So Baby Boomer: Life Tips

Boomers Rethink Retirement

The expensive approach to retirement is to pile up so much money that you'll be safe no matter how long you live or what goes wrong with your health or the markets.  But for many Baby Boomers, the amount required seems ridiculously out of reach.

Boomer assets in IRAs and defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s fell more than $2 trillion last year, according to the Investment Company Institute.  The repercussions of the financial crisis will be felt for years in the retirement accounts of millions of Americans.  Those who saved industriously have watched their account balances crumble, and the recession has set back that half of employees who lack even basic savings options like their 401(k)s.

In these seemingly out-of-control times, you can actually control many of the factors that will affect your retirement.

Gluten-Free Products

Last July, General Mills released a gluten-free version of its Chex cereal and the company received thousands of grateful emails and phone calls.  Gluten is a key protein in wheat, but many people react badly to it.

Doctors increasingly are diagnosing Celiac disease--in which ingesting gluten causes the body to damage the digestive system.   Moreover, a diet fad is focusing on reducing gluten consumption...and...many quality restaurants today offer a gluten-free menu when requested.

Although only about 1% of the U.S. population has Celiac disease, General Mills says its research shows about 12% of U.S. households want to eliminate or reduce their gluten intake, although some doctors say it's nutritionally important for those who aren't sensitive to it.

The company's Betty Crocker brand is rolling out gluten-free mixes for cookies, brownies and cakes.  The mixes are the first gluten-free offering from a major, mainstream brand in the cake-mix aisle.  Currently, mostly small food companies supply gluten-free products.

Ann Simonds, General Mills' president of baking products, says the company decided to pursue gluten-free products last year after its customer-relations department noticed that customer inquires about food allergies and sensitivities most frequently centered on whether items contained gluten.

Even though retailers have been focusing on trimming products from their shelves recently, the new gluten-free products could get a welcome reception.  "Gluten has increasingly become an area of dietary focus and concern for consumers, and we want to ensure our stores are able to meet their needs," says Haley Meyer, a spokeswoman for grocery giant Supervalu Inc., some of whose stores are now carrying the new Betty Crocker products.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2009

Boomers Beware of Gluten Sensitivity

Gluten is a vegetable protein--most commonly known as wheat protein.  It is found primarily in wheat, rye and barley.  Today, grains (even organic) are genetically engineered to have a high gluten content.  With a high gluten content, you can bake wonderful bread that is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.  But gluten has a dark side.  Many people are allergic or sensitive to it.

If you are completely allergic to it, the diagnosis is usually Celiac disease.  If you are sensitive to it, you will just be chronically sick and disabled.  And if you are like most people, you will go through life never knowing the connection; your doctors will never discover the connection; you will endure endless, useless medical treatments, your life will be impaired in one of a myriad of ways; and no one will ever be able to cure you.

Finding Work After Retirement

It’s tough for sixtysomething professionals to get hired even in the best of times.  And you may face the added stigma of having been out of the workforce for a few years…but things have changed for you.

Today, Baby Boomers are gloomy about their future.  Of those 55 years and up, only 13% say they’re confident they will be comfortable in retirement; that’s down from 30% in 2007.  Many 55-64 boomers have taken a big hit in their average net worth: decreasing from $933,300 in 2004 to $618,100 this year. 

It’s tough out there for all job seekers. 

Unemployment has more than doubled since the start of 2008.  It’s taking longer for laid-off workers to find new jobs.  And when they do, they often end up with a lower salary.

The strategies that follow may be just the extra boost job seekers need to land the right position.  Among the insights: how to organize the job hunt, broaden your network, dress for interviews, and keep from getting low-balled on salary.

Boomer Nanny

Some forecasters predicted this generation of boomer grandparents would be too self-absorbed to help with child care.  But there's no evidence that today's grandparents are backing away.

The proportion of preschoolers cared for primarily by their grandparents while their mothers work rose to 19.4% in 2005, the latest data available, from 15.9% in 1995, the Census Bureau says.  A wave of closings and cutbacks in child-care facilities suggest the trend is continuing.

Some 40% of grandparents who live within an hour's drive of young grandchildren provide regular child care while their mothers work, says a 2008 survey of 500 grandparents by the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, an Arlington, VA, nonprofit.  And grandparents' child care hours rise significantly in the summer the Census Bureau says.

It seems "boomers aren't as spoiled as we thought," says Georgia Witkin, assistant professor of psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, and a senior editor for www.Grandparents.com --a website on grandparenting.  "It was anticipated that a lot of grandparents might establish separate lives and might resent having those interrupted," she says.  While some have, others "like to feel needed."

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2009

Blogging Boomer Carnival #120

As we move from Spring to Summer, the living is easier...as the song goes.

This greatest festival of the year, by bloggers who focus on Baby Boomers' joys and challenges, is a midsummer eve's celebration that just might usher in the best summer of your lifetime!

The summer solstice has come and gone.  Why is that important?
Go read the Midlife Crisis Queen's view of the significance of honoring the solstice

For Northeastern U.S. boomers moving from a wet and gloomy Spring to a sunny Summer will be a welcome occurance according to Rhea Becker at The Boomer Chronicles.

Over in the United Kingdom, Ann Harrison of Contemporary Retirement has 101 ways to detoxify your mind, body and home to improve your enjoyment of Summer.

Need a relaxing moment?  Watch the dolphins have fun at Vaboomer.com (video).

You may be dressed in the latest Summer style, but if your hair is even a little outdated, you’ll look like you are caught in a time warp.  Does your hair look old?  Check out what the Glam Gals say at Fabulous after 40 to find out.

One drawback for postmenopausal women boomers is how to best regulate the effect of summer heat on their body.  As hot weather nudges boomer women to shun constricting clothing, the season's body-conscious styles often make them wish for undergarments that will shape their figures a little.

Taking a summer hike is a great way to connect with nature.  With more than 450 waterfalls, the Smoky Mountain foothills of southwestern North Carolina just beg to be hiked.  Barbara Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels did just that last week, and she shares some of her spectacular waterfall photos.

Summer is the season for road trips.  One of the best sources of road trip information is Jamie Jensen's "Road Trip USA."  Read LifeTwo's interview with the author on what makes a good road trip.

In other boomer life challenges:

Lots of us are having real challenges finding employment in this new economy.  Janet Wendy at Gen Plus stumbled upon a clever twist on job seach in an office building parking lot.

Cirque du Soleil is a world renowned circus, a master at their craft, as well as masters at drumming up publicity.  Andrea Stenberg of the Baby Boomer Entrepreneur takes a look at the strategy Cirque used to get national and international coverage for a recent anniversary.

Dina of ThisMarriageThing remembers the Jackson Five, pop rocks, but what she cherishes  most iare all the things her father taught her.

  

Opening the gate to Fathers

The benefits of having a positive, involved father are well documented by decades of research.

Now, scholars are focusing their microscopes on an obstacle to fathers' involvement:  "gatekeeping" by mothers who control or hamper fathers' interactions with their children.

Of course, fathers are free to choose their level of involvement.  But negative gatekeeping by mothers--grimaces or criticism when men try to change a diaper or feed or play with a baby--can block out even fathers who believe they should be involved, says a 2008 study in the Journal of Family Psychology, led by Dr. Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan.

It's usually moms who do the gatekeeping, but they're not always to blame.  Some fathers invite interference by hanging back or being irritable or anxious.  In other cases, women aren't conscious of their gatekeeping.  Some women whose sense of identity is strongly tied to being a mother may fend off help in order to bolster their self-image, research shows.  Others are simply inclined by nature to bond closely; caring for a baby may be so engrossing for these women that they crowd out dads, says a 2008 study in the journal Family Process.

The bottom line: Simply becoming conscious of gatekeeping and its hazards equips some couples to avoid it.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2009

Blogging Boomer Carnival #119

What has something really cool that you've never seen before and can't get anywhere else? 

The answer is Facebook, which now says it is adding a staggering five million members a week...and...boomer women are the fastest-growing demographic on the site.

Visit the Blogging Boomer Carnival #119 for what's happening in the world of boomers--hosted this week by Ann Harrison at Contemporary Retirement.

Emotions can negatively affect financial decisions

The field of behavioral finance seeks to explain the set of psychological biases that affect people's investment decisions.  If you couldn't bring yourself to sell a loser stock, or if you have picked investments because they felt "safe," there's a good chance you're managing your money with your heart and not your head.

So what are these emotion-based behaviors that hurt our investing performance?

One of the more common examples is a so-called "anchoring" bias.  Everyone develops attachments that can be irrational sometimes, whether to a house, a car, even a person.  People can also get overly attached to a particular investment, believing it will reach--or return to--a certain price.

Another type of bias can cause an investor to ignore realities and do nothing--believing that "I can't sell now.  Look how much I have lost!"  This "loss aversion" bias has become more common due to the market turmoil, behavioral-finance experts say.  Because losses hurt so much, investors tell themselves it's not a loss until they sell.  Unfortunately, this investor could end up seeing that stock investment continue to drop.

Investors with an "overconfidence" bias often trade too much and manage their portfolio on a stock-by-stock basis--while assuming they can beat the market, which probably won't happen.

Observers agree it can be difficult for people to recognize the different types of biases in themselves, and even more difficult to overcome them.  However, while many of these biases exist, investors and financial advisers can work to lessen some of their effects.  Stepping away from the situation before you make a quick investment decision also can help.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June 8, 2009 

Blogging Boomer Carnival #118

Come to the carnival where approximately 12 participating blogs focus on Baby Boomer issues from health to midlife crisis to finance and travel.  As the boomer generation's 60s become the new 40s, this week's boomer-centric articles document newsworthy happenings in their lives.

Be sure to visit SoBabyBoomer's tent at the Blogging Boomer Carnival #118 hosted this week by Wesley Hein at LifeTwo.