Over 50 and a Path to New Employment

                                                                         

Over 50 and finding your way to new employment. Learn How to Become is an excellent online resource! 

The following is from their website:

If you have held multiple jobs throughout your working life or have been laid off, don’t forget that you developed many marketable skills over the years. Create a list of skills you have acquired and determine what you are good at so you can present yourself to employers. Don’t overlook general skills that are essentially transferable skills relevant to multiple occupations. Skills such as reading and writing, management skills, technical skills, and communication skills can transfer over to a number of positions and industries Use tools like the Career One Stop Skills Profiler          Toolkit Use  tools like the 

Check out the Toolkit. It is a great resource from Interest Assessment, Skills Profiler, to Job and Salary Finder and more!

Check out this great info Career One Stop

And don't forget to go to Learn How To Become

Not a diet. Healthy Eating.

                                                                           

I will be turning 60 this year and know that I need to make changes.

This past year I found out I had a small hiatal hernia: (Hiatal hernia occurs when a small part of your stomach slides up into your chest through a weak spot, or hiatus, in your diaphragm. A symptomatic hiatal hernia regurgitates stomach acid back into your esophagus, causing the heartburn, difficulty swallowing and chest pain associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. To manage a hiatal hernia, Cleveland Clinic advises you to maintain a healthy weight, stop smoking, eat small meals at least three hours to four hours before lying down and avoid fatty and acidic foods. Consult your doctor for advice and fill your plate with healthy foods to help alleviate symptoms.)

One thing I have done is add a probiotic every day. I have digestive issues that I never had before and it has made a big difference.

Looking at food recommendations, if you have any digestive issues, you may want to take a look.

On livestrong.com : Vegetables and Fruits

Vegetables are a great choice for side dishes and snacks as most won't aggravate a hiatal hernia. Dark leafy greens, such as broccoli and spinach, provide plenty of calcium and vitamin B, while red bell peppers and carrots are great sources of antioxidants. Other vegetables you can enjoy include kale, sweet potatoes, squash and string beans. Fruits containing antioxidants may help reduce or prevent symptoms from occurring, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Healthy fruits include apricots, cherries, raspberries, blueberries and cantaloupe. Avoid acidic and citrus fruits, such as tomatoes, grapefruit and oranges, because they can aggravate your heartburn.

Choose whole grains over refined starches to add fiber to your diet. Brown rice, steel-cut oatmeal, quinoa, whole-grain pasta and rye bread are smart whole-grain fiber choices. Avoid processed foods containing refined starches and sugar, such as commercially packaged cookies, cakes, crackers and white bread. Refined starches are also loaded with trans fatty acids; choose healthy fats, such as olive oil and safflower oil, instead. Keep your dairy choices low-fat because high-fat products may aggravate your hiatal hernia. Choose low-fat and no-fat milk, cottage cheese, sour cream and yogurt to add dairy to your diet.

Beverages

Water is the best beverage choice if you have a hiatal hernia. Avoid fruit juices, coffee and caffeinated beverages because they may cause hiatal hernia symptoms to appear. Alcohol and carbonated sodas may also cause problems. Herbal teas are fine, but stay away from peppermint tea because it may cause heartburn.

Precautions

Most hiatal hernias aren't problematic, but if you do experience symptoms, consult your physician. Medications, by prescription and over-the-counter, can alleviate the symptoms of hiatal hernia, but take them only under your doctor's supervision. Speak to your health care provider or dietitian before making any changes to your diet if you are pregnant or have a serious medical condition, such as diabetes or heart disease.

more info

*Making these changes isn't that hard and is worth it!

*I am not a medical professional. Please consult your doctor before making any changes in diet and exercise.

Ways women over 50 can achieve financial fitness before retirement part 2

                                                                         

                       
                                                             
                      Ways women over 50 can achieve financial fitness before retirement

the following info was found on pbs.org

By and large, women over 50 will have different financial challenges than their male counterparts, so keeping financially fit is important. 

Keeping physically fit is always important, but as we age, it becomes even more imperative to maintaining quality of life. Keeping physically fit is always important, but as we age, it becomes even more imperative to maintaining quality of life. According to personal finance expert and Next Avenue contributor Kerry Hannon, the same is true for financial fitness.


Hannon stresses the importance of “financial fitness” for women, and especially for female members of the baby boomer generation, who are now entering their fifties and beyond. “Women have been part of the workforce more in this generation than before,” Hannon says, they are also likely to stay in the workforce longer. The full retirement age for Social Security has risen from 65 to 67, and, according to Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies’ “Fifteen Facts About Women’s Retirement Outlook,” 57 percent of women plan to retire after age 65 or not at all.
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the following is my view

So, let's take a look at that last paragraph. Wow, 57 % of women plan to work past age 65, or not at all. Gee, I would love to know how many of that percentage of women are not planning to retire at all. I bet it would be a large part of that number.
When I hear on the news how the younger generation is the first to live as well financially as their parents, I think, oh really? How wrong that is... My parents were not rich, but my dad was able to retire and have pensions from two places he had worked, my mom was able to receive social security, although she never had a full time paid job. She did work part time throughout the years. She also raised six children. Now, so many women will not get social security and in reality, how many people, men or women are retiring now with pensions from 20 years or more?
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pbs

Women face some unique challenges in planning for their financial future. Women famously earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. In a recent article for Next Avenue, Hannon points out that women are more likely to deviate from their career paths by taking time off to raise children or care for aging parents. They also tend to work for smaller firms and nonprofits that may not offer to match employees’ contributions to their retirement savings plans, if they offer a plan at all. On top of that, Hannon says, “most American women will find themselves single at some point from the age of 65 to the end of life.” This means women should be prepared to navigate the financial world on their own in their golden years.
Research suggests the average American woman does not believe she is up to the challenge. A Fidelity study released in February found that 82 percent of women were confident in their ability to budget and manage their daily finances, but only 37 percent of women felt confident planning for their retirement. Hannon offers the following financial fitness regimen for women in their 50s who are seeking to increase their financial know-how.

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my view

It's kind of baffling that women feel they are not able to plan for their retirement. Yet they are usually the ones raising the children, balancing a job outside of the home, balancing money between childcare, food, bills, clothing, and emergencies.
Women usually put everyone first, and don't focus on their health, so it makes sense they wouldn't in later years.
In the next post, let's look at making time for ourselves. Fitness of mind and body.


Beginning article
http://olderwomenrockon.blogspot.com/2016/12/women.html

Pennies from Heaven

                                                                                 

                                                 Pennies from Heaven, Thanks Mom!

My mom loved pennies! I remember a few years before she died in 2002, a classmate sent her four pennies. The years of the pennies were from each year they attended high school.
Mom used to love to wrap pennies and give them to my children when they were little.

After my mom died, I stopped into see my dad and he said, "You know, your mother leaves pennies in the strangest places around the house."
I have found pennies many time left by my mom. One day I was taking the dogs outside and noticed butterflies at the end of the driveway. They were beautiful, black with blue spots.
I walked up to them, four of them were on the pavement in a circle, in the center of the circle was a penny. When they flew away, I picked up the penny and thanked my mom.

My youngest daughter was having her first baby, I was with her and so was her mother-in-law. She looked at me and said, "Grandma won't be here to see the baby." I assured her that she would.
A few minutes later, her mother-in-law looked at the floor, picked up a penny and showed it to us. It hadn't been there before, she commented. My daughter and I looked at each other and smiled. I said, "I told you grandma would be here!"
One morning I got up and walked into the dining room with my coffee. On the table directly in front of the two middle chairs, straight across from each other, were two pennies. Now, the night before, all of my children and grandchildren were over for a visit. I had cleared the table and polished it, so I knew the pennies weren't on the table.

I am grateful to find pennies sent by my mom!

****My mom has been gone for 14 years and throughout that time, I have found pennies from her. There is no doubt in my mind that they are from my mom.
I remember her showing me a gift from someone who went to high school with her about 5 years before she died. There were four pennies, one for each year of high school she attended. The person remembered how much she loved pennies!
When my kids were growing up, my mom would give them pennies that she had wrapped. 
After my mom died and I visited my dad, a lot of times he'd say to me, "I find pennies from your mother in the strangest places."

Pennies from Heaven! Thanks Mom!


Marjorie Farrington ©

Technology and Family

                                                                   

                                                                         

Technology has had positive and negative influences on people's lives in so many ways.

Older people are no exception. 

Some of the positive ways, on a tech device it's usually easy to have a video call with our adult children and grandchildren. A simple emoji or a nice text message can be sent. Sending and receiving photographs and videos help us to see our family.

The downside: A text message on a special day instead of a phone call, not hearing you children's or grandchildren's voices for months at a time. The special times you may have had as a child with your own grandmother was something you wanted with your own grandchildren.

Yes, we understand that our children have their own lives, but to not even include us with a visit ever once in awhile, actually calling rather than texting.

Do you find yourself looking at your cell phone and wondering why they don't call? You can't figure it out because there hasn't been an argument, nothing you can pinpoint that was said or done to cause friction.

It's hard to find a way of coping with the emotional pain. There's no easy way to bring it up.

All I can tell you is that you are not alone, there are many older people out there going through the same thing.

No, technology is not the only reason for this confusing situation. But it's a convenient way for a relationship to be placed at a distance.