems for new ones. 

For instance, instead of the responsibilities of the job there emerge those ranging from developing new reasons for getting up in the morning to what it takes to make new friends.

The hardest nut to crack, I would add, is that early retirement usually entails relocating from high cost of living locations where a career played out to somewhere else. That somewhere else, no matter how amazing, might never feel like "home."

A 62-year-old former lawyer I coach still ponders if it was a mistake to sell his house in Connecticut and move to a wonderful beach community in Pensacola, Florida. He pines for "home" so much that he is focusing on how to put together another career path so that he can afford to return to CT. We have discussed become certified in addiction counseling. No, he doesn't want to ever practice law again. 

The most useful way to prepare for FIRE is to observe others who have taken that option. In southwestern Arizona, the middle-class retirement developments in Oro Valley are full of those whose investments and career earnings facilitated early retirement. Not one I interviewed for articles on aging seemed content. Too often their conversations drifted back to memories of their working years.

What I have concluded is this: The least painful version of FIRE is semi-retirement. Have lined up a mode of continuing to earn income, either as an employee or an entrepreneur. The money is not as important as the identity working creates. In addition, it automatically generates a social network. 

Here, free to download, is my book on finding and taking the ramp out of one's comfort zone. 

Coaching and Thought Leadership Ghostwriting about Issues Associated with Careers.

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