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Avoid the biggest scams of the year
“Free trial” offers for supplements, stimulus/government grant scams, and so-called “robocalls” urging people to renew an expired auto warranty or reduce their credit card interest rates led the Better Business Bureau’s list of the Top 10 Scams and Rip-Offs of 2009.
“Not surprisingly, many scams sought to take advantage of people who were suffering under tough economic circumstances — such as the unemployed,” the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau wrote in a news release.
PDF Beyond age, generation in the workplace
If you feel like being a “baby boomer” doesn’t define you at work, you’re not alone.
Employees want to be viewed beyond their age and generational stereotypes — for good reason.
“Because of when you were born, your manager or co-workers may talk to you differently, react to you in specific ways or have preconceived notions about what you like and dislike,” writes Anita Bruzzese, author of 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy … and How to Avoid Them, in a Green Bay Press-Gazette column.
To best engage workers, managers must “look beyond an employee’s age and the generational stereotypes that go with it,” according to Kathy Lynch, director of employer engagement at the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College.
Rather, Lynch suggests, employees should be viewed more in terms of life stage and career status.
“For example, while baby boomers may be thought of as nearing retirement, the truth is that many in their 50s these days have begun new careers in new industries and may be more than 20 or more years from retiring — if they retire at all,” according to Lynch.
‘Party advice from an aging boomer’
A good party is one where you think of your guests, “I like you to the extent that I will be a fool before you.”
So says television producer John Roach in the January 2010 edition of Madison Magazine.
“With an impending New Year’s Eve, it would seem unlikely to take party advice from an aging boomer. But hold on. Boomers invented parties. They were in mud, but they were fun nonetheless,” Roach writes.
What makes a great party? All you really need is singing and dancing, Roach says. With a few “Secret Party Tools” and some techniques to get — and keep — the fun going, you’ll be ready to rock on Dec. 31. Read Roach’s column “How to Party.”
For more information:
- New Year’s Eve toasts
- New Year’s Eve party tips and recipes from FoodNetwork.com
- New Year’s party songs
What are your favorite New Year’s traditions, toasts or songs? Share them here.
Caring for loved ones a part-time job for many
Caring for an elderly or disabled loved one is a part-time job for one in three adults.
According to National Public Radio, the average family caregiver puts in 19 hours a week doing tasks such as bathing and dressing an older or disabled relative, housekeeping and more.
The survey, Caregiving in the U.S. 2009, found that the average age of a family caregiver is 48. Two-thirds of caregivers are women, and 36 percent of the time, they’re caring for a parent. On average, they have been providing care for 4.6 years. The survey, which is updated every five years, is sponsored by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving and receives funding from the MetLife Foundation.
To make time for these added responsibilities, survey respondents said they had:
- Taken a leave of absence (20 percent);
- Reduced work hours or taken a less demanding job (12 percent);
- Turned down a promotion (6 percent);
- Lost job benefits (6 percent);
- Taken early retirement (3 percent); or
- Given up work entirely (9 percent) to care for a loved one.
Most respondents didn’t consider caregiving a hardship, but the longer they had been providing care, the more likely they were to report their own health as fair or poor. More than half said their caregiving responsibilities took time away from their friends and other family. Read more at NPR.org.
More resources:
The University of Wisconsin-Extension Family Caregiving Program offers several classes for caregivers, a listing of resources, and detailed reports on caregivers in each Wisconsin county.
The Family Caregiver Alliance web site provides a wealth of information and a state-by-state Family Care Navigator.
Shop smart and stretch your gift dollars
Who couldn’t use a little advice to spend less and stretch your dollar further on holiday gifts, especially as Christmas gets nearer? Here are a few tips to get to January stress- and debt-free, some of them courtesy of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and The Washington Post.
Survey highlights needs of Wisconsin boomers
A survey of Wisconsin baby boomers — conducted in the Manitowoc area as research for the city’s Comprehensive Plan — revealed interesting insights about the demographic, which makes up 42 percent of the city’s population of about 33,000.
Saving less for retirement not optional
Are you among the record 51 percent of American households considered at risk of not having enough money to sustain your standard of living in retirement?
Even if you work until age 65, take out a reverse mortgage on your home and use all of your assets, including the reverse mortgage proceeds, to buy an inflation-adjusted lifetime annuity, you may not have enough money to last a lifetime if retirement savings are inadequate, writes nationally syndicated columnist Humberto Cruz in the Nov. 29, 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Age often an asset for financial planners
Wisconsin baby boomers with a mind for money matters may want to consider a career in financial planning.
After all, the average age of financial planners is 58, according to a news story on 89.7 FM WUHM, Milwaukee Public Radio.
