Starting a Business After 60? Use These 4 Tips for a Head Start
Retirement brings about many new opportunities for retirees to explore. While many individuals look forward finding leisure golfing or tennis, others are looking for the adventure found in starting their very own business.
But the world of business has changed dramatically in the last decade. Today, your business must be online to achieve any measurable level of success. Although the realm of online marketing seems daunting, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, most everyone is learning on the go. To jump start your online business endeavors, consider these four quick tips.
Hire Experts
Building a website and setting up social media profiles takes time. Since both won’t produce any results until completed and can take a tremendous amount of time to accomplish, hire professionals. They can have you up and running in days (not weeks or months) and you can focus on growing your business.
Take Chances
It may be tempting to try a find an online marketing formula to follow. While there are many strategies that can net results, often it is trying something new that generates the most results. After all, consumers are wise (if not tired) of traditional marketing methods online. If you have an idea and wondering if it will work, TRY IT! You have little to lose and everything to gain.
Find A Mentor
Ok, at this stage in your life, you may think you would be the one offering mentoring services. But to get ahead of the digital learning curve in the shortest amount of time, you can benefit from those who’ve carved their own path online. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources both locally and online to provide guidance on your new venture.
Have Fun!
Starting a business after 60 doesn’t have to be like, well… starting a business. You are in the drivers’ seat. Set your own rules and tear down preconceived boundaries. Now is the time to create something on your own terms and have fun doing it. And if you aren’t having fun, you’ll always have golf or tennis!
Which Ages Are Important for Retirement Planning
Whether you are retiring tomorrow or in twenty years, it is important to take note of important planning milestones. Understanding when certain benefits become available, change, or expire will help you plan accordingly and allow you to maximize your retirement to its fullest.
Age 50 – For 2020, you can increase contributions to your retirement plans to help “catch-up” on your retirement goals. Workplace plans allow $6,500 in additional annual contributions while Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) allow an additional $1,000.
Age 55 – Now you may contribute an additional $1,000 to a Health Savings Account (HSA), one of the most tax-advantaged plans available. Additionally, you may roll a retirement account into an IRA if you are currently employed or distribute funds without penalty from a previous employer retirement account.
Age 59.5 – After years of saving for retirement, reaching this milestone finally allows you to withdraw funds without the federal 10% penalty (income taxes will apply, however).
Age 62 – Reaching this landmark means you are now able to claim Social Security benefits. However, make sure you have carefully evaluated your income needs. Claiming now will reduce your eligible benefit in comparison to waiting until a date a few years later up until age 69.
Age 65 – Three months before your 65th birthday is an important date, regardless of whether you plan on retiring or not. This when you are eligible to enroll in Medicare benefits. Mark your calendar as failing to enroll could result in increased monthly premiums.
Age 66-67 – If you were born between 1943 and 1954, age 66 marks the age you are eligible to receive your full Social Security benefit. Birth years between 1954 and 1959 receive full benefits at different times throughout your 66th year. Those born 1960 and later will have to wait until their 67th birthday to receive full Social Security benefits.
Age 70.5 – Halfway through your 70th year is when the IRS begins requiring distributions from qualified retirement accounts. After all, you’ve enjoyed some great tax benefits for years and now the IRS wants their cut.
Conversation Etiquette: How to Express Your Opinion on Social Media
Aged, retired, couple having a video call on tablet during romanitic dinner. Old people sitting at the table, talking, using the technology, internet, celebrating their anniversary in the dining room.
Opinions are like… belly buttons. Everybody has one. But just because we do does not mean we need, or should, be gushing them all over social media. Social media presents a unique medium to share our thoughts and ideas. However, unlike in-person conversations, social media discussions are text based.
Having meaning conversations in the text-based worlds of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms is extremely limiting. Voice inflection is lost among each written word while facial gestures and body language are non-existent. Nonverbal clues offer our listeners insight into the weight of the opinions we share. Without them, we are left with capital letters, bold type, and cartoonish emojis.
Luckily, with the right attitude and approach, constructive conversations can happen on social media. Follow these quick tips and to keep the discussion going without jeopardizing your virtual friendships.
It’s Just An Opinion After All
When about to express an opinion, announce that it is about to be stated. A simple phrase like “In my opinion” or “I personally believe” are great ways to put your listener at ease. It is when we state opinions as fact, audiences quickly disengage instead of opening themselves up to our thoughts.
Thank Your Listeners
Share your gratitude when your audience shares their opinion and thoughts. This tells them they are being heard. Additionally, thank those who are engaging with you for listening to your opinions. Let listeners know you appreciate them lending you their ear (or screen time in the case of social media) and that their time matters to you.
Remember What’s Important
At the end of the day, friendships and relationships matter most. Hardly is there a topic that should come between friends or family. When conversations reach an impasse, take a step back and reassure everyone your friendship means more than any differences you might have. Holding onto opinions too tightly will eventually stifle even the strongest relationships.
Healthy Recipes for Fall Produce
Vegetables and fruits falling out of tipped over bag next to large empty space over rustic wooden background
With autumn comes the fall harvest. A time when a kaleidoscope of color fills our markets with yellow squash, orange pumpkins, and red beets. But for too many, vegetables are served up in traditional boring ways, such as steamed or roasted.
While steaming broccoli and roasted potatoes are perfectly fine for a quick family dinner, they’re nothing to get too excited about. Instead, we share three fun and tasty ways to make vegetables the star of the show:
Stuffed – Fall is a time for comfort food. For those looking for meals that are both hearty yet healthy, consider using vegetables as a “bowl” for your favorite stuffings. Roasted acorn squash makes a perfect serving bowl for a sausage, mushroom, and cheese filling. Peppers filled with ground beef and diced tomatoes is a robust weeknight meal. And mini-stuffed mozzarella and basil tomatoes are a fan favorite appetizer for your next football party.
Blended – Using a blender may not be the first appliance that comes to mind when thinking about preparing vegetables. However, blending vegetables into sauces is a great way for even the most stringent veggie eater to get their greens. Use arugula in a creamy pesto sauce, portobello mushrooms in your brown gravy, or red beets in a sweet applesauce.
Grilled – Don’t put away that grill quite yet! Whether you cook using charcoal or gas, nothing beats vegetables over an open flame. Asparagus, corn, and squash cook up wonderfully after tossing in olive oil topped off with just a pinch of salt and sprinkle of pepper. Vegetables typically need up to 10 minutes on the grill to soften up and get a nice char. The number of ways fall produce can be prepared is as endless as the varieties of vegetables available to us this time of year. Get creative and have some fun while finding new and inspiring ways to enjoy the bounty Earth provides this time of year!
How to Save on Electricity for Free
Do you cringe every time you open your electric bill? If you are like the millions of homeowners across the country, you likely wonder if there is anything you can do to reduce your power bill without breaking the bank.
Fortunately, we’ve put together 10 steps you can take today that will lower your electricity costs before your next payment is due. Even better, not one of these tips will cost you a single penny!
Use your dishwater – This may seem counter-intuitive, but the dishwater uses less water than hand washing, which means less power used for heating.
Air dry your dishes – While you will want to use your dishwasher to wash dishes, leaving the drying cycle off could save up to 50% of the energy normally consumed.
Keep your oven door closed – Every time you open the oven door, the internal temperature can drop by more than 10%, requiring the oven to use more power to bring the heat back up.
Clean your lint trap – Clothes dryers can suck up to 6% of a home’s energy total. Keeping the lint trap can significantly increase your dryer’s energy efficiency.
Wash clothes in cold water – It costs money to heat up water, especially for loads of laundry. Use cold water instead and don’t worry, most detergents actually work better in cold water.
Use natural light – All too often once we close our blinds and rely on our lights. Instead, use the light provided by the sun to light up your room with beautiful natural light.
Turn off lights – Leaving a room… turn off the lights! Even a single light bulb turned off regularly can save up to $7 a year. Multiply that by how many bulbs you have, and some significant savings can be had.
Turn off the water – When brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing up, turn the faucet off instead of letting the water run. Your water heater can conserve energy for later.
Take shorter showers – This tip may be the toughest, but shorter showers can save on the energy needed to heat the water. You could save $30 per year for every minute saved.
Unplug electronics – When not in use, electronics plugged in continue to consume power. Unplugging them can save on the 10% of energy consumption standby power uses.
BONUS: Although not free, investing in a smart thermostat may be the most energy saving changes you can make, especially in homes where temperatures can be extremely hot or severely cold. Not only do smart thermostats provide greater control over when your heating and air conditioning systems kick on but can also detect when no one is home and shut off until family members return. Homeowners who use smart thermostats commonly see a savings of 10% or more on their electric bill.
Whole Or Term Life Insurance
In 1962, the Phoenix Candy Company released the Now and Later bar. Each bar of candy included several individually wrapped taffy squares. The idea was consumers could eat some taffy right away and save the remainder for another time in the future. Now and Later bars satisfy both your current and future needs to satisfy your sugar craving.
What does this have to do with life insurance?
Financial planning requires us to consider our needs both today and for the future. When it comes to life insurance, making the wrong decision now can have adverse financial impacts down the road. Understanding your options before you purchase a life insurance policy will help you make a sound decision.
Term Insurance
Term life insurance policies provide protection for a fixed number of years. Policies are most often issued in 5, 10, 20, and 30-year terms. The majority of term insurance policies maintain a level death benefit and premium throughout the duration of the term.
Term life insurance is the cheapest form of coverage and is ideal for protecting dependents from the burden of debt and lost income if you were to pass away. The length of coverage purchased should end when your dependents’ reliance on your income has disappeared. This is usually at the end of a mortgage, children’s college graduation, or retirement date.
Whole Life Insurance
Whereas a term insurance is temporary coverage, whole life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance. The death benefit of a whole life insurance policy is guaranteed for as long as you live along with your premium, so long as you continue making premium payments on time.
While whole life insurance is more expensive than term insurance, over time a whole life policy will build cash value. Cash value can be used to loan against (you pay yourself the interest) or cash out at a later date if you wish to surrender the policy. Whole life insurance can provide needed funds for burial expenses, to replace lost retirement income for your spouse, or to make a charitable contribution.
Choosing a Policy Every family’s financial needs and goals are different. Choosing the best life insurance policy will depend on who is dependent on you today – will there be anyone dependent on you in the future, and are there any charitable wishes you seek to fulfill. But most importantly, life insurance should never be about you… but for those you may leave behind.
Does a Stay-at-Home Spouse Need Life Insurance?
A stay-at-home spouse is perhaps one of the most under-appreciated persons in our society. However, purchasing life insurance for those who stay at home is often overlooked when families sit down and work through their financial plan.
Life insurance is usually thought of a product designed to replace income. Because stay-at-home spouses do not generate income, families mistakenly believe they do not require life insurance.
But nothing could be further from the truth!
The reality is life insurance actually replaces the purchasing power of someone’s income. Purchasing power that can pay for ongoing bills, debt payments, and other financial obligations. For the stay-at-home spouse, life insurance can provide the funds necessary to replace the services they provide.
Consider the cost of replacing all the services a stay-at-home spouse provides:
Pet care – $15/hr
Private tutor – $40/hr
Family nurse – $75/hr
Personal chef – $60/hr
Taxi service – $.50/mile
Family therapist – $65/hr
Hourly childcare – $15/hr
Personal shopper – $20/hr
Finance consultant – $75/hr
Laundry services – $10/load
General housekeeping – $25/hr
Amateur plumber/electrician – $55/hr
Hazmat waste (diapers/litter) removal – $45/hr
A little arithmetic quickly reveals how valuable stay-at-home spouses really are. This list is hardly compressive. It does not take into consideration the intangible contributions stay-at-home spouses make such as providing emotional support or keeping the family’s social calendar full.
Once it becomes clear, life insurance for a stay-at-home spouse should become a part of your family’s financial plan, the next step is determining how much coverage to purchase. However, calculating a suitable limit is not an exact science with so many variables to take into consideration.
If you are looking to learn more about your life insurance options and how to choose the right limit to protect your family, contact my office to schedule an appointment today.
Preventing Heart Health Issues
The statistics are sobering. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States among both men and women.[i] As every minute passes by, no less than 2 Americans are losing their life to this terrible disease.
The good news is there are things you can do today to boost your heart health and reduce cardiovascular related issues. However, everyone’s’ individual circumstances very and there are risk factors you are unable to change including:[ii]
Age – The older we get, the higher our risk of heart disease.
Gender – Some controllable risk factors impact women and men differently.
Race/Ethnicity – Certain groups have higher risk of heart disease than others.
Family History – You are at a higher risk if a close family member had heart disease.
While there are certain risk factors you are born into, there are many more completely within your control. To help you keep your heart healthy, we gathered up the latest tips the experts are recommending. By taking these relatively simple steps, you can reduce your chance of cardiovascular disease and lead a long and healthy life:[iii]
Reduce salt intake – Salt can increase blood pressure which can lead to stroke and heart disease. The recommended daily limit of salt is 6g per day for adults.
Consume less sugar – Diets high in sugar can lead to weight gain which in turn increases blood pressure and your chance of heart disease.
Limit saturated fat – High cholesterol levels can result from a diet high in saturated fat, which can be found in such foods as butter, fatty meat, and processed foods.
Exercise regularly – A regular exercise regimen can strengthen your heart, boost your cardiovascular system, help you lose weight, and lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
Limit alcohol – Alcohol can add unnecessary calories to your diet leading to weight gain while alcohol’s effects can increase blood pressure.
Quit smoking – Smokers are twice more likely to suffer a heart attack than non-smokers. Smoking increases blood pressure and reduces oxygen in your blood stream.
Manage your stress – Taking care of your mental health is as important as your physical health as high stress levels can increase blood pressure and be a trigger for heart attacks.
Get enough sleep – Sleeping allow your mind and body time to heal. Lack of sleep has been linked to higher high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.
Eat healthy – Diets high in fruits and vegetables along with good fats including fish have shown the ability to increase overall heart health.
For more information on how to improve your heart health, visit www.CDC.gov.
The wedding of your son or daughter is one of the most memorable times in a parent’s life. Often weeks or months go into the planning of their special day. And while it is customary to give the bride and groom a memorable gift, one present often not thought of enough is the gift of life insurance!
Sure, life insurance may not be the most exciting present left on the gift table. But it may just become the most valuable purchase they receive. For many newlyweds, the purchase of life insurance is not thought of until the arrival of children but obtaining coverage shortly after exchanging vows can provide a solid financial foundation for decades to come.
Why your newlywed may need life insurance:
Health changes – Purchasing life insurance often sits on the perpetual back burner. However, if a partner’s health changes for the worst, the ability to purchase life insurance may become more difficult or even not available at all.
Fulfill charitable goals – Many partners set out on their journey together with the goal of helping others. The loss of one partner may make fulfilling charitable goals difficult. Life insurance can make sure both partners see their generous objectives come to fruition.
Unsecured debts – Credit card debt can quickly pile up for newlyweds. Once married, a surviving spouse will be responsible for all joint accounts and in some states, their partner’s debt accumulated after getting married.
Mortgage payments – New couples often move into their first new home which comes along with increased mortgage debt. If two incomes are necessary to support mortgage payments, life insurance can either help the surviving spouse keep the home or buy time necessary to sell it.
Car payments – Automobile loans may be upside down, leaving a surviving spouse with more car debt than equity.
Higher expenses – Even a couple without a mortgage payment often brings on higher monthly expenses to maintain their new lifestyle. Life insurance can help the transition back into single life living.
More expensive later – Life insurance only becomes more expensive as we get older. Purchasing a policy now can lock in premiums for decades to come.
End of life costs – The cost of an average funeral today commonly exceeds $10,000. Life insurance can provide time for the surviving spouse to grieve instead of worrying about end-of-life costs.
Term insurance is an inexpensive way to provide substantial financial protection for a newlywed couple. Consider purchasing at least 10x’s the income of the individual to be insured. And let them know you care about their financial health today and in the future.
Exercises for a Sedentary Lifestyle
As technology marches on, the need for us humans to be physically active diminishes more and more every day. Most individuals no longer received enough physical activity during their daily routines. Instead, we find ourselves sitting behind computer screens, televisions, and (someday) self-driving cars for much of the day.
The increased health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle are reaching frighteningly high levels. In fact, the World Health Organization issued a warning that a sedentary lifestyle may become a top ten leading cause of death and disability in the world!
Fortunately, getting your body back in motion and moving again toward a healthy lifestyle is easy. Here are four easy exercises you can begin doing today to improve your physical health:
Planking – Years of sitting in place can reduce your core strength. Planking involves holding yourself self in a horizontal position using your toes and forearms as support. Your first attempt should only be a few seconds. As you gain strength over time, extend your time in the plank position.
Stretching – A body in motion helps to build strength and improve endurance. However, inserting a stretching routine can keep muscles loose and relaxed. Begin with light neck rolls and move onto arm and hip circles. For good measure, toe-touches and high-reach stretches can complete a stretching routine and make you feel refreshed.
Swimming – Spending time in the water is a low-impact way to get your body moving. Water helps suspend the body and takes the weight off your joints including the hips and knees. Easy laps across the pool and even treading water for short periods of time help get the blood flow moving.
Walking – The simple movement of walking helps improve blood circulation and keeps joints lubricated. If you sit a desk most of the day, try to take a break every hour for a 5-minute stroll around the office. The goal is to get at least 30 minutes of strong walking in every day.
While scheduling time to exercise has its benefits, do not forget to look for ways to inject more exercise to your daily lifestyle. Simple changes, such as parking further away from the grocery store or taking the stairs instead of the elevator are easy ways to get your body in motion. Best of all, you can begin right now!
