Feb 26, 2009

Baby Boomers Ain't Going to Retire in Style


The serious decline of house prices, the stock market crash, and the economic recession (could be upgraded to a Depression) have ravaged the wealth, or net worth, of Americans near the traditional retirement age of 65.

Indeed, a survey in February 2009 gives some sobering numbers:

Families headed by people 55 to 64 years old have seen their net worth — assets such homes and savings minus debts such as mortgages and credit cards - plunge by 38 percent in the past few years, the Center for Economic and Policy Research says.

Their net worth fell from a median of $226,000 to a median of $140,000 from 2004 to 2009, according to the estimate, and that includes their declining share of home equity, which is the value of what they have left in their property after first and second mortgages and home equity loans are deducted.
Keep in mind that this $140,000 is for households headed by a babyboomer, so if the household includes a man and woman, the median is only $70,000 per individual.
This study found that the loss of wealth due to the collapse of the housing bubble and the plunge in the stock market will make the baby boomers far more dependent on Social Security for Retirement and Medicare than previous generations.
What's more, the study found that Houses and Money don't necessarily go hand in hand. Baby boomers renters in two quintiles are actuallly being better off than homeowners. In other words, these baby boomers were further ahead by renting a pad than by buying a home.
Latest Postings By Me:

The Money Cafe on Launch Your Product

The Art of Seeing Double or Better in Business:





Feb 20, 2009

Retirement Resources for Canadians:





  • National Seniors Council of Canada: Takes into account the views of experts, seniors, retirement organizations and other interested parties and then provides advice to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, the Minister of Health, and the Secretary of State.
  • Health Canada: Health Canada is the Canadian Federal Government's department responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health, while respecting individual choices and circumstances.
  • The Retirement Café: Interesting Retirement Articles Such as 7 Secrets to a Happy Retirement, Top-10 Dumbest Retirement Moves, and "Winning a Lottery: The Retirement Plan with the Most Bugs to Be Worked Out."
  • Seniors Canada: Information in the areas of Finances & Pensions, Health & Wellness, Retirement, Seniors Networks, Travel & Leisure, and Work & Volunteering.
  • The Joy of Not Working Website: Features The World's Second Best Retirement Book. Real life success stories about people not working, 25 reasons to retire early, and retirement quotes, letters, jokes, and poems from an author whose books have sold over 550,000 copies worldwide.
  • Canada Pension Plan: Official Government of Canada Website where you can check out how big of a pension you can expect to get when you retire.

  • CARP: Organization whose mission is to enhance the quality of life for all Canadians as they age. Advocates social change that will bring financial security, equitable and timely access to health care for seniors and retirees.
  • Friendship Resources for Retirees:


Feb 15, 2009

Retirement Resources


Here are four more retirement resources from the 101 Money Websites to Make You Smart and Rich:


  • US Government Website for Retirees: Information for the retired and soon-to-be retired including money and financial issues.

  • Zen Habits: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essentials … in Work and in Life. With a definite Zen flavour, this Blog covers many subjects.

  • World Leisure Organization: You can't be truly happily retired unless you can enjoy leisure to its fullest. Once you retire, leisure instead of work can be the force for creativitiy, pesonal wealth, human growth, individual development, and well-being.

  • Retirement Income Calculator: You can estimate your retirement benefits at this U.S. Government website.

Check out the progress of my E-book 101 Reasons to Love a Recession at:

Ernie Zelinski's Blog on Amazon

Also check:

Fun Things to Do When You Retire

Feb 9, 2009

Retire Early Resouces





Here parts of 2 of my recent posts on my Redroom Blog which may help you retire early:
  • Being Average Is for Losers: In my speech about The Joy of Not Working that I made to 2,000 members of the National Turkish Society for Quality in Istanbul on November 26th, one of the success principles that I covered was "Practice the Art of Nonfinishing."The whole point of this topic was that people don't quit their careers, jobs, projects, or even marriages often enough. So, it was no surprise to read The Dip.
  • How to Benefit from a Recession: A recession is obviously upon us, which means fewer corporate jobs and sinking consumer confidence.There are many benefits of an economic recession, however, that are overlooked by the majority. If you want to make the U.S. ecomonic recession a bad thing, it becomes a bad thing. If you want to look at the U.S. economic recession as a good thing, it becomes a good thing.

Here are 3 more great websites that made the list on The Money Cafe Resource Page:

Feb 7, 2009

Retire Early and Escape the Corporate Jungle Today

Here are quotes about careers and work to help you make the decision to retire early:

    I always wanted to be a degenerate panhandler, but I couldn't quite make it. That's why I got myself an office job.
    — Cartoon in
    The Joy of Not Working

    Sometimes you wonder how you got on this mountain. But sometimes you wonder, "How will I get off?"
    — Joan Manley

    Never continue in a job you don't enjoy. If you're happy in what you're doing, you'll like yourself, you'll have inner peace. And if you have that, along with physical health, you'll have more success than you could possibly have imagined.
    — Roger Caras

    If people really liked to work, we'd still be plowing the land with sticks and transporting goods on our backs.
    — William Feather

    I am afraid that the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety.
    — Jane Austen

    A career is a job that has gone on too long.
    — Jeff MacNelly

    I thought I wanted a career. It turns out, however, that I just wanted paychecks to buy beer.
    — Workplace graffiti
Check out these resources if you want to retire early.




Feb 4, 2009

Creative Money Making and New Topics on The Money Café


Creativity and Money / Making Money

More people of retirment age today than a year ago are interested in making money due to their portfolios being hit by the recent financial collapse. It will take some creativity during these times to make money. Creativity requires breaking the rules.
Bill Gates, the billion-dollar guerrilla who co-founded Microsoft and is a pretty successful rule-breaker himself, says of starting your own company,"The things you know and love and see opportunities in - you ought to pick your business based on that." Sure, you can make a pile of money doing something for the short term, but the problem is the long term. You're not living life for the short term. If you were, you'd get burned out and stressed out doing work that you have to do rather than work that you love to do.

    "If you follow the crowd, you will likely get no further than the crowd. If you walk alone, you're likely to end up in places no one has ever been before. Being an achiever is not without its difficulties, for peculiarity breeds contempt. The unfortunate thing about being ahead of your timeis that when people finally realize you were right, they'll simply say it was obvious to everyone all along. You have two choices in life. You can dissolve into the main stream, or you can choose to become an achiever and be distinct. To be distinct, you must be different. To be different, you must strive to be what no else but you can be."
    — Author Unknown