GIT LOVE HOME

Are You A Boomer Worried About Retirement?

It seems that many younger baby boomers, those who are still under retirement age, are more and more concerned about having a comfortable golden age. Unlike previous generations, they have not been able to rely upon their retirement accounts or company retirement plans.

What Are Some Retirement Concerns that Boomers Have?

• Many companies have terminated long time employees in order to get cheaper labor. Other companies have reduced or eliminated retirement benefits.
• Today’s boomers are aware that social security benefits will not be enough to provide a comfortable retirement either. This benefit was only meant to supplement other income or savings. People who have to depend upon this income are likely to have to make a lot of sacrifices in order to pay bills.
• Medicare benefits may not be enough to provide enough coverage for health costs. The original plan still has a lot of deductibles, copays, and limits. So some additional supplemental insurance will be needed. In addition, Medicare does not cover long term care. So people are concerned about the cost of nursing care when they are older.
• Recent economic woes have reduced the value of many retirement savings accounts. The stock market is down. Besides that, banks are paying very low interest on savings accounts or CDs.
• Other costs have risen, and so many boomers have not been able to sock away as much money for retirement as they planned to.

But we boomers are a smart, flexible, and hardy lot. And it is up to us to consider some solutions to our current worries.

What, Me Retire?

One factor in boomers favor is the fact that our generation can expect to live longer and healthier lives than people could a few years ago. Because of this, many boomers plan to extend their working years. Some do plan to retire from their current job, but plan to supplement their income with part-time or contract work after that. Others figure that traditional retirement age is the perfect time to start that small business they always dreamed of. So for many baby boomers, retirement will not be the end of work. It will just be the end of the first stage of work.

Some boomers are getting an early start by working at a moonlighting business. Instead of investing in traditional savings accounts, they are investing in themselves.

Breastfeeding has many benefits to it and can save money on formula as well. Formula is expensive so this is one of the many reasons moms choose to breastfeed. It is also a natural way to give your baby the nourishment they need. This is the best way to feed your newborn as this substance is made to nourish your baby and will not upset baby’s tummy.

Breastfeeding has another benefit to moms. It can help with shedding weight that was gained during pregnancy. Mothers should maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle and drink plenty of fluids. This helps keep up with production of breast milk.

Breast milk is a great way to feed your newborn. It is all natural and has all the nutrients your baby needs. There are classes and tips that can be learned and most hospitals offer them to all mothers. Breastfeeding can create a special bond between mother and baby.

Listed below are some tips to help you while you Breastfeed:

· Deciding if you will be breastfeeding should be made at the time your baby is born. Starting within the first three hours of birth is a great time. This can help your baby adapt to the breast rather than the bottle.

· It may take about 3 weeks to finally succeed with breastfeeding and to adjust to your baby’s needs.

· You should learn as much as you can about breastfeeding from a variety of sources. You can even talk to a friend who has breastfed.

· If you experience any difficulties, you should talk to your doctor as they can help you.

· You need to keep the breast and nipple clean at all times to prevent any infections or thrush to baby. Avoid using any lotions or perfumes while breastfeeding.

· Make sure you drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration and to make sure your body continues to produce an adequate supply of breast milk for baby.

· Wear a bra that will protect your breasts when you are not breastfeeding baby.

· Try to write down how much breast milk your baby consumes at each feeding. Try to keep baby on a routine and keep track of how long they feed at each breast. It’s hard to know how much they eat, so tracking time works.

Early Greek and Arab writers have referenced carpets as far back the 4th century BC. Many of the first rugs were used as saddle covers for horses. One of these carpets was found in a burial mound in the Altai Mountains in Southern Siberia. This particular carpet was known as the Paxyrk carpet. It is one of the earliest know carpets and is one of the earliest surviving example of a hand knotted carpet.

The technique of knotting carpets was supposedly started by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia. The tribes made small rugs that were decorated with geometric motifs. These motifs were inspired by pant and animal forms. The rugs were practical serving as floor coverings, saddle bags and decorative as wall hangings and curtains. This talent of rug making spread throughout the world because the nomads would have to move around when their security was threatened. When they adapted in new lands then they would spread the talent to new people.

The greatest carpet making centers were developed in Persia and Turkey. The period from the 16th century through the first part of the 18th century were known as Persia’s golden age of carpet making. The reason it was called this was because the carpet were many time woven of wool, silk, gold and silver. Then they were studded with precious stones. Their designs were set in an array of colors and original designs. Turkey has been another country that has had carpet making as long as Persia. Marco Polo described the carpets as being the most beautiful in the world when he was traveling the Turkish region.

Through the Italian merchants the Oriental rugs became very valuable in Europe. Oriental rugs hung along the streets of Venice where the major trading network was. Venetians used the Oriental rugs to decorate their gondolas and as window coverings. It was a beautiful place to walk and see all the different styles of Oriental rugs. The Lord Chancellor of England was reported to have purchased over sixty Turkish rugs to decorate his palace at Hampton Court.

One of the earliest knotted rugs survived because of the Siberian ice in the Altai Mountains. This rug was covered by ice within a burial chamber It had been preserved for over 2500 years. This rug was a Pazyrk rug that measures approximately 6 by 5 feet and is woven with the Turkish knot. The design is of elk and horsemen in a tile pattern.

It is very tempting to think that we can give up our stressful (high paying) job and opt for a simpler way of life. As we travel through mid life, this option looks ever more appealing.

If we take a less stressful job (with less money) we won’t need to spend so much. No more commuting or expensive business suits. Let’s stop trying to keep up with the neighbours and friends and opt for a simpler way of life. We’ve seen most of the world so let’s explore our own country – we’ve always said that we would do that and it’ll be much cheaper than going to the Maldives again.

We can grow our own vegetables, keep chickens and pigs and make our own clothes. We can use green energy. We can cycle to most places, so we only need one car – maybe we don’t need a car at all.

This is all very ‘doable’ and lots of families have travelled this road before. There are many benefits and also a host of issues that you need to consider. The job of the Mid Life Devil’s Advocate is to help you to understand some of these issues. The Advocate isn’t trying to dissuade you from taking up The Good Life, just making sure that you’re aware of some of the ‘warts’.

So what is the Devil’s Advocate’s view of The Good Life? Here are some points to ponder:

• The first thing that you will consider is growing you own vegetables. See The Mid Life Devil’s Advocate’s earlier advice on growing you own.
• If that doesn’t put you off, you’re made of stern stuff – excellent!
• You may consider keeping chickens to lay eggs and provide a Sunday roast. Your chickens will not lay eggs every day. Some days you will have no eggs, other days you may have several.
• If you want to breed your own chickens you will need a cockerel. Cockerels crow at first light. They will wake you up. They will also wake your neighbours up, who may not share your passion for chickens.
• When your eggs hatch, statistically, half of the chicks will be male, which don’t lay eggs. You can rear these to eat when they mature. This requires you killing them when the time comes. Your kids will probably have given names to all of the chickens and might be horrified when you tell them that ‘We’re having Brad Pitt for dinner on Sunday.’ They may never speak to you again when you kill their pets.

When it comes to finding the perfect birthday gift for your child, you will find that it can be a very difficult task. There are many reasons for this. The first reason is that there are millions of different toys aimed at children that come onto the market every single day. The other reason is that the top toys are always changing, and what is popular for children to have one day, may not be popular by the end of the week. This is why it can be incredibly stressful shopping for children’s birthday gifts.

There are, however, a few different things that you can do in order to help you along with your search. The first thing that you should do requires you to have access to the internet. Firstly, you should visit one of the many millions of toy websites. These websites have many different purposes, but the main purpose that they serve is to inform parents what the top toys on the market actually are. In a lot of cases, they will also have links for you to purchase the toys, so this takes a lot of stress out of your situation.

The next thing that you should do, also requires access to the internet. If you have a particular toy in mind that you would like to purchase as a birthday gift for a child then you have already ade your job a lot easier. Firstly, you should go to one of the many different price comparison search engines. Once you have found one that you like the look of, you are going to need to type in the name of the toy that you are looking for. As you will see, the results that you are presented with will show you the cheapest place that you can buy that particular toy.

If you do not have access to the internet, do not worry, as there are still a couple of other options available to you. The first thing that you are going to want to do is to take a trip to the nearest toy store to you. Once there, you should take a look at the different toys that they have in stick. This will usually give you a good idea of what toys are popular and what toys are not so popular. Alternatively, if you still feel that you are having trouble finding the right toy, you can talk to a member of staff. Ask the if they can inform you of what the top selling toys are in their store. This will usually indicated the most popular toys.