Trust these 42 online web tools because the author, Lisa Irby is showcasing a deep well of expertise. My hubby, Ray Horner, saw her on Facebook while watching a video post made by my friend Karen of Midlife’s a Trip. Then I get another email blast from Kevin, of Humorous Reality. With those referrals from top notch baby boomers I knew I had to check her out.
Once you read Lisa’s about page you are ready to put down the TV remote and just absorb all the well written and clearly explained blog posts and view the information satuated videos.
Why?
Well, not because she is probably the daughter of a really cool baby boomer, but because she is passionate, results-oriented and knows her stuff.
I honestly do not know much about reverse mortgages. However, I do know that many baby boomers have different opinions about them. I am posting an article from a guest blogger. However, I welcome other articles on this subject that may or may not be in agreement. I also welcome your comments and experiance with reverse mortagages.
My goal is to present information that will add clarity for baby boomers who are exploring this option for their parents. Thank you
A Mortgage That Will Bring a Smile to Your Parents
Courtesy of By Sam Telford from Reverse Mortgage Advisors
Here’s an interesting and informative bit of news for “Baby Boomers” looking to make their parents’ life happy and peaceful without taking a burden on their shoulders! You can take a reverse mortgage loan for your parents if they own a home, this will ensure that they live the rest of their lives with pride and honor. By doing so, you ensure that you continue saving your hard-earned money and at the same time do not compromise with your parents’ lifestyle. Amazing, isn’t it! Surely you would like to know more about reverse mortgages, how exactly they work, and how your parents as well as you can benefit from them. So here goes!
If the borrower is above 62 years of age and needs a constant source of income to sustain a decent lifestyle, he/she can go ahead and apply for a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage is a special type of loan that assists senior citizens to convert a portion of their home equity, built up over the years of mortgage payments, into ready cash. Unlike other types of mortgages, the borrower does not need to make any repayments as long as he/she continues using the home as his/her primary residence. In case there is an existing mortgage on the home, it needs to be paid off using some of the proceeds from the reverse mortgage.
Surely, if you are a “Baby Boomer,” you would not qualify for a reverse mortgage as it requires the borrower to be above 62 years of age. However, this special type of loan is ideal for your parents. Reverse mortgages are rapidly becoming popular in the U.S. because of the benefits that it offers. For all senior citizens, a reverse mortgage can assist them in:
Maintaining a decent lifestyle and being financially independent
Leading a secure life with the comfort that they are not a burden to anybody
Paying off their daily bills that includes the telephone bill, electricity bill, and grocery bill as well as maintaining their home
Staying in their sweet home for the rest of their lives and without any restrictions on how to use the received money
Retaining total ownership of the home and ensuring no tax deduction on the proceeds
Living with pride and honor as well as purchasing gifts for children and grandchildren
Traveling to various destinations without having to ask for money from children
With so many benefits for senior citizens, a reverse mortgage is a blessing in disguise. In addition, it is a government-backed procedure that ensures no one loses in the bargain. Not only this, reverse mortgage also offers a lot of benefits to all you “Baby Boomers” who encourage your parents to go ahead for reverse mortgage.
Without paying a penny from your pocket, you ensure that your parents live a decent lifestyle with pride and honor.
You continue saving your hard-earned money while ensuring that your parents pay off all their bills without having to depend on you.
The home continues to be in your parents’ name; therefore, they never need to look for a residence.
You continue to have a healthy and happy relationship with your parents without ever feeling that they are a burden.
After the home is sold off and the existing debt is paid off, all the extra money comes across to you
However, one fact that you should know about; is that reverse mortgage is a loan that has increasing debt and decreasing equity. This means that the longer thr reverse mortgage lasts, the less will be the equity of the home. Therefore, when the home is eventually sold off, you as an inheritor will get less money. However, the abundance of benefits that reverse mortgage offers to senior citizens as well as their children overshadows this meager fact! Moreover, such a fact should never stop you from encouraging your parents to go ahead for reverse mortgage. For all the pain and compromises your parents made to ensure that you are entitled to a decent lifestyle, this is the least that you can do for them; make sure that they live comfortably in their own home for the rest of their lives.
I simply love the Dolans. They are two of the finest baby boomer role models I know. I used to listen to them on the radio all the time. So I was delighted to find them online. Here is an article on saving money for you to enjoy.
Their site is a powerful resource so be sure to keep it around by putting it into your RSS reader or bookmarking it.
Multicultural issues and our understanding of those issues are becoming more critical. I found out today that a speaker collegue and expert in cultural diversity has been busy addressing some of the major multicultural issues via a collaboration with Universities and major businesses.
Well, you must know that Carole Copeland Thomas is a baby boomer woman of class and distinction who has crossed the globe with her messages of cultural unity. Yet, she is not alone, there are others with the same message who are expanding into the social marketing arena to increase the scope of discussions. At some point I want to feature more of those experts. This will be my way of helping us all to work together and understand each other.
Carole Has Developed A Multicultural Symposium Series.
You can become a member of the 2009 Multicultural Symposium Series and participate in the hottest multicultural movement of our time. Now you, your organization, and your staff can stay connected to the latest developments in the field of multiculturalism, global diversity, and inclusion.
If you have been hanging out on this site you know how passionate I am about ABOUT pages. So here is a portion of the page which features the efforts of the Multicultural Symposium Series.
The Multicultural Symposium Series (MSS) will create new opportunities for academia, business, government, education, students, and the community at large to build new strategic alliances that will forge stronger relationships across the global divisions of ethnicity, race, gender, economics, age, religion, politics, class, and
ideological differences.
MSS Is A Collaborative Partnership with Bentley University
Carole Copeland Thomas of C. Thomas & Associates has formed a strategic partnership with Bentley College to produce a twice-yearly
Multicultural Symposium Series and other related activities at Bentley University.
Goals
•Reinforce cultural bridges
•Strengthen retention and recruitment efforts within business, education,
and non-profit organizations
•Create new dialogue within the multicultural community and beyond
•Bridge the gap between academia, business, government, education,
healthcare, students, and community groups
•Provide an ongoing platform for cross cultural exchange, conversation,
ideas, and partnerships
What Makes This Unique:
An Ongoing Dialogue With Global Communication
Between Each Symposium
Unlike most conventions and conferences held on an annual basis, this initiative will be different from the start. Ongoing dialogue will be developed so that each symposium will NOT be a stand alone event.
Each event will be interconnected to the total framework of the Symposium Series.
Ongoing Activities Linked To Each Other
Each symposium will build on the strength of the previous events by using technological resources:
• An Interactive Website with Social Networking Capabilities
• Electronic Newsletter
• List Serv Creation For A Virtual Online Community
• Teleconference Series on Key Topics
• Webinar Series On Multicultural Issues
• Focus Groups
• Other relevant communication instruments
• Projected initial online community 3000-5000 participants
• Four Color Print Magazine (2011-2012)
Catch The Remaining Webinars
There are still a few remaining webinars scheduled for this month that you can view. But the earlier webinars are also still available. So if you are serious about the issues related to multiculturism than spend some time participating in some of the efforts of this exception symposium.
Note, that Carole’s contact information is also available so you can chat with her yourself.
BackType is a site that allows you to search for old comments made by you on blog posts. I found out about it only this morning when I saw a google alert. I have also seen a comment, made on a blog about this site, where one blogger felt this new site was Google Alert on steroids.
What Does The About Page Say?
The ABOUT page on the site says:
BackType is a service that lets you find, follow and share comments from across the web. Whenever you fill out the “Website” or “URL” field in a comment form when you publish a comment on a blog or other website, BackType attributes it to you. We give comment authors a profile featuring all the comments they’ve written on the Internet. If you don’t have a website to use when you fill out comment forms, sign up and use one of ours.
So What? How Will Baby Boomers Benefit?
This baby boomer has found several cool benefits that evolve out of their innovative features.
You will be able to get alerts on any blog post you made whenever a COMMENT has been made to your post. This alert will be sent directly to your mail box. You just need to use the SUBSCRIPTION feature. Of course, you probably have your blog settings so that you are already notified of comments. But here you can moniter ALL the comments via RSS feeds. So when I finish and publish this post I will submit the url to this post.
You can submit a post url to some hot discussion you read on a blog by using the CONNECT feature. Even if you did not make a comment you can check out what other people are saying on places like , Friendfeed, Blogger, Twitter, etc. Imagine reviewing posts on politics, sports and other issues. Did someone say what you meant to say but because you did not want anyone to know what you were thinking just did not say it.
Just like Google Alerts, you can moniter conversations related to your brand or any term you want to stay informed about. But According to the site authors, BackType is the only site that will follow mentions in BLOG COMMENTS.
Twtter like follow on comments you make. What I mean is, just like Twitter, when you click on the PEOPLE tab you are able to follow other folks and they can follow your comments. Right now the person with the highest number of followers is super blogger Chris Brogan. It becomes another social network just for your blog comments.
SO WHAT HAVE I DONE?
I set up an account for Blogging Betty Boomer. She(I) have a Twitter ID with that name and entered that information also. I also began to follow some folks who don’t have a lot or any folks following them. I noticed, as I keyed in some names, that some folks show up with different websites and names they have used to make comments.
Yes, you do not have to use your real name. But what ever name you often use to make comments on sites and the associated website.
I will probably go back and do accounts for names I often use, like my real name. But, for now I will play and learn. I also realized how many sites I need a presence in besides Facebook. They provide a way to import all the comments you have made on sites like Vox, Friendfeed and 11 other sites. How cool. Some I am on with my real name but imagine having a presence with your branded name as well as with your regular name. Or, if you are involved in a non-profit you can establish a presence in these sites and do relevant comment tracking. Umm
It seems to be fun and useful so join me in this exploration. Remember, we babyboomers must always be willing to learn something new. Funny, I just wrote that on a new site I put up based on one of my key notes, My Best Is Yet To Come.
Here are some interesting sales statistics and great house purchase opportunity from James Armstrong.
It’s Back to Basics
James O. Armstrong
Perhaps not surprisingly, some sales today are rising out of sheer necessity, like buying food, clothing and shelter. In fact, men and women today are in the midst of a significant re-ordering of their priorities back to the basics.
For example, the basic necessities of life at “everyday low prices,” has clearly accounted for Wal-Mart Stores’ 7.2% sales increase during fiscal year 2008 to $401.244 billion. In addition, operating income was also up by 3.0% to $13.254 billion. In fact, “Wal-Mart recorded the strongest sales result in its history in the fourth quarter, with $108 billion in sales,” said Mike Duke, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. president and chief executive officer. He concluded with this statement “We achieved this through the hard work of our associates, helping our customers save money so they can live better.”
Nor was Wal-Mart the only major player achieving some success recently, although this company has certainly been a standout exception in general in the current global recession. Still another excellent example of swimming upstream in the current global economy would have to be AutoZone, which recently reported its fiscal 2nd quarter profit rose 8.6%, as its sales were lifted by cost-conscious customers who have decided to repair their aging cars instead of buying a new one.
For the quarter ended February 14, 2009, the largest US auto-parts retailer by sales reported net income of $115.9 million, or $2.03 a share, up from a year ago. As gas prices dropped last year, parts retailers started to see gains. Two weeks ago, the company’s key competitor, Advanced Auto Parts, projected a double-digit commercial same-store-sales growth projection for 2009. (Source: The Wall St. Journal, March 4, 2009).
Oak Brook, IL based McDonald’s Corporation has also seen Americans flocking to their stores for a cheaper mealtime alternative. Because this great company has been making many “right decisions” on a global basis, its same-store sales world-wide increased 5.4%. In fact, US same-stores sales have actually increased by 6.8% (Source: The Wall St. Journal, March 10, 2009). Overall, McDonald’s has been on a roll since 2003, when it chose to halt its rapid expansion in favor of other back to basic strategies, which have collectively worked.
It also may surprise you to learn that Discover, the sixth-largest credit card issuer, actually saw its earnings jump +57% in the past fiscal year at a time when AmEX declined 34% and Capital One even experienced a $46 million loss. At a time of problems in the mortgage market, Discover had earlier flagged borrowers with two home loans, keeping their credit limits low, for example (Source: BusinessWeek, February 23, 2009). Discover also wanted to grow itself internationally and last summer picked up Diners Club, which is accepted in 185 countries, from Citigroup Management. In a tough economy, a basic credit card, which simply gets the job done, works just fine.
Finally, even on the housing front for some of my fellow baby boomers, it may be back to the basics for a housing solution to take care of an aging parent or two. Instead of sending Mom or Dad off to an assisted living facility or perhaps a nursing home, some baby boomers are today choosing a house in the next chapter of their life with Mom or Dad in mind. Specifically, they may also be pooling assets/incomes in order to buy their next home together. In this way, for a spouse who stays at home or for someone with a home-office based company, you can literally see Mom or Dad every day or even multiple times throughout the day.
Of course, this “new” approach actually represents a solution from an earlier generation in America, where three generations or more of a given family used to sometimes live together under the same roof.
In fact, the Armstrong-Roush family owns a home and property right now just exactly like what I just described, where our family has lived successfully together over the past 12 years, initially with both of my wife’s parents and more recently with just my mother-in-law after the death of my wife’s father. And, right now, our great home with approximately 5,600 square feet on one floor located on a heavily-wooded property, which includes a one-acre pond and a four-horse barn in McHenry County, Illinois, is FOR SALE.
While every family, even pooling their assets together, may not qualify to purchase this home, for someone in the Greater Chicago area, who either works in Downtown Chicago or even in Downtown Milwaukee or perhaps in the suburbs of one of these great cities, here is one more option to investigate. Information on our little “piece of heaven” can be accessed here: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/9911-Lucas-Road_Woodstock_IL_60098_1100397380.
In a word, it’s back to the basics for all of us, as we investigate new approaches and new ways of doing things in today’s challenging economic times in the United States and around the world.
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James O. Armstrong, who serves as Editor and President of NowWhatJobs.net, <a href=”http://www.nowwhatjobs.net“>http://www.nowwhatjobs.net</a>, which is The Resource for Job Transitions over 40, also wrote “Now What: Discovering Your New Life and Career after 50.” In addition, he is the Cofounder with his wife of Armstrong Solutions Inc., <a href=”http://www.armstrongsolutions.net“>http://www.armstrongsolutions.net</a>, which is a Counseling, Coaching and Career Management Practice with a reduced fee schedule to expand their services to a larger group of men and women with needs. Armstrong also serves as President of James Armstrong & Associates, Inc., which is a national and international media representation firm serving Central US and Canada out of his Suburban Chicago base.
Ready to work from home? Save commuting costs, dressing up and office politics? Need something that does not ask your age but trust your expertise? Well maybe working from home might be a realistic alternative for you.
To start this series I wanted to review a site called Hire My Mom.
This site is web-based job service designed especially for professional working mothers. They hire virtual assistants and professional bloggers.
Let’s take a quick look at the founder of this innovative service. This information is directly from thier ABOUT PAGE
About Lesley Spencer Pyle
Lesley Spencer Pyle started the national association of Home-Based Working Moms in 1995 after having her first child. Her passion is to help other moms find work at home success. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Relations from the University of Stirling in Scotland and a BA Summa Cum Laude in Journalism / Public Relations from Texas State University. Pyle has been featured in numerous publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Home Office Computing, Parenting, Business Start-Ups, Dr. Laura’s Perspectives, Family PC and many others. She was recently selected as a monthly columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com. Pyle has been working from home for over 12 years. She is married with three children of her own and one “inherited” daughter by marriage.
You are required to join the company via a membership fee per quarter or save if you join annually. It is also required that you have at least 1-2 years experiance in your field of expertise.
Here is a short note I received from a friend of mine, and baby boomer real estate attorney in New Jersey. She hates the “R” word. She also offers a service to help others recover from the use of that word.
Any time someone starts talking about these tough economic times and the “R” word (recession) comes up, I reply that “I am not participating in the recession.” A great way to not participate is by reducing and/or eliminating household debt.
If I could help you substantially shorten the time to pay off your mortgage and/or other consumer debt (e.g., car notes, credit cards, etc.), would you let me show how much you can save in time and money?
To see how much time and money you could save, please check out my website below and click on Free Money Merge Account Analysis. The analysis is confidential.
Abundantly Free If you have questions or need help completing the analysis, please e-mail me and let me know the best time to contact you. I look forward to helping you not participate in the recession by reducing and/or eliminating debt with the income you currently have.
Lisa Richardson
Exceeding Abundantly Above All, Inc.
P.S. If you or someone you know has a small or home based business the following website provides an introduction to a package of business tools to help grow and manage the business.
New baby boomer database is now available. Still in early stages so the time is now to submit your site. Read the details below:
Extend and Expand Your Reach to the Baby Boomer Generation: Submit Your URL for a Free Listing in Knowledge [ba²se]™
Publishers of blogs and websites targeted to baby boomers to be listed in a Google Custom Search Engine, created by the Baby Boomer [Knowledge Center]™. Extend and expand your reach to over 78 million Baby Boomers in America and over 300 million worldwide? submit your URL for a free listing in Knowledge [ba²se]™.
If you or your organization publishes a blog or website
· about issues affecting the baby boomer generation,
· sells products or offers services targeted to the 50+ mature marketplace,
· or helps marketers reach and better serve baby boomers,
Then become part of hundreds of blogs and websites that are assisting baby boomers.
Knowledge [ba²se]™ is a custom search engine that offers users a custom-tailored “boomer search experience.” Built using Google’s core search engine technology, Knowledge [ba²se]™ prioritizes search results based on blogs, websites and pages that are relevant to the baby boomer generation.
Oftentimes searching the Internet for specific content can be a daunting task. And a time consuming one, too! Search queries like “active adult retirement communities,” “active adult living,” “eldercare,” “grandparenting,” “estate and retirement planning for baby boomers,” and “financial planning for baby boomers” to name but a few, will return so many results that it’ll make a boomer’s head spin.
“Unlike other library or directory sites, Knowledge [ba²se]™ is not a collection of links posted on a web page,” said Martin Diano, publisher of the Baby Boomer [Knowledge Center]™, the creator and curator of Knowledge [ba²se]™. “Our mission is to connect baby boomers to information – no matter how specialized or specific – as quickly as possible. Knowledge [ba²se]™ allows users to combine Google’s search algorithm to create a customized experience?thus making access to boomer-specific information across the web easier for users.”
Knowledge [ba²se]™ resides at the Baby Boomer [Knowledge Center]™ . Publishers need only to submit their URL, by email, to AddMyURL@Live.com.
The Baby Boomer [Knowledge Center]™ is a web destination for and about the Baby Boomer generation.
New York Times writer David Pogue shared some very interesting and almost challenging perspectives on Twitter. He also has a quick, well done, video within the article. (Now, of course I must mention that his office background looks a whole lot better than my office background. )
Personally, I find Twitter to be an invaluable site and not a time waster at all. But it is a site that resonates with a wide assortment of baby boomers. So if you are still on the edge deciding if you are going to leap into Twitter Land this article might help you decide or not.
