Aging Boomers May be a Great Market
Check out Aging Boomers Seen as More of a Market than Burden, a January 1, 2013 article appearing in the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.
I’ve been thinking about starting a small business, and apparently I’m not alone!
The article, by reporters Franco Ordonez and Casey Conley of McClatchy Newspapers, points out that, “… the 78 million boomers – born from 1946 to 1964 – have always broken the mold in terms of setting trends, and some investors and business and community leaders see their retirement as no different.”
While plenty of leaders and policy makers are moaning and groaning about the potential strain on the economy as boomers begin to use government benefits, few or these leaders seem to take into consideration the fact that boomers are working longer and in general reinventing themselves as well as the important parts of their lives — while the generation moves along. The article also points out that many venture capitalists are now asking new start-ups if they have developed an “over-fifty” plan for their businesses. Many seniors, as they retire, are even developing small businesses.
Best Quote
“It’s only in Washington that 100 million people are viewed as an unaffordable cost and financial burden,” said Jody Holtzman, a senior vice president at AARP. “In the private sector, 100 million people are called a market and an opportunity.”
- Check out the AARP Self Employment Page.
- Check out AARP 50+ entrepreneurs opportunities and resources article.
Money, Money, Money
Money is a big, big issue in retirement. While I am several years from my retirement, I think about my plans carefully, wondering almost daily what else I can to ensure my security.
Managing finances for some of our aging parents is a challenge.
And the older people get the bigger an issue it becomes, especially when individuals lack assets, substantial home equity, savings, etc. and still require around the clock care. If you haven’t read A Bittersweet Season, by Jane Gross, you should get a copy, just to learn about all the issues she encountered and attempted to solve during the last year of her mother’s life.
Another thoughtful post appeared over at the Life With Father blog. In his April 25th post, Money, Chuck writes about the challenges of managing his father’s finances — his father is in a nursing home — while money slowly runs out.
Thanks to the Elders Who Built My Church Community
Sometimes at my church in late October we sing the hymn, For All the Saints. At that service we remember the many dedicated and committed people who have died over the course of the year. For me, this service is always a time to think about long time members, most of them elders and many the age of my parents, who have accomplished much and made the world and community — not just our church — a better place.
This celebration of All Saints’ Day makes me think about getting older, how much life I have left to live (quite a few years, I hope), and whether, when the time comes and my life ends, I will look back and feel like I have lived my life with service to others.
My church is celebrating its centennial year, and right now it’s mid-May, not October. I just enjoyed another opportunity to listen and ponder the well-lived lives of elders (age-wise, not in the church governing sense), some departed, but a good many still alive and active. So many of these people, contributing time and talent, ensured during the first 75 years, that the church would endure for generations, making is possible for the rest of us to celebrate this 100th year. For three hours people shared stories and special memories about the history and lives lived in ways that affect change without rubbing their religion in the face of others. Though it was a long afternoon, hardly anyone left before the event ended.
Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: an Entertaining Metaphor for Aging
Visit IMDB.com
The other night we went to see the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and boy, did we enjoy ourselves.
A group of British retirees, most seeking lower costs and a bit of adventure, ends up as the guests in a seedy, formerly grand hotel in Jaipur, India. In fact, the hotel is terrible. It’s not what they expect, but the endearing, entrepreneurial proprietor draws them in. As the movie zooms in on the characters’ personal stories we found ourselves gazing through familiar late-in-life prisms. Did I mention some of the fairly obnoxious adult children?
Marigold introduces a woman who was let go after training her own replacement, the parents who invested in their daughter’s start-up (yes, boomers everywhere are giving lots of money to their kids), and the woman who trusted her beloved husband who then left her in debt. We become acquainted with a retired attorney, drawn back to the place of a great love affair, and several others who just want to be less lonely. Because these are British characters, the frustrations tend to be understated — but frustrations, none the less. The Indian characters are just as engaging, fully developed, and far more exuberant.
Goodbye, Jessie: A Remembrance
My friend Jessie died about a month ago. Though I had not chatted with her for over three years, I counted her as a much-loved friend and colleague.
I met Jessie in August 1984 when she dropped into my second grade classroom to introduce herself. I was new at the school, and she was a warm, welcoming, and experienced colleague, always helping in any way she could. Countless times she came through the door to chat, offering support and listening to me describe a problem or challenge. Actually Jessie was a magnificent listener, never ever jumping in too quickly with advice. And nearly 20 years later at another school, she played the same role with my daughter who was then a new teacher.
Jessie knew how to live and to age well. Despairing events happened or health issues intervened, but she coped with fortitude and then moved on with grace. When her husband died, she mourned, as did we all because he was amazing, too. Yet despite losing a soul mate, my friend got on by living her life fully with family and friends.
Even as she aged, she did not want to retire from teaching, so Jessie found a school, led by an extraordinarily wise administrator, where she could teach part-time and where she continued to work into her 80s, mentoring other young teachers, just as she had mentored me. Jessie knew exactly how she wanted to structure her retirement. Read more »
Green House Construction Update at VMRC – April 8, 2012
Easter Sunday at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community Construction Site
April 8, 2012
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My posts on the Woodland Park Construction and other Green House® Homes information include: Read more »
Middle Age, Senior Years, Elder Years, REPEAT or RERUN
A view from my kayak - summer 2008
My husband and I are empty nesters. Over these past few years, as blog readers know, we helped to support his parents, now deceased. These days we regularly touch base with my parents by phone and in person as often as possible, and though they are currently independent and active, at times they welcome our help.
Now we, too, are also beginning to think about retirement, and it’s never far from our thoughts. Even with no specific deadlines and daily jobs we really like, even as time passes in a relaxed sort of way, we find ourselves imagining the next developmental stage of our lives. What will we do? Will we work part-time? How about ushering some evenings at theatres? Will we be able to travel as much as we want? Oh, and how will our financial resources hold out?
The proprietors over at the Inside Aging Parents blog, and especially Bill Shanks, are writing some interesting posts about the beginning of retirement and the necessary decision-making, and their thoughts address many of my questions. If you, too, are beginning to think about this late-in-life developmental stage, I encourage you to head on over there and check out Bill’s posts.
As We Age: Keeping In-Touch with Tech Changes
Pandigital Frame Purchased for My Home and for My Parents
A couple of weeks ago in my post, A Gardening Product for Everyone but Great for Seniors, I wrote about a gardener’s product that I discovered — one that was modular and light-weight, thus making it easier for me to continue creating flower and herb gardens without all of the heavy lifting. The product was attractive and useful to people of all ages, not just those of us who have been gardeners for 35 years.
The March 2, 2011 New York Times published a similar article about technology. In Staying in Touch With Technology reporter Sam Grobert describes mainstream technologies that are useful and fun for people who are working as well as for those who have retired. The author covers a range of technology innovations from Skype to video game consoles, to interactive picture frames, to tablets of all sorts.
Becoming A Grown-up Child
One day in April 2007 my husband and I were the adult kids in our families — we are the only adult children
— and the next day we became what we laughingly call “real grown-ups,” helping first one, then two, and for a while all three of our parents. It’s time to give back, and we do so willingly and happily. However the process is not easy, and it is not free from anxiety and tension. Check out the As Our Parents Age About page to learn more about the mission of this blog.
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