50 plus - lessons to live by

Baby Boomer

2011-03-26T13:10:00.000-05:00

If you are a Baby Boomer then you have influenced the way we are now in America; so they say. The supposed facts are that Baby Boomers were born from 1946-1964, post World War II. There are authors who indicate that the boomers where from 1943-1960. It varies according to writers. There were seventy-six million Baby Boomers born during this time in America. Change was definitely in the making as it is said that from the time these boomers existed; new, old and foreign marketers started thinking of how; in time their business would prosper.

Many aspects of this time in our history indicates that Baby Boomers changed the world in a great way; probably more than any other generation. We are said to have grown up in a time of great expectations for the improvement of the world. We were influential, and as a group, we were the healthiest, and wealthiest generation to that time; so they say and yes it has played out that way in many aspects. People are definitely living longer again.

While some historians indicate that baby boomers were the cockpit of rejection or redefinition of traditional principles, others dispute. It is said that the Boomer generation had a tendency to think of themselves as a special generation. We know that "things" did change in our environment during the years of 1960's and up. It was not a time for abortions and very rarely did you see or should we say, hear of someone who became pregnant and discuss it with their high school friends and certainly no one came to school who was pregnant. Change was in the making, little did we know then just how much.

That said social change occurred which actually means that a lot of conservative ideals went into hibernation. Things started becoming more acceptable and "okay." Everybody does it, so why was it wrong for anyone not to do it....you know....things became socially acceptable. Women became more liberated and this played out in politics and is said to have influenced some of the division in our country now.

Having led up to this err; we know that now, most things are acceptable. People live together without being married, they have children without being married, they have abortions and they don't give a flick about what anybody thinks. Same sex marriage is now acceptable to some. It is all a choice. Children are disrespectful, they order their parents around and tell them what to do as well as what they are going to do; they no longer ask permission. Children today are results of the Baby Boomer liberation. Things have changed and all of it is not for the betterment of families or our country. Not all, but many of the children of Baby Boomer generation believe like their parents have taught them. They have the right to chose their life path regardless of what it is; good or bad for them and their parents do not object. They have not been taught in many instances the values of respect for others, their peers or anyone. They say what they want regardless of who it hurts and believe they are justified.

Most of the children from boomers make their own decision about religion as it is said that in about 1993 by Time Magazine that 42% of baby boomers decided formal religion was not for them, while a third never strayed from church, and about one-fourth were returning to some kind of religious practice. The latter boomers who were returning to religion were of course the ones who had become more liberal and had issues and a defense for abortion and homosexuality.

I am sure that many of us can remember what was going on during these years of transition. We remember when and where we were when JFK was assassinated, Robert Kennedy and MLK. There were major changes in political issues, walk on the moon occurred and of course the draft of the Vietnam War. More sexual freedom, drugs, civil rights movement, women's liberation and many other things occurred during this time and the outrage we see today (about some things) is because of a period of time that some wanted more freedom to do as they wished. I can't help but believe that any parent who's child has taken an overdose of something and died, wish they could go back and change a few things back to the way they once were. More values and less redefinition.

The big question is; has all of these changes to liberalism been for the good of the family or for our country? Is it all good for the generations to follow? Well, it depends upon the individual's values that you ask, and if they let what some people call hangups; hinder the process. Are we Baby Boomers so sure that we have done everything right?

50Plus -Aging With Grace

2011-01-17T14:14:00.002-06:00

Aging with Grace begins with a refinement of the body, mind and soul!

It isn't how good we look; it is of course how we manage what we have to work with, realizing that some things can't be changed and that we are Aging With Grace. If we were all considered equal in this respect; be it 25 or 50Plus; our beautiful world would be tarnished. Our uniqueness is what makes us special and have that natural beauty. It is not what we look like on the outside, but it is how we present ourselves with what God has given us on the inside; that my friend, can make us beautiful. The most beautiful people I know are those who have an ability to see good in others, love others and want others to love them and it has nothing to do with their outward beauty. They keep themselves healthy by eating right, exercising and keeping their mind exercised also. It is not just the outward appearance; it is the inward self.

We have all seen beautiful people destroyed with their destructive actions. Yet, we see some beautiful people who are blessed with looking ageless and they are also beautiful on the inside. Usually the latter, do not see themselves as being this beautiful creature. They see themselves as having a vessel which houses their spirit knowing that is who they really are, and realize their duty is to do good to other in this life. They have the ability to know themselves and know that what we are within is far more important than how we are viewed on the outside by others.

Aging with grace, is part of an inward experience. There is no need to worry, fret or get discouraged with age. Age is inevitable; it is the process of life and it is in our goals (whether we know it or not) to age with grace, or it should be.

It is firmly believed that our mind plays a very large role in how we look, how we express ourselves and how we look to others. Here is why. We have always been told that "as a man thinketh; so is he." If thought about; we can see that as truth. Having watch people who have grown older, there is a great difference in those who have a great attitude, have positive thinking and try to keep being active. When the mind stops being active; things start to go wrong. When the mind stops trying to increase its learning capacity, dwells on the past or stops having something to look forward to; other negative behaviors can occur. It will become a mind that is living beneath its capability; even as we age. If a person has little communication with others, or is frequently alone; after a spouse has died or divorce, the mind can drifts off into a state of suppressed activity. This is when the mind can start deteriorating, if there are not alternatives to change the course of action. (This is not scientific or professional measures, observations based upon reading and seeing others age).

We can use all the facial creams they advertise, spend enormous amount of money, and still we are going to age. There is no cure for aging and we do not have to be a professional to know that. Sometimes one thing we do for ourselves affect us at a later date. For instance; a person with very dry skin, uses moisture cream (every kind in the book) cheap and expensive, and at 60 have pores which have been clogged due to the use of these creams. The Dermatologist can't do anything about it, he says...and he sees it all the time. So, why did he or someone (those who are supposed to know, what works and what doesn't) not tell people that moisture creams will clog your pores; prior to the time it is too late? Good question and another story.

Aging with Grace

We if desire to age with grace and keep our beauty in tact, it means that we think positive, keep active, build new friends if old ones go away, take care of our health and body, and keep our spirit bright with balance and grace. It means that we try to ignore the age we are in numbers, but keep our amenity to live a happy life; at any age but especially after 50Plus.

50 Plus -Information Places

2011-01-16T19:35:00.000-06:00

There is nothing to do but stick together and keep
learning...from our Informational Places...

I don't know about you, I find that the Internet is one key value in my current daily habits. I am plugged up and running just about 10 hours of everyday. Now, before you start thinking that I am addicted to the Internet; that absolutely isn't the case. Since I work online writing; I read, post, address comments, answer emails etc. So, most of the time that I am plugged up; I am working.

That said, I still learn a lot about life through a some email notifications I am signed up with. These are legitimate sources and just might be of interest to you if you are currently not signed up to any. There are many sources which I am not signed up to simple because I do not have the time.

I do get busy and sometimes hate to see the AARP email I get and have refused to read them frequently. Yet, recently I did open up and found some very interesting articles on age and finding employment. It was quite shocking to see that some 52 + ladies have had issues with being able to get new jobs. Something needs to done about the discrimination that is occurring with this issue. I was already suspicious of this but now, know from the Department of Labor that they even recognize it as being true. My question is okay, you know, so now what is the next step.

Since I also write about mortgage lending and finance, I get the Mortgage News Daily. This one is really good, very informative, gives me update information on mortgage lending, but also gives pertinent financial news items such as Geithner on raising the debt ceiling.

Of course, there are many others, The Washington Post, The New York Times, MSN News, Fox News, CBS News, CNN, MSNBC and more. To many to mention here and you probably have some that you get information from that I might not know about. One does not have to get the paper anymore as it is all online. If we read it all, we could do nothing else all day. Still we have plenty to do to keep our minds youthful so that when an opportunity comes up to talk about what is going on in our Nations; we have something to say.

If you are interested in mortgage please know that Mortgage Loan Facts, is one of my blogs that give up to date facts about mortgage lending and this one is fresh off the press.

If you enjoy reading as much as I do writing and reading, you can also find some articles at Hubpages with an variety of subjects.

Here is hoping that today finds you well and happy and not lacking for something good to do in your life; just because you are 50Plus....

My Mom is 90 on January 31st....we can't wait to celebrate. She is doing amazing well and we are happy she is still with us. Her favorite prayer is: "Lord, give me clean hands, a pure heart and a sound mind." He done all three....

Change at 50 Plus?

2011-01-14T14:40:00.000-06:00

One of the most important part of life in general is our ability to Change, even at 50Plus. It is probably not too many of us who think we have learned it all and are satisfied with all of our endeavors. In fact if we were to be absolutely honest; at least some of us would admit that we actually did not see the need to change until we reached 50Plus. Oh, come on...you might as well own up to it...we thought we knew it all until we had some life lessons that we needed to live by going forward. Well, maybe we really didn't think of ourselves as knowing it all but we did not like anyone telling us any different. Okay, that said, life is about change at any age if we are to keep growing on our journey to the end.

There is nothing more aggravating then to talk to someone who can't allow another person to explain something (they really do not know) but they can't admit it; without butting in and saying; "yea, I know." For instance you are trying to tell someone the directions to some place in the city, they have not been to, yet they say; "I know where it is." Why it is so hard to allow another person to give them directions to some event or place they haven't been is not easily understood, but they can't, they know where it is but not the exact streets to take. These wonderful people seem to think that if they do not own up to knowing everything; they will be thought less of. Not, true but still some do have the need to have an attitude of...knowing it all, and that attitude says everything.

Then we have the person who can't use another person's suggestions at work. They have more seniority, they have been in their field of work for a very long time; their way is the way or no way. They simply have not learned that even the person hired yesterday just might have the clue to making a profit pronto; if someone would listen. It is simply that some people have a high degree of intelligence and their are clued into certain things better than some us. Their ideas could save money, build new clientele, and make your bottom line a profit and you could have a genius on your hands and not know it. Why does this person have to wait 20 years to get recognition? Any leader, any person who is running a company and trying to manage personnel at this point needs a little emotional intelligence and should know that it is the efforts of ALL personnel that gets the job done and it is not always those in charge. The little person on the block should be listened to also.

We also have the individuals who know more than they show. They are self conscious and fear being exploited if they speak up. They know their stuff but can't voice it. So people leave them alone as long as they do their job.

We then have the bully, kind of...who is the loud mouth. He just talks without saying much at all. He is a good guy but doesn't know when to shut up. Everyone else just grins and bears it....marginally...

Then we can look at someone who is always complaining; not just at work if they are still working but even at the grocery. They tell you all about every pain and ache, how much medicine they are taking and how often and what the doctor took them off of. They tell about all of kids...all nine of them and where they are and what they are doing.....not that you don't care but this happens every time you see them.

Of course we have the person who is never friendly. They make that half smile very quickly than get very serious again. They appear to be stuck up. Are they? Well, maybe not. Maybe they are just a little uncomfortable with being either with new people or do not share much conversation with anyone. Maybe they warm up in time. Maybe they are self conscious for some reason.

There are many other habits that all of us develop through the years that maybe we should take a look at. You know, it wouldn't even hurt to ask someone close to us if we had an unfavorable trait that might need fixing. Nothing wrong with that; is it? Nope, not a bit. If we want to grow, and we should, to become
better human beings, we must be open to change all of our life even Change at 50Plus.

50 Plus - Stay Healthy

2011-01-12T16:53:00.001-06:00

When we reach 50 Plus it is more than ever the right time to focus on trying to Stay Healthy. We each know that it is always the right time to Stay Healthy, but somehow as we go about life and life things; we venture off the right path and forget our health. This is never acceptable or healthy and sometimes we end up with health issues that are serious and lead to prescription drugs. We should develop a plan in our life early to avoid the common mistakes of others and stay focused on retaining health habits.

Health Habits:

eat three meals a day; do not skip meals
avoid eating too much fat, stick to vegetables, eat fruits the right way, and beans with some meat products that is lean
avoid too much salt
avoid eating too many sweets
avoid snacking too much
watch the bread you eat
drink mild in moderate amounts
drink 8 glasses of water a day
avoid too much caffeine and alcohol
exercise
read a book, it keeps the mind healthy
think positive thoughts, change them if needed
watch your attitude

Important emphasis:

Iron: A lack of sufficient iron in a person's diet can generate the following symptoms: fatigued, lightheaded, pale around the eyes, rapid and forceful heartbeat, low blood pressure with a position change of sitting and standing, tongue may become sore, hair brittle, become susceptible to disease, a need to eat non foods like ice, disturbed sleeping habits and sometimes abdominal paid.

Main Sources of Iron: Iron is broken down into HEME iron foods and NON-HEME foods.

HEME food sources are: meat, poultry and fish.
NON-HEME food sources are: fruit, vegetables, dried beans, nuts and grain products.

One of the issue with not receiving sufficient iron is due to the fact that iron is not readily absorbed into the body and eating or drinking certain things with the foods you eat play a role. The availability in the body is also determined by what the type whether it is HEME or NON-HEME iron.
What will increase the absorption of non-heme iron: Vitamin C - oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, broccoli and strawberries.
This will decrease the absorption of non-heme iron: consuming large amount of tea, coffee, high fiber foods and a high intake of calcium.

Diabetes-

Diabetes is broken down into several types but any type you might have is from the fact that you have too much glucose in your blood. Meaning it is not breaking down into energy for the cells in your body which is due to insufficient hormonal insulin being secreted by the pancreas and can in fact can affect your health in many terrible ways. How glucose is broken down is vastly important as this is the main fuel for the body.

Glucose and how it should work in the body: Glucose comes from two main sources; the food you eat and the liver. The liver is like a storage tank and stores glucose for when it is needed to keep the levels of glucose within normal range. The glucose (your source of energy) flows into the cells and is normally broken down with a hormone called insulin from the pancreas. The normal process is that the pancreas secretes enough hormone insulin to break down the amount of blood sugar going into the bloodstream. When the pancreas does not secrete sufficient insulin, this is when an individual develops a high percentage of blood glucose and cause severe problems such as going into a diabetic coma without immediate medical attention.

When we do not have sufficient insulin to break down the blood glucose or sugar into energy; we become known as a diabetic. Sometimes this can be alleviated by watching the diet; if the condition is not severe On occasions some people must take oral insulin to help with the break down. Then it can progress to needing insulin by injections daily.

There are two mail types:

Type 1: diabetes is when your immune system, which should fight the harmful bacteria or viruses, attacks and destroys the insulin producing cells in the pancreas. This leaves you with little or no insulin. Sugar then builds in your bloodstream instead of distribution into your cells.

Type 2: This is when your cells become resistant to the actions of insulin, and your pancreas is unable to provide or make sufficient insulin to overcome this resistance. The same as type1; the sugar builds up in the bloodstream and doesn't move into the cells as it would normally. The reason is stated as being unknown for sure but that excess fat is known as a factor; such as abdominal fat.

Risk Factors: This depends upon the type of diabetes.

Weight
Inactivity
Family History
Race
Age

Gestational diabetes:

Gestational diabetes is when diabetes is developed while pregnant. This is because the placenta produces hormones and this makes the cells more resistant to insulin.

Conditions which are also associated with diabetes are:

High blood pressure
High bad cholesterol
Low good cholesterol
High levels of triglycerides, a fat in the blood

We have elaborated more on diabetes because it affect so many people in so many ways and it a common disease that needs a lot of care. How to protect yourself if you have the disease:

good eating habits
exercise
not eating excessive sweets and possibly none
eating more of a bland diet
visit you doctor
take your medicine
eat regular meals, do not skip
go by a diet plan

Disclaimer:

As always any medical condition should be followed closely with a family physician and a person should seek professional help. This site is not a medical professional site. This is an awareness site only. The information is given from study and researched material. Diabetes should never be dismissed as temporary unless you have the advise of a physician. Get professional help and evaluation, have them give you a diet to follow, exercise and follow doctors orders.

Sources include: Mayo Clinic

Retirement Savings Plans

2011-01-12T13:00:00.001-06:00

It is important at any age and especially in this economy to have a Plan for Retirement and understand all there is to know about different Retirement Savings Plans. One does not have to have or need a financial degree to know that to have assets; liquid or non-liquid, one must not spend all of the money that is coming into the household. One must learn the importance of saving. Saving as much as one can, because you never know when you might need something extra, like medical expenses not covered by insurance, car repair, any number of other things, and not have the funds to get what is needed. This is how people get into debt in the first place, so much of the time. Something breaks in the house and there is not any money saved and then a loan must be made to cover the expenses. Sometimes this is repeated over and over again and that is what allows people to fall into the category of having too much debt and insufficient savings. 2010 has not been a great year. It is hopeful that people have learned and want to change their money decisions in 2011.

How to Plan for Retirement (at any age, not just 50 Plus):

Make a budget and stick to it.
Be frugal with spending and only buy what you need, not what you want.
Do not charge on credit cards, if you don't have the money to buy it, don't buy it.
Sign up for a Roth 401K or regular 401K at work. The Roth 401K is after tax contributions. A regular 401K is before taxes. In most cases the employer will match up to 6% of your salary up to a certain amount of money each year and is taken out of income each pay period. This is added to your salary, if you think about it, as extra income. It is one of the fastest ways to accumulate savings. It is not an account that you can draw out of when you want, it is there and builds employer contributions and interest. It is safe and you will not miss the money, you don't have to go to the bank to deposit it, it is done for you. Just do it! It is stated by some financials professionals that if you do not have access to a Roth 401K, then it is best to have a Roth IRA.
If you have money over and above what you put into 401K; think about a Roth IRA. There is a regular IRA that is before tax and can be used as a tax deduction. A Roth IRA is: An individual retirement account that is after tax savings. A Roth IRA is a modified individual retirement account which allows a person to contribute after-tax dollars up to a specific amount each year. Earnings on the account are tax free, and tax-free withdrawals can be made after 59.5. A Roth IRA is not tax deductible. These IRA accounts may be account with investments from mutual funds, CD, common stocks etc.
Mutual Funds: Investors pool their money and invest in an assortment of investment securities. When these investors buy a mutual fund, their investment dollars are used to purchase new shares of the mutual fund. Shares of the mutual fund are created for the new investor. These new shares are issued to the new investor, and the new investor's dollars are combined with dollars of the other investment holders. Mutual funds Investors have what is called a portfolio manager and this manager then buys investments according to the objective of the funds. The objectives will be known by the investors and the results is that the investors can invest a relative small amount of money but have access to professionally managed and diversified portfolio.
Money Market: these are open-end mutual funds which invest in short-term investment securities. These funds have relatively low risk compared to other mutual funds. They also pay dividends that generally reflect short-term interest rates. These money market investment securities are not like a money-market account at the bank; they are not federally insured. Normally Money Markets invest in government securities, certificates of deposits, commercial paper of companies, or highly liquid and low risk securities.
Certificates of Deposits: These are cash funds which a person will asks their bank to put into a certificate with a going rate at the time which can be 6 months, 1 year, 24 months, 36 months etc. It will draw interest at that specified rate until the term is up. The CD can be cashed in but the interest on the CD will be lost for the remaining period and a new CD can be made for monies over and above those desired for cashing out. CD rates at the present are very, very low. It is probably wise at this point in time to only tie up funds in a CD for a very short length of time. If this is the choice of savings.
Stocks: Most of us know that we can buy stocks of publicly traded companies. It is sometimes wise to start investing in new companies who have the potential for growth if one has the money they do not need for any purpose for the long term. So many stocks have fallen and these can be watched daily online and in the daily new papers. They stability of the company should always be investigated before purchasing. Of course if one has a good investment manager; part of their job is to make sure you do not invest in stock that is on the decline rapidly.
Savings and checking accounts: these are cash accounts where you put you money to draw interest. The interest on these accounts are fairly equal to the CD rates at this time. The rates are very low at this time in our economy, but federally insured and not as risky as other investments.

These are a few of savings plans that exist. It is really wise to choose a representative to help you diversify your money. When you look for a portfolio manager for yourself; it wise to know who you are working with, the company and their background. Review, investigate, get references. Of course most of the larger firms are insured; Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, TRowePrice, Merrill Lynch and many others. International funds sometimes are better investment for the dollar.

It is wise to have a portfolio manager who is experience and who can give you the pros and cons of each investment group you choose to put your funds into. For instance; which ones are safest, which ones are insured, which ones you will benefit the most, even if it is somewhat risky. They have the details and they also have their experience with other investor; who have gained and who have not.

Something to Make Us Laugh

2011-01-10T10:08:00.001-06:00

Most of us could use a laugh and Maxine is pretty much for everyone. She sees life with solutions; hers. Sometimes we might do well to see things the way she does and thereby live with less stress.

It is said that laughter is medicine for the soul. I agree, that we laugh not enough. Try laughing when you want to cry, praying when you want to scream, being thankful when you are feeling sorry for yourself. You might see a great change in the way your life unfolds.

50 Plus-Stop Counting

2011-01-09T20:48:00.002-06:00

It is very easy to get caught up in watching the calendar for the next birthday after we reach 50 plus and we need to Stop Counting and just LIVE just for today. Why do we do this?  Well, let's think about how life goes.  Some of it is that we are developing wrinkles that we do not like, creases that are caused from not enough exercise, some brown spots on our skin, sagging skin here and there, and various other things that come with age.

Some of us are still employed, some aren't, but those that are, live with being afraid that any day they will replace us with the younger, more vibrant beauty the company just hired. So, we look in the mirror each day, see how many wrinkles are new, and to make sure they aren't getting deeper, we try all of the co-called preventive measures which only takes our hard earned money. Some of us go to the Dermatologist and get botox, face lifts, tucks and much more, and the efforts go on trying to stay 40. We beef up our exercise for a week or two, start reading more to refresh our mind, work some crossword puzzles and write in our journal. We go and look in the mirror again, and guess what; nothing has change....we are still the same...but our mind is set on getting older and we don't like it. Little do we realize that the mind controls the body, not vise versa. You can't keep age away; that would not be normal, but you can prolong it with positive thoughts and just accepting it as it comes with grace.

If we dig a little deeper to ponder why, we are counting our days, is it simply because we know that our days are most likely numbered, (we think) and we realize that we do not have as long as we did, once upon a time. Yet, as far as we knew (really) we had only each day to live our life to the fullest all along.  We probably blew some of it, most likely; without thinking about it. We actually started our journey to the end; the day we were born, without knowing when, yet we didn't worry about it. We did not count the days, as we now count the days. You might not care to think about it in this way, but it is no less; the truth.

Much of our time on earth is spent with foolish living, want and wanting more, without a true perception of what our life really should be about. So now, my friend, why do we count the days and sometimes anticipate the hours of a day when we reach a certain age? We should not and we should not continue to dread tomorrow as we really do not know any more now, than we ever did then?  We should simply Stop Counting at any age and live our life so that it will be called; "a life without regrets."

Yes, we have wrinkles we used to not have, with a few aches and pains that are just part of getting older and wiser. We begin to lose control over some of our thinking and can't remember where we left the keys. Hey, that's okay...we all do it and it can happen at any age.

You know, this strikes me a kind of funny, because from the moment we are born; we start losing our youth. It is part of life, it is meant to be and we will survive until the end regardless. We just need to remember being 50 plus is not ancient, and just stop counting. It is up to us as to how we survive through our latter years. We are only as old as we feel or think. We must remember to live each day with gratitude, faith and courage. We should remember that as our wrinkles grow, so does our wisdom and we have certainly come to far to end our life without dignity. As we age, we know the hard stuff is behind us and the present may seem like long days and nights sometimes, but we are here for a purpose. We really need to Stop Counting and stop worrying about being 50 plus.

50 plus-Unemployment

2011-01-08T18:56:00.002-06:00

One of the most Successful 50 Plus people in the world. Still employed!

So what is wrong with this picture? Nothing, but why are we seeing too many 50 Plus people having trouble finding and staying employment in this Country because of their age?

As most of us age into our 50 plus years, both men and women; we become more concerned with keeping our job, and staying healthy than we actually think about just how old we are. We try to make sure our capability isn't lacking and we are thinking nothing about retiring immediately. At least most of the 50 plus group. We start thinking about how we can live successfully until retirement without falling short of what we need to live comfortably at that time. We are certainly more concerned with the depth of our savings than the depth of our wrinkles. Well, most of us... We know we do not have as many years as we previously had to make the pennies add up into dollars but we really are not packing up the boxes to go anywhere, at least not for now. However, many have had no choice but to pack up and move on and have had terrible luck in finding comparable employment after losing jobs they have had for years. Most of us know that keeping up with the changes in technology and in our preferred profession, is highly important and competitive. It is most important as the younger generation comes forward with new energy, new ideas and most companies want to look more up-to-date with personnel and technology.

To make sure we all understand; successful has no age limit yet the facts are growing in our society that it really does. While keeping up with our reads on life after 50; something from AARP has given us some statistics. These statistics reiterated to me what we already knew.

The Labor Department has been quoted as saying that workers 55 and over have been hit hard in the economic crisis. Harder than most; their savings have been depleted, some have lost their homes and they cannot find new employment. It appears that older workers not only are dealing with record-high levels of unemployment, but also stay jobless longer than others. In fact, a report on AARP indicated that these same older workers are being dubbed as the New Unemployable. Folks, this proves a point that I had already noticed.

Here is the exact quote from the AARP article:

"The report by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College and the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University concluded that "those 55+ may be suffering from age discrimination and employer biases." Those in their late 40s and early 50s also cited age as the reason for their continued unemployment"

Now this does not make for good reading for many of those who do not intend to retire when we had to but may be forced to if they can't find suitable employment for which they are qualified. Strangely the report also indicates that unemployment for workers 55 and over is at the highest level since 1948 and was quoted by the assistant secretary for policy at the Labor Department and told to EEOC.

This is quite interesting as it indicates that in August of 2010 older workers were at 7.4 percent unemployment which was up 3 percent from the pre-recession days of November 2007. It appears that these same older workers have to spend longer time searching for work; if finding it at all. These workers were unemployed on an average of 44.6 weeks, way above any other working group.

While older employee are supposed to be protected from discrimination in hiring, firing, layoffs, promotions and pay; it has been observed that the number of EEOC age discrimination charges related to dismissal is at an all-time high in 2008 but slightly dropped in 2009. This report indicated that there are fewer hiring cases brought to court than dismissal cases as the former is harder to prove. Which of course is the plan of the company; I am sure they have back up excuses.

This touches home for this writer. Having worked in the city and commuting, I thought that I would try to gain employment close to my primary residence to eliminate the cost of sleeping in the city while on the job. Went to an employment agency and I was told the following: "You know that after 40, it is hard for us (the employment agency) to get employment for workers." Well, I went home and of course with extensive experience in mortgage lending; I was fortunate enough to get another contract job offer in the city, which lasted about 1 year total. I took the job making what my experience dictated and four times more than I would have made from a job provided by the employment agency. Of course my primary residence is in a small town and the country. There is no gainful employment in the country and that is yet another article. However, later I received a call while working on the job in the city and this was the exact words of the lady who called me: "We have a person who is interested in hiring a "mature person" to apply." Job discrimination, nothing less.

My question would be how are they going to enforce higher retirement age and keep the older Americans working up until they are ready to retire? This is a concern for any individual approaching 55.

My perception is that while the companies want the younger more favorable looking women working in the main office to attract the customers who come in; why is it that most of time you see older men who are not as likely to lose their jobs as older women. This is definitely discrimination. However, the report and study that we have mentioned indicates that during most recent period that the outlook for older men grew from 7.9 percent in September to 8.3 percent in October. Can't hardly dispel that thought.

We also know that hiring older workers of 50 Plus, drives up the total insurance cost that the company has to pay. Their portion which they contribute is higher and it causes their bottom line to be lower. This is a fact from experience, having worked in an office to obtain reasonable health insurance for a group in a mortgage brokers office. My efforts failed; no insurance was provided. It appears that salary that is dictated by experienced workers also gives the companies an excuse to hire younger employees.

It is high time that this stops and that we can get those who need to work; back to work regardless of their age. If they can perform the duties; then who can tell them to go home? No one should be able to and there is not enough watch on this part of our laws of the land.

Below is just another confirmation to what we are saying here:

It appears that some have taken assessment test online to meet the qualifications on for the job. Their score is practically 100%. The prospective employer tells them to come in for the face to face interview and they go. They are interviewed by younger people who tell them they will call them if anything opens up. These people are qualified and in some cases only 52 years old.... (not old). No call back from the company. This gets even sticker and way out of place in our country. Some employment seekers have also indicated that they have gotten face lifts to look younger; now this is exaggeration or maybe desperation...but should not be taking form in our country.

What is happening in our Country is simply discrimination and should be put to death by Congress and require that all State and Federal regulations are the same.

50 Plus- What You Think Defines You!

2009-10-11T18:42:00.017-05:00

The beauty of the Rose, never fades!

No one needs a psychology degree to know that What You Think Defines You as we have in most cases learned if we want to feel good; we think good thought. We know that if we think depressing thought; we want to crawl in the bed and cover our heads.

By the time most of us have reached 50 plus we understand life a little differently than we did early on.  We have been enlightened a great deal by watching other person's work, struggle, fail, succeed, cry, laugh and question. Some wins and some losses. We have seen our parents live the best they knew how, but without as much information as we have today. Our opportunity is greater; therefore it seems we have not excuses.

We know that we must build our mind power, just like our body strength, so that our 50 plus years are just as good as, or better than our when we were 30 or 40. We have read, studied and prayed that we do not get Alzheimer’s, chemical imbalance or any disease that would impair our ability to think, live, work and play and be just as functional and happy through what can be the best years of our life.

By the time we are 50 years old we still think we have life in front of us and we do, but, it seems to change very quickly going forward. We aren't being negative, but there are some thoughts to ponder. If we were to look back (those of us that have passed 50) to remember when we reached 50; we were busy as a bee still trying to figure out who we were; where we wanted to live and how we wanted to live. Some probably still trying to find happiness. Well, we know now that you can't find it! You have to develop it. It is usually right in front of you and you are letting it pass you by, when actually you should have already been wise enough to know the difference. We really started thinking and living differently after a few years when we got the AARP application in the mail, telling us we are now "senior citizens." That sick feeling appears...only for a time though, as you realize, you really aren't old; you have to change your thoughts and realize that the best is yet to come. Maybe some 40 year old should read this; huh? Nothing stays the same, life is forever changing....but we don't have to take the 50 plus years sitting down, we should be happier than we were when, "we didn't know much".

Being 50 or 50 plus is still not old and the quality of life is how you think, that defines you, not the age. If you feel young, you act young, if you keep you mind abreast of what is going on around you, instead of watching TV 4 hours at night, you will appear to be younger. You read, you study, you keep learning and you stay on the job as long as you can. It keeps you young! If you know that Miley Cyrus is an idol, then you know some of what is going on around you. To keep young, we have to stay updated; updated to the last craze, fashion, technical phones, computers and toys.  It is not how old you are; it is what you know.

At the wonderful time in our life, in our 40+ we are sailing through life at high speed, we haven't learned yet that "what you think-defines you, thoroughly; or have we?  Our careers are either settled or approaching the high end of what we expected, AND we know everything. We think! We have either become successful, if that was our desire, and know how to gain respect in our accomplishments. When we are 40 and counting seem to want to take on the world. We have found our place and we take charge of it.

By the time we reach 50, we sometimes take too much authority without reviewing the consequences and this is evident in our society today, in this period of life, people have more mid-life crisis, women and men alike. Somebody somewhere gives us more attention than we really need and we think we are unhappy. If only in this time in anyone’s life, they could stop and realize that this is only a whim and I should know better. It is when it is time to go home, take a cold shower and “let it go." That is always the right answer. It would save a lot of broken homes, children who miss mom or dad, life would be much easier, and we could go on for hours on that subject. Being happy where you are, who you are with and with what you already have, is a state of mind. One must the be happy with themselves before they can be happy with someone else. This is true at any age.

At any age, but especially when we are 50 plus and counting it is important to spend our time relishing good stuff. Good stuff to include our spiritual self, our family, friends and our well being. It is important at 50 plus years to slow down, think before we leap, pray before we leave and especially remember that being at peace means we have made the right decisions. There are things that we cannot avoid. Life is life and there is not a thing we can do to avoid some of the stuff that is not positive in our life. Have you noticed? It is not always the situation but, HOW WE RE-ACT TO THE SITUATION.

There are many people, who have had more than their share of downturns, you see them and you envy them because they act as though nothing is wrong, and you would not know there was a problem whatsoever. They have mastered a very strong attribute to thinking. They are thankful people, who know that things could very well be worse, life is not a piece of cake all the time, life hands you a problem and you deal with it knowing, "this too shall pass". They have mastered, 50 plus or not, what you think defines you!

It has often been said that what you think is what you get!  An example is a little lady who will be 90 years old very soon and is, of course a long way over 50 plus. Yes, she has had her share of illnesses, hospital stays, issues and is now living in a Nursing Home. These health problems have affected her health and life, but if you talk to her, in so many ways she is extremely well above others residents in the Nursing Home. She makes her bed, sometimes, dresses herself, and has most of her mobility. You name it and there is not too much she can’t do for herself. She is self sufficient in so many ways. Yes, when she was admitted to the home, she was not in a condition to do these self sufficient things but she has overcome most of the inefficiencies. There are a couple of mind issues, but all and all, she is doing so well for her age. Yet, she thinks she is alone with people all around her. If it is not family, she has no one! When you mention how well she is doing, she returns with “you just don’t know how I hurt, I did not sleep a wink last night." Do you get my drift? She is actually doing really well for the age. The only thing really wrong is that she gets lonely.

What and how you think affects the mind 50 plus or 50 minus. What you do affects the mind. The more we cultivate our mind with good things; the better quality of life we have. The more we read the more knowledge we have. If we exercise, our health is better and our body certainly could look better even at 50 plus.

One of my favorite authors regarding the state of the mind is; Dr. Wayne W. Dyer. In his book, Change Your Thoughts-Change you Life; he states; “Be creative in your thoughts, in your feelings, and in all of your actions. Apply your own uniqueness to everything you undertake." The writer himself changed his life to help others, “more proficiently." In several of his books, he concentrates on the mind. Telling his readers how powerful the mind is and the need to control it, instead of our mind controlling us. It is important at any age to exercise our mind as well as the physical self. If we try to implement Dr. Dyer’s suggestions we keep improving our life; instead of going backward.

Thinking that what will be, will be, is not always true. We can turn our thoughts to positive things and change our life in a positive way. We are challenged in life, we will face trial and error. If we are doing things which bring negative results, negative actions appear. What you think, is what you get and "What you think- is what defines you" at 50 plus or any age.

50 Plus-Lessons To Live By

2009-10-09T23:45:00.248-05:00

"Our 50 Plus Lessons teach us about how and how not to live. Theses lessons give us courage and strength we did not know we had, and we learn that being 50 plus, is just not all that bad."

One of the most important lessons to learn and live by, as we grow older, is that beauty is much less important than being considered as wise, knowledgeable and courageous. When we reach our 50 plus years, if we have learned anything at all; we know that age brings with it a different kind of beauty. Not the beauty of being young, but the beauty of having learned something along the way and lessons we do not want to live again. We have learned that, who we are on the inside, gives us far more quality than just being another pretty face.

Wisdom, strength, stability and power are a few of the attributes we should have obtained when approaching our 50 plus years.  Yes, I did say, power! The power to make sound decisions about our life without reservations or approval from others. It does not matter how beautiful a person is outwardly, if they have a bad attitude, no respect for others and can't find their way in the dark. When we reach 50 plus; we are looking for friends who have gained respect for themselves and who are less likely to need someone to make them happy.  We know there is no age limit being successful. But this time, we know that being alone is not the worst of our problems.

It seems that a lot of women, before 50 are trilled when someone tells them "you look good", but by 50 plus, we know they are just trying to make our day. We associate being told we look good, with being liked.  If we feel beautiful, we have it made! Beauty is everything, right? Wrong! This goes for being young or 50 plus.  Most of have found that with age, we wise up and stop waiting for the compliments or someones approval and go within to search our souls and realize that true beauty is not at all about how we look, how rich we are, how successful or how well we married, if we are married. Wisdom is accepting who we are, the lessons we have learned and how well we respond to those lessons. Beauty shines through at any age when we treat other people with respect, dignity and honor and have learned how to treat ourselves. Wisdom is; sharing the credit of a job well done with someone else, because you know that you can do a better job with the help of others, than you could do alone. Lessons of being wiser is knowing that a no one can master everything, but you should teach and share what knowledge you have.

Lessons of being wiser is being 50 plus and accepting that there are life changes each day of our life. That's life! We live, we change, and we become wiser for the better or either continue living a life without learning. If we do not learn from our past or mistakes, then we usually wind up feeling sorry for ourselves, start to envy someone who has their "ducks in a row", and wallow in our misery.   What we should do is; accept that tomorrow is another day (if we live) , a chance to live life differently, another chance to grow and learn. Beauty nor wisdom, is what we see on the outside, it is what dwells within and we are 50 plus-and living wiser when we accept this fact.

Let me try to elaborate, in a little detail what I mean. I have a cat named, Kitty Girl, she was actually a stray that we took into our home because we felt sorry for the little angel. No, she is not 50 plus and living wiser, but this is a story worth telling, I think. We took Kitty in and began to give her love, lo and behold she loves the outside, more than she loves us. We failed to take her to the Vet immediately, so guess what!  She was with child.....just a child herself, were my thoughts. On February 14th of this year, I was home from a contract commitment and Kitty decided she would have her babies. I was a little scared myself because I had never delivered kittens. Yes, I did read a few details and what to expect online. (It did help)! Anyway, with my help Kitty Girl had (4) kittens. Not any of the kittens were beautiful (in the beginning) but after awhile, after they became a little older and started trying to climb out of their bed, they, like most all kittens were cute as a bug in a rug. Almost, that is, except the runt whom we call, Blackie. Blackie, is black of course, (the only kitten that had any black on it) solid black, with no stripes or white anywhere to be found, and I thought so ugly. Actually he looks like a very different breed, what exactly, I don't have a clue, but this ugly little solid black kitten, taught me something I needed to remember and never forget.  Something I really already knew; you can't judge a book by it's cover." Not an original quote by me of course, but oh so powerful. Back to Blackie later.

I am no authority on the lessons of living wiser after 50 plus nor do I pretend to be, but as most everyone else, I have had a few lessons. Though they were hard at the time; it made me a stronger individual.

Being 50 plus and wiser, in good health and happy is quite a feast, if you will. It is a mindset. How we think is how we feel, how we act and how well we act. Some of the younger generation may look at us and say we are "old" and they do, but one day they will be in our shoes. If you have been reading what I have been reading then you and I know that "old" is only when "you" think you are old. 50 is now 40 etc. I am told; do I believe that? It really doesn't matter.

Let me get back to my Blackie, before I close. Blackie, was actually the first kitten to crawl out of their bed. Runt, I thought, I was very wrong about this little fellow. He was playful and first at everything. It was amazing to watch. Sugar was my pick of the litter and we gave the twins away, but Sugar was the one I wanted to love me. Sugar was somewhat a loner then, not too loving and didn't accept much love. Blackie, on the other hand, is a loving little creature. At end of the day, he has made a habit of coming to me and he will put his little paw on my face as if to say, thank you Mom, I love you. He is gentle and does not hurry to get away, like his sister.

In this 50 plus -and living wiser story, I am sharing with you how this little black, ugly kitten has shown me that you never, ever judge anyone before you know them. Not by the way they look, what they wear or where they come from. Sometimes things are not as they seem. You have developed wisdom and beauty when you realize that there is beauty in everyone, if we look for it. It may be buried deep, but it is there somewhere.

Being 50 plus and wiser is sometimes more exciting than when we are 40 plus. We care less about impressing anyone; we are just excited we are where we are in life and do not want to go back to the days when we were naive. We have learned to appreciate life each day, knowing now, no one has forever. We have learned it is not how much money we make but how much we can save. We have learned that everybody makes mistakes and we must forgive. We have learned that it is not only in life's plan to be good to our self but to be good to others. We have learned that even "sunshine burns if we get too much, so we decorate our own souls, instead of waiting for someone to bring us flowers." This is some of the Lessons To Live By.