End of 2006 coming soon

Wow - this year went by at warp speed for me.....and when we turn the new year, it becomes another year I have been in Portland as I moved into my "new" place in early January 2004. These 3 years went as fast as did 2006.... Is it as we age that years seem to go by faster? I don't know - but one thing I do know is that I am going to start doing some serious research on the psychology of aging and finally do the "book" that I have thought about for a long time. At present my thought is to make it a combo of research along with interviews of "real" people .... We are not the same older generation as our parents or the boomers...we are different...

As I've said before, many of us still work because we like what we do. We are not sitting back and waiting for old age to creep up - we are out there "keeping on keeping on." We are growing older better and we are setting an example for those "kids" behind us : o )

Working "later" in life

Earlier this year, Yahoo Inc. conducted a poll which indicated that 2/3 of Americans would like to be in business for themselves and many of those already "older" said that one is never too old to launch a business.

And were these respondents going to do this business this for money? Nope - they said they wanted to do something they loved or to be their own boss.

Interesting. Older Americans are still wanting to work - 2/3 of us is a LOT of older people. And as we are living longer, we old folk are going to be possibly working for a long time - AFTER we retire from our previous careers. Does that mean we did not love our careers or that we are so adaptable and interesting and interested that we can tackle a whole new career in later life and make a go of it?I myself have had many "careers" and now I am into an even newer one [my glyconutrient business] and back into what was once a hobby [photography] and I'm now making money at it....

I love getting older - we can make changes in our lives without all the angst that we might have had in our 20's or 30's.....

Will you retire?

Our lifespans have increased and our health is better. So do we continue to "retire" at 65? 70?
Or will we take on newer careers at those ages?

The median annual income for older women [ 65 and up] is a few thousand dollars over the definition of poverty level. And although we worked hard at women's equality - we are not equal financially. Our income at over 65 is about half of that of a male.

So it makes economic sense for women to keep working. I'll always work - but it will not ever be 9 to 5. I've tried that a few times and it doesn't fit my psyche :- ). I've changed careers many times...when I was 50 I went to law school and my son, who was then 11, wrote an essay about me that ended with "My mom is 50 and she still doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up." His mom is almost 67 and still wonders what she'll be when she grows up....I love reading and learning - but
for now I'm content to do it on my own without collecting any more degrees....

I'm more into degree-less work now....It its my growing older better psyche : -)

Money and growing older

For many, there is a financial need to continue working after hitting the 60's. For others, there is a desire to keep working until we are no longer able to do so..... One nice thing about aging is that we hopefully learn to work smarter and not harder.

We are living longer and maintaining our health as we age...and for some, we are getting healthier as we grow older better I am in much better physical shape than I was when in my 50's. , Maybe even better than when in my 40's.

So - do we keep working or not? It's an individual choice - and depends on how much "better" you want to grow older : ). Full retirement with sufficient funds so that there is absolutely no stress related to money is great. But with increasing costs of everything - it's wise to not totally count on what you now have if you are retired.

I complain about corporations here: http://illegitimisnilcarborundum.blogspot.com
but I will say here that they scare me. All they want is the moolah and the hell with the people. Yes I know this is not true of all corporations but too many have hurt us - like the pharmaceuticals, the energy ones, the oil people, etc. Their goal is to increase their own net incomes and those of their shareholders- they do not care about who might get hurt. [The Medicare part D doughnut hole is a good example.]

Over the next bunch of postings - I am going to look at working and aging.