Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Americans Not Willing to Spend Less in Retirement




Apparently, Americans are becoming more realistic about retirement, with nearly half of those currently eligible for Social Security now planning to work in their so-called retirement years.

Surprisingly, however, 95 percent say they would not be willing to spend less in retirement.

Those are the findings of the fourth Real Life Retirement quarterly pulse survey conducted by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

"Americans are willing to save more and work later, in the hope of maintaining their spending and lifestyle in retirement," said Stacy Hammond, director of Real Life Retirement Services, Charles Schwab.

In my opinion this is quite ridiculous since people do need less money in retirement.

This survey showed that nearly half (47 percent) of workers aged 65 and older are prepared to work during retirement.

Reality is such that most people who want to work past the age of 65 will not get the chance due to health problems, not being able to get the job they want, or due to having to take care of a spouse.


Retirement Sayings and Retirement Quotes to Help You Retire Happy


When starting out, don't worry about not having enough money. Limited funds are a blessing, not a curse. Nothing encourages creative thinking in quite the same way.— H. Jackson Brown, Jr.


Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
— Jim Rohn

I retired early for health reasons — my company was sick of me and I was sick of them.
— Unknown wise person

I’m retired. You on the other hand have to go to work.
— Unknown wise person

The money’s no better in retirement but the hours are!
— Unknown wise person

Check out these retirement resources:

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Zen for Your Retirement


Retirement Quotes — Zen for Your Retirement


If you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?
— Zen proverb

Ultimately nothing matters and so what if it did?
— Unknown wise person


The idea is to die young as late as possible.
— Ashley Montagu

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?
— Satchel Paige


Enjoy the Spring of Love and Youth,
To some good angel leave the rest;
For Time will teach thee soon the truth,
There are no birds in last year's nest!
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Youth has no age.
— Pablo Picasso

The secret to [retirement] life is to appreciate the pleasure of being terribly deceived.
— Oscar Wilde


Check out These Retirement Resources

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Review of Career Success Without a Real Job



Here is a review that I posted on Chapters Indigo website about Career Success Without a Real Job:


Just finished reading Career Success Without a Real Job. WOW! I am a fan of Zelinski's promo giveaway retirement books How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free and The Joy of Not Working", that I recommend to my clients who are about to retire.

Career Success Without a Real Job, however, is directed at the "organizationally averse" who don't like working in corporations. This career guide will of course also appeal to retirees who want to keep working part time but not in a traditional "Cor-Pirate" setting.

Zelinski in this book mentions that his writing isn't the best. That may be so but I can attest that his books are readable and offer good advice, That's the only standard that matters.

Zelinski's style is very accessible, common sense, gently coaxing without being too preachy.

While pointing out that Career Success Without a Real Job may not be for everyone, Zelinski proceeds to talk about the exciting realities that await those who dare to dream of a life lived on their own terms. This means having the freedom to decide on the hours we want to work, the amount of vacation time we want to take, with whom we want to work, and what we are going to do today.

Zelinski reminds us that real success is not measured merely by the 'almighty dollar.'

Here from the book are some "Irrefutable Signs That You Have Achieved Career Success Without a Real Job:"

You no longer know how to prepare for job interviews and don’t care that you don’t know.


  • You wonder why people get up before 9:00 A.M.

  • Most people with real jobs criticize or envy you.

  • You rely on job ads rather than the Dilbert cartoon for your laugh of the day.

  • You are always the last one to know when there is a holiday for working people and you happily work your usual four to five hours anyway.

  • You don’t ever need any job references.*

  • You no longer have a Daytimer because you forget to look in it after making an entry. Multitasking means working on your laptop in a coffee bar for two hours and watching attractive members of the opposite sex at the same time.

  • You know what resume means but have completely forgotten what résumé means.

Above all, Career Success Without a Real Job is adventure, satisfaction, riches, and happiness all on your own terms!

But as Zelinski points out early in the book:

"The principles in this book will not work for everyone. One reason is that many people apparently don’t want freedom; they would rather be imprisoned by organizations that tell themwhat to do, when to do it, how to do it. As Lord Boyd-Orr once said, 'If people have to choose between freedom and sandwiches, they will take sandwiches.'

"If you are one of those mundane people who would selectsandwiches over personal freedom, Career Success Without a Real Job is definitely not for you. On the other hand, if you are trapped in the corporate world as the majority is, but would like to be liberated, then the success principles in this career book can inspire and help you to create a much more rewarding lifestyle for yourself."

What Zelinski is saying is that living a life of career freedom is not easy. Indeed, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. But if you are prepared to put in a lot of effort with inspiration, following the principles of Career Success Without a Real Job will make you envy of the corporate world.


Also See:







Thursday, October 1, 2009

Unreal Job Resources



Check out these unreal job resources, particularly those directed at retirees who want to work in retirement.


  • The Joy of Not Working:

  • Retiremet Quotes Cafe: A Comprehensive Collection of Retirement Quotes and Retirement Sayings for Any Occassion Including a Special Retirement Card or a Retirement Party Selections by Ernie J. Zelinski, Author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free. Includes Retirement Poems, Retirement Letters, Retirement Dinner Speeches, Retirement Gifts, and Retirement Jokes.

  • The Joy of Not Working Website: Features The World's Best Retirement Book and The World's Second Best Retirement Book. Real life success stories about people not working, 25 reasons to retire early, and retirement quotes, letters, jokes, and poems from an author whose books have sold over 625,000 copies worldwide.

  • The Retirement Café: Retirement and Money Articles Such as 7 Secrets to a Happy Retirement, Top-10 Dumbest Retirement Moves, and "Winning a Lottery: The Retirement Plan with the Most Bugs to Be Worked Out." Includes Fun Things to Do in Retirement and Jobs for Retirement.

  • The Joy of Being Retired





    COPYRIGHT © 2010 by
    Ernie J. Zelinski Author of the World's Best Retirment Book,

    All Rights Reserved

    Saturday, September 26, 2009

    Retirement Book for Your Personality and Links to How to Retire Happy








    FIND OUT WHICH RETIREMENT BOOK BEST SUITS YOUR PERSONALITY

    DON'T SCROLL DOWN YET, DO THE SIMPLE MATH BELOW


    THEN SCROLL DOWN TO FIND THE BEST RETIRMENT BOOK THAT WILL HELP YOU ENJOY A HAPPY AND FULFILLING RETIREMENT

    It's CRAZY how accurate this is!





      1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9
      2) Multiply by 3 then
      3) Add 3
      4) Then again Multiply by 3
      5 ) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number.....
      6 ) Add the digits together




    Now Scroll down to the RETIREMENT BOOK list below and find your number that will correspond to the best retirement book for your personality.




    And here are a few more links:

    Thursday, September 24, 2009

    Inspirational Quotes about Quotations

























    One of my favorite quotes is by Bernard Shaw: "I often quote myself - this adds spice to my conversations."





    Here are some more Inspirational Quotes about Quotations

    Quotation: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.The words erroneously repeated. — Ambrose Bierce



    The great writers of aphorisms read as if they had all known eachother very well. — Elias Canetti



    Beware of thinkers whose minds function only when they are fueledby a quotation. — Emile Cioran

    The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuatedby quotations. — Isaac D'Israeli

    It isn't much of quote book if I am not in it. — Yours truly (after being a book of quotations for his birthday)

    I hate quotation. Tell me what you know. — Ralph Waldo Emerson


    I quote others only the better to express myself. — Michel de Montaigne



    Life itself is a quotation. — Jorge Luis Borges



    Nobody quotes me, so why should I quote someone else? — Unknown wise person



    No comment, but don't quote me. — Unknown wise person



    One good quote is worth a book. — Unknown wise person




    For More Great Quotes and Sayings See:





    Tuesday, September 22, 2009

    Low Income Retirees Can Have a Happy Retirement

    There is a lot of misinformation coming from financial institutions and the media about how retired people with low incomes can't have much enjoyment in retirement. Perhaps these "experts" on retirement should check out some research performed by Claritas, the organization that classifies American neighborhoods demographically for marketing purposes.

    One of the groups classified according to the Claritas PRIZM system is called the Hometown Retired. There are just over 1,200,000 Hometown Retired households (1.11%) in the U.S. They have an annual household median income of only $26,000, much lower than the national median income. Almost a third of these households are renters. If they own their own homes, their houses are aging – half were built before 1958. The value of their houses or condos is a far cry from the national median value of houses and condos.

    Because most never made it beyond high school and spent their working lives at blue-collar jobs, Hometown Retired households’ retirements are extremely modest from the financial point of view; typically they get by on social security and modest pensions. Despite being below the national average in income and assets, most Hometown Retired households don't consider themselves poor, however. One of the reasons why this group is relatively comfortable financially is because the majority live on the fringes of large cities. Here it costs less to live than it costs to live in the cities themselves.

    Hometown Retired households are comprised of retirees, two-thirds of whom are over 65; nonetheless, don't assume that these people don't do much more than hang around the house and watch TV all day. On the contrary, the typical retirees comprising Household Retired households are just as busy as when they were working full-time. Best of all, they are enjoying retirement.

    How do these retirees get by financially and enjoy themselves on their low incomes? According to Claritas, Hometown Retirees shop at Woolworth's or a reasonable substitute such as Wal-Mart. They use lawn maintenance services, belong to a veterans' club, drive a Chrysler Sebring car, eat Wheaties, and own a microwave oven. They buy Firestone tires, heavy rock music, and rechargeable batteries. They dine at the places such as Golden Corral.

    Hometown Retirees spend a portion of their time vacationing on bus tours, trying to quit smoking, bowling at least 20 times a year, and partaking in karate or martial arts. They are also collecting stamps, playing cards and chess, volunteering for political causes, shopping on the Internet, and drinking low-alcohol beer.

    Hometown Retirees are reading True Story, Discover, Audubon, Field & Stream, Hunting, Soap Opera Weekly, and Ladies Home Journal magazines. They are listening to easy-listening, nostalgia, and soft-contemporary music on the radio. And when they find time for it, on TV they are watching soap operas, the Montel Williams Show, the CBS Sunday Night Movie, the NCAA swimming and diving championships, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the NBC Nightly News.

    The real gem of information Claritas gives us is that the large majority of Hometown Retired households isn't complaining about not having enough MONEY to do the things they want to do in retirement. Their biggest complaint in life, in fact, is not having enough TIME in the day to do all the things that they want to do. Above all, hometown retirees prove that just because you are a retired person with a low income doesn't mean that you can't have fun in life. As Harry Emerson Fosdick once remarked, “Don't simply retire from something; have something to retire to.”

      Four More Retirement Quotes to Help You Have a Happy Retirement Regardless of Your Income

      One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words. — von Goethe

      Retirement has been a discovery of beauty for me. I never had the time before to notice the beauty of my grandkids, my wife, the tree outside my very own front door. And, the beauty of time itself. — Hartman Jule

      Your best purchases in retirement will turn out to be the ones that you never made. — from How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free by Ernie Zelinski

      By the age of 65, most of us have accomplished whatever work-related goals we are going to reach. If you haven't done it by then, chances are you aren't going to do it. Take the retirement, take the pension, take the Social Security, and sail off into the sunset. — Sue Lasky



    Also See:


    Promotional Giveaways by VIP BOOKS

    Where to Retire

    Retirement Jobs

    The Money Café

    Benefits from a Recession

    Quotes and Sayings about Creativity and Innovation

    Funny Friendship Quotes and Sayings







    Saturday, September 19, 2009

    Creative People Are Not Necessarily Smart and They Cerrtainly Are Not Nice












    David Ogilvy was widely regarded as a genius – so much so that he wondered it if were true. After all, he reported, he had flunked out of Oxford. He decided to find out exactly how smart he was, expecting to have an IQ around 145. He scored 96 (Business Strategy Review, 2005).

    Gelade (1997) gave a personality test to people in creative jobs (58 individuals in creative departments of prominent UK advertising agencies and small design groups) and compared them with 70 managers in mainstream UK corporations with jobs that were not obviously in need of creativity. The creative people scored much higher on neuroticism, hostility, and depression.

    As one researcher noted after reviewing research studies, creative people are not "nice."

    See:

    Friday, September 18, 2009

    Free E-books Including Graffiti for the Employees Soul


    Some time ago Ernie Zelinski, author of The World's Best Retirment Book, did a book called Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed: Graffiti for the Soul.

    Firefly Books paid Ernie a $5,000 advance to publish the book.

    Much against Ernie's wishes, Firefly changed the title to
    Off the Wall: Graffiti for the Soul.

    Ernie now provides the content from that book as seven free e-books (in PDF format). (listed at Graffiti for the Creative Soul)

    You can download the seven volumes of graffiti from the Graffiti for the Soul Series at the bottom of the page:

    You can download the seven volumes of graffiti from the Graffiti for the Soul Series at the following links:

    Sunday, September 13, 2009

    Two Stories about Retirees


    Here are two latest stories about retirees, one good and one not-so-good:

    Here are two different versions of a retirement book you may want to consider:

    Sunday, September 6, 2009

    Tired of scraping by living paycheck to paycheck?


    Tired of scraping by, only buying the necessities of life and only when they are on sale, living paycheck to paycheck?

    Discover how to break out of this trap once and for all, and start living a life of prosperity and freedom.

    Here Is the Lifestyle That You Can Lead When You Follow the Success Principles of Career Success Without a Real Job
    • You don't have to ever hear that awful word "teamwork" or the equally awful phrase "being a team player". As someone once said, "Teamwork is a boss telling a bunch of mindless idiots to do their work all in the same regimented way without any creativity."
    • You no longer have to deal with jerks and idiots in the workplace; indeed, you can now enjoy a jerk-free and idiot-free environment and be highly creative in the process.
    • No more going to a corporate office on Monday morning and hearing co-workers ask each other that mundane question "How was your weekend?" followed by answers such as "It was fine." Fact is, you never did care whether your co-workers enjoyed their weekends.
    This Book Will Also Help You Retire Happy, Wild, and Free.

    Success Quote of the Day

    You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable
    the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with finer
    spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world.
    You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand.
    — Woodrow Wilson


    Check Out!

    Promotional Giveaways by VIP BOOKS

    Funny Quotes and Sayings





    Sunday, August 30, 2009

    Where Is the Market for Retirement Books?


    Question:

    So where is the market for a
    retirement book such as How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free by Ernie J. Zelinski or a quasi retirement book such as Career Success Without a Real Job?

    Answer:


    • There are now 76 million baby boomers in the U.S. nearing retirement.

    • In the next six years, nearly 2 million teachers are expected to retire in the U.S.

    • In the next five years, over a third of federal government employees in Canada are expected to retire. In New Brunswick, half of the provincial government managers are expected to retire in the next seven years.

    • Within the next three years, nearly half of government executives in the U.S. are slated to retire. (From an article on MSN.com called Six Hot Fields to Consider by Barbara Reinhold)

    • There are 35 million Americans over 65, and that number will grow to 62 million by 2025.

    • However, let's not forget the people from 45 to 65. Many of these people are either contemplating retirement, have sem-retired, or have fully retired at an earlier age.

      Here are Two New Retirement Quotes for Retirees:

    • Life begins when the kids move out and the cat gets run over.
      — Author Unknown

      An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young.
      — Oscar Wilde

    Check out the:

    Tuesday, August 18, 2009

    Why Retirement Rocks and Signs You Need Career Success



    Some of the Reasons Why Retirement Rocks from Ernie Zelinski's New Book Called The Joy of Being Retired Coming Soon:


      When you experience retirement fully, you get to achieve remarkable personal growth and higher consciousness, two elements of happiness extremely difficutl to experience in the typical workplace.

      You get to find out that if you want to live a long and happy life, you must forget how old you are. Indeed, this gets more important the older you get.

      Retirement allows you to get your priorities straight. No one on his or her death bed ever said, "I wish I would have spend more time in the office."



    3 More Signs That You Have to Read Career Success Without a Real Job by Ernie Zelinski:


      1. You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if you would like to simultaneously return dignity to the arts of working and loafing.

      2. You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if the only time you feel comfortable at work is on casual Fridays.

      3. You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if you have had 19 jobs in the last two years and didn't have to quit any of them.


    Saturday, August 8, 2009

    Signs That You May Just Need Career Success Without a Real Job



    This revolutionary career book is for those millions of organizationally averse individuals who would like to break free of corporate life so that they have complete control over their lives. It will also benefit the millions of baby-boomer "retirees" who want to continue working, but not in a traditional corporate setting. Positive, lively, and captivating, Career Success Without a Real Job is designed to help you live an extraordinary lifestyle that is the envy of the corporate world — there is no life like it!


    Here are some more signs that you may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job:

      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if you have on a résumé listed “Having a good time” under Hobbies.

      You just may have to read
      Career Success Without a Real Job if your present company is "making me a scapegoat - just like my three previous employers."

      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job
      if in your last job you over stepped your job duties by cashing employees' paychecks.

      You just may have to read
      Career Success Without a Real Job if in your present job your favorite function is "checking customers out."

      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job
      if you have used this as your e-mail on resumes ihatemylife@google.com.

      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job
      if you have used this as your e-mail on resumes ihatework@google.com.

      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job
      if you have used this as your e-mail on resumes worksucks@yahoo.com.

      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job
      if you have become completely paranoid, trusting completely no one and absolutely nothing.

    Download the free E-book with a chapter of Career Success Without a Real Job at Career Success E-book


    Wednesday, July 22, 2009

    MAJOR SUCCESS PRINCIPLES


    Here are a few unconventional success principles:


      Limited funds are a blessing, not a curse. Nothing encourages creative thinking in quite the same way.

      Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

      Be an original even if it means being seen as a little eccentric. Unpopular thinking is normally right thinking.

      Choose work and projects that are in harmony with your values.

      Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were even born.

      Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.

      MAJOR SUCCESS PRINCIPLE: Don't major in minor things.

      MAJOR SUCCESS PRINCIPLE: Winners do what losers don't want to do. Being average is for losers.

      MAJOR SUCCESS PRINCIPLE: Seek opportunity, not security. Security is for losers. A boat in harbor is safe, but in time its bottom will rot out.

      MAJOR SUCCESS PRINCIPLE: Instead of using the words problem or recession, substitute the word opportunity.

      MAJOR SUCCESS PRINCIPLE: Ever so often push your luck. It's best to live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation.


    Here are a few resources to help you be more successful:


    Saturday, June 27, 2009

    Retirement Quotations - Not!


    Here are some quotations. Although not retirement quotations, hopefully you will enjoy one of them.


      Failure is twenty years of shopping and nothing to wear.
      - Graffiti for the soul

      An economics professor teaches students how to solve the problems of the economy which the economics professor has avoided by becoming an economics professor.
      - Unknown wise person

      The only thing saving us from the people working in government is the fact that they are totally inept, inefficient, and ineffective.
      - Unknown wise person

      In today's economy, it's best to go to college or university and get yourself a good high-school education.
      - Unknown wise person

      All life is sacred except hippies, rednecks, and economists.
      - Unknown wise person

    Here are some retirement resources:

    Saturday, June 13, 2009

    Career Resources for Retirees Who Want a Retirement Job




    If you are a retiree thinking about going back to work, here are some more tell-tale signs that you should read Career Success Without a Real Job:



      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if your biggest claim to fame is being “Able to say the ABCs backward in under five seconds.”

      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if you have ever placed this on a résumé: “Am a perfectionist and rarely if if ever forget details.”

      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if people are so narrow-minded at your workplace that you have to stack their prejudices vertically.

      You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if you have ever placed this on a résumé: “I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse.”


    Here are some success quotes if you still want to work in retirement and become a success in your career:


      To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work.
      — Sister Mary Lauretta

      The best augury of a man's success in his profession is that he thinks it the finest in the world.
      — George Eliot

      Trust not what inspires other members of society to choose a career. Trust what inspires you. From this decision alone will come over a third of your satisfaction or misery in your life.
      — from The Lazy Person's Guide to Success


      Here are some more resources for retirees:






    Saturday, June 6, 2009

    Why You May Have to Read "Career Success Without a Real Job"


    Here are more tell-tale signs that you may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job:
    • You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if your workplace has you wondering, "If ignorance is bliss, why aren't all my co-workers happy?"
    • You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if your workplace is a refuge for the imbeciles and the incurables.
    • You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if hope at your workplace is a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible such as things will be better next month.
    • You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if hope at your workplace is an illusion reserved for the polyannas.
    • You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if your company believes that the essence of good advertising is not to inspire hope, but to create greed.
    • You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if you learned this from your workplace: "Ten million ignorances do not constitute one knowledge."

    For more information on how to live without a job, check out The Joy of Not Working by Ernie Zelinski.


    Tuesday, June 2, 2009

    True Career Success and Career Success — Not!


    These come from Career Success on Twitter:
    You just may have to read Career Success Without a Real Job if you worship idleness because it is eco-friendly.
    TRUE CAREER SUCCESS: "Find a job you like and you add five days to every week."
    — H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

    CAREER SUCCESS — NOT! "If your company has a clean-desk policy, the company is nuts and you're nuts to stay there."

    CAREER SUCCESS — NOT! "Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties."
    — Doug Larson

    TRUE CAREER SUCCESS: "Every prosperous person who does not work hard has a creative project or intellectual property that does."

    CAREER SUCCESS — NOT! "Some folks can look so busy doing nothin' that they seem indispensable."

    Tuesday, May 19, 2009

    Free E-book - Silver Linings in the Recession


    "Nothing is as inevitable as a recession whose time is long overdue," according to Ernie Zelinski, in his new free e-book 101 Reasons to Love a Recession

    "A recession is obviously upon us. But a recession is not all bad. In adversity, there is always opportunity — at least for those individuals willing to see it and motivated enough to capitalize on it. Indeed, the Chinese words for crisis and opportunity are the same."


    This E-book is designed to entertain people as well as show them the many silver linings in the current recession:

    "Please feel free to share this e-book with your readers, friends, clients, and co-workers, says Zelinski. "You can post it on your website if you want."

    The E-book by the author of the International Bestseller
    The Joy of Not Working (Over 225,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages) is available as a complimentary download at the following website:

    The Retirement Café

    See The Love a Recession Website for many more ways on how you can benefit
    from a recession
    .

    Thursday, April 9, 2009

    End of Recession Will Not Bring Back Retirement Spending


    Even after the recession ends, Americans said their spending will return to just 86% of pre-recession levels, according to a survey by AlixPartners, a global business-advisory firm.

    The spending drop will equate to an approximate 10% drop, or more than $1 trillion annually, in GDP, according to a press release of the survey results.

    Survey participants estimated that their retirement savings have dropped an average of 25%, and almost a quarter of those polled (22%) said they now plan to retire later than previously expected. Among that number, the expected retirement age jumped 3.6 years to older than age 65. When asked why they now expected to retire later, 30% cited loss of savings or retirement.

    AlixPartners said that the huge Baby Boomer generation—once thought to be moving into the years in which they would be spending their retirement savings—might instead be accounting for more than a third (35%) of total dollars saved by Americans post-recession.

    If the recession has meant you are unemployed there is still hope.
    If you would like to create your dream job or operate a micro-business, you need to read Career Success Without a Real Job.


    Monday, March 23, 2009

    Retirement Jobs for Retirees



    Career Success Without a Real Job: The Career Book for People Too Smart to Work in Corporations by Ernie J. Zelinski is a great book for retirees who would like to keep working but not in a corporation.

    Here are some of topics from Chapter 2: Unreal Jobs — So any Worlds; What to Do?:
    • The Best Time to Pursue Your Dream Retirement Career Is Twenty Years Ago and Today
    • Why Not Work for the Best Boss in the World — Twenty Million Individuals Already Do!
    • There's No Better Business than Your Own Unconventional Business
    • The World's Coolest Unreal Jobs
    • Today's Most Exciting Unconventional Business That Allows You to Make Money While You Sleep
    • Write Yourself out of Poverty into Satisfaction and Riches
    • Retire to a job You Love Instead of One You Love to Hate

    Although this is not a retirement book like his two other best-sellers, it will particularly benefit the millions of baby-boomer "retirees" who want to continue working in a retirement job, but not in a traditional corporate setting.

    Two more recent news item about the new retirement:

      Near-Retirees' net worth has plunged, report finds
      Jerry W. Jackson Sentinel Staff Writer
      3:39 PM EST, February 25, 2009
      etirees head back to work
      abc7news.com - San Francisco,CA,USA

        Retirees are feeling the impact of the sour economy right now, so many of them are going back to work. One retired accountant is now back at work driving a ...
        See The Retirement Cafe Website for more Retirement Jobs for Retirees











      Thursday, March 19, 2009

      Be Creative During a Recession


      This is the dedication by author Ernie Zelinski in his first book The Art of Seeing Double or Better in Business, which he wrote during a recession.

        To all the creative people throughout the ages who have been willing to risk, be different, challenge the status quo, ruffle a few feathers — and in the process — truly make a big difference in this world.
      And here are some latest headlines relating to retirement:

        Recession hits retirees living abroad
        Easier (press release) - Chester,UK
        Britons looking to retire abroad to traditional European destinations
        such as Spain and Portugal have been warned to think twice about their
        decision by the ...

        Florida retirees see American dream shattered
        Taipei Times - Taiwan
        The Florida panhandle, home to the US’ largest population of retirees,
        has become a center of financial panic. “The banks and the mortgage
        companies just ...
      What do these two seemingly unrelated topics have to do with each other?

      If you are retired or soon-to-be retired and want to survive the recession in style, no doubt you have to be creative. Early retirement can still be achieved in this day and age by the creative individuals of this world.

      More on this later.

      Friday, March 13, 2009

      What Is Happining to the Concept of Early Retirement?


      So what is happening to the concept of early retirement?

      Here are are a few retirement headlines from the major media?


        Pension disaster looms
        Edmonton Sun - Alberta, Canada
        Statistics Canada says about 5.7 million of Canada's 16.2 million workers have a private pension plan. Even before the stock market crashed, some Canadian ...

        Catholic Sentinel
        Faltering economy makes for tough times for seniors, retirees
        Catholic Sentinel - Portland,OR,USA
        By Ed Langlois The fall of the stock market has caused particular pain for retirees and those about to retire. One woman felt compelled to leave her new ...

        Americans react to recession in different ways; what about you?
        USA TODAY
        "My husband's retirement plan went down to practically nothing," she says. The Albrights aren't alone, by any means. It would seem Betty White, 76, ...




          Sunday, March 8, 2009

          In Retirement or Otherwise, Never Do These Things




          NEVER, NEVER DO THESE THINGS

            Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
            — Robert Heinlein

            Never get involved with someone who wants to change you.
            — Quentin Crisp

            Never steal anything so small that you'll have to go to an unpleasant city jail for it instead of a minimum-security federal tennis prison.
            — P. J. O'Rourke

            Never send a man to do a horse's job.
            — Mr. Ed.


          Never fight an inaminate object.
          — P. J. O'Rourke

          Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.
          — Cordell Hull


          Check out:

          Tuesday, March 3, 2009

          Retirement Is Getting a Bad Rap


          The Art of Retirement seems to getting harder by the day.

          Here are some more recent story headlines:

            Recession hits retirees living abroad
            Easier (press release) - Chester,UK
            Britons looking to retire abroad to traditional European destinations
            such as Spain and Portugal have been warned to think twice about their
            decision by the ...

            Florida retirees see American dream shattered
            Taipei Times - Taiwan
            The Florida panhandle, home to the US’ largest population of retirees,
            has become a center of financial panic. “The banks and the mortgage
            companies just ...

            Planadviser.com
            Would-Be Retirees Plan to Work Longer
            Planadviser.com - Stamford,CT,USA
            Delaying retirement is one of several life adjustments pre-retirees
            are making to weather the current economic climate. CPA financial
            planners surveyed by ...




          Check out these retirement resources:



          Friday, February 27, 2009

          Retirees and Soon-to-Be Retirees Net Worth Has Plunged


          Not so long ago I came across a report by the o the Employee Benefit Research Institute that said a startling 59 percent of workers age 55 or older have less than $100,000 in savings and investments, excluding the value of their home, according t Another 18 percent have between $100,000 and $249,999, and only 23 percent have $250,000 or more.

          Many people who were looking to retire in the near future are now expecting to work until they are 70, 80, or 90.

          It seems that things may be worse that first reported. The serious decline of house prices, the stock market crash and the economic recession (could be upgraded to a depression) have ravaged the wealth, or net worth, of Americans near the traditional retirement age of 65.


          See:




          Quotes for Retirement:

          • Bought one, got one free — first rung on the achievable goals ladder.
            — T-shirt worn by Mr. Boffo cartoon by Joe Martin
          • All intellectual improvement arises from leisure.
            — Samuel Johnson
          • The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure: and he that hath little business shall become wise.
            — Bible
          Retirement Resources



          ERNIE ZELINSKI'S The Money Cafe featured on Launch Your Money Cafe Project:



          101 Really Important Things You Already Know, But Keep Forgetting


          Best Retirement and Finance Guides






          Monday, February 16, 2009

          Retirement Resources for the Recession



          Here are some benefits from the economic recession:


            From a food website:


            Food will improve in cafes and bars because only the cafes and bars
            serving high quality food at reasonable prices will survive.

            Some new delicious dishes may be born during the present recession.
            Like great music, some of the great food we eat today such as pizza
            and stew were created during economic downturns.

            People who don't know how to cook may learn how to do so simply because
            they can no longer afford to eat out all the time.

            The economic recession does has a silver lining for employers – it
            has created an opportunity for employers to pick up highly-experienced,
            motivated and loyal employees at very reasonable rates. Ron Brown,
            sales director at Australia's recruitment firm Plus 40, which specialises
            in the placement of older workers, says the pool of older workers
            looking for retirement jobs has increased sharply in recent months.
            “A lot of those people have less than half of the retirement savings
            they had three or four months ago.” Corporations can now get all these
            added extras – experience, a high level of skills, commitment, stability
            – for the same rate as a young unreliable and unexperienced employee.



          Here are two retirement recession resources to check out:





            Sunday, February 15, 2009

            Retirement Quotes and Retirement News


            Recent Retirement News:


              1. As nest eggs shrink, many defer retirement
              MSNBC
              But as the financial markets have raveged retirees’ savings and investments, Laursen has put his retirement on hold. On top of a big hit to his retirement ...

              2. rather ...
              Retirement deals leave big holes in city departments
              Tucson Citizen, AZ - 3 hours ago
              Tucson's administrators have tried to control the impact of those departures with sweetened retirement packages, reducing slightly the long-term payout in ...

              3. SD retirement, trust funds lose in market plunge
              Forbes, NY
              By CHET BROKAW , 11.17.08, 01:58 PM EST The stock market plunge has caused large losses for the South Dakota Retirement System and several state trust funds ...

              Resources for Retirement:


              Health Is the Best Retirement Gift to Give Yourself

              Where to Retire
            Two Retirement Quotes about Leisure to Help You Retire Happy


              All intellectual improvement arises from leisure.
              — Samuel Johnson

              The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure: and he that hath little business shall become wise.
              — Bible

            Tuesday, February 10, 2009

            Retirement News from the Last Week

            Here are clips from recent retirement articles:

              Catholic Sentinel
              Faltering economy makes for tough times for seniors, retirees
              Catholic Sentinel - Portland,OR,USA
              By Ed Langlois The fall of the stock market has caused particular
              pain for retirees and those about to retire. One woman felt compelled
              to leave her new ...

              Americans react to recession in different ways; what about you?
              USA Today - USA
              "My husband's retirement plan went down to practically nothing," she
              says. The Albrights aren't alone, by any means. It would seem Betty
              White, 76, ...


              Future retirees will lose total contributions worth some €80 mln ...
              BusinessStandard.RO - Bucharest,Romania
              If future retirees lose total contributions this year worth some €80
              million, the fund managers will lose some €3 mln. Most of these managers
              expected to ...


            Check out these recent retirement resources:

            Wednesday, January 28, 2009

            The New Retirement - Bleak and Not So Cozy


            Here are some latest topics about the new retirement:


              1. Retirees ‘tighten the belt’ in tough times
              Lismore Northern Star - Australia
              Coorabell retirees Jim and Barbara Hardie say they both lived through
              the Great Depression, so are confident of surviving the current economic
              downturn. ...


              2.
              40000 Australian retirees to shelve retirement plans – here’s how
              you can benefit
              SmartCompany.com.au - Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
              According to new research from actuarial firm Rice Warner, plummeting
              financial markets will force about 40000 older workers to postpone
              their retirement ...

              Too Much Retirement Planning May Be As Bad As Too Little
              Consumer Affairs - USA
              However, pre-retirees who had done more planning reported worse losses,
              on average, than those who hadn’t planned. Retirement planning strategies
              encourage ...


            Here are some retirement resources to help you retire: