This guest blog post is contributed by Boomerater, a free online resource for Baby Boomers. Seniors for Living’s properties are featured in Boomerater’s Nursing Homes directory.

A new Boomerater post appears here each Friday.  For this week’s post, we asked Boomerater featured financial advisors, John Stohlman and Laura Stohlman, owners of Medallion Financial Group, to give us their expert tips for survival when facing a loss of income. If you have experienced a reduction of income through the loss of a job or a downturn in your investments, their practical advice can help you stretch the income you do have.  This posting includes the first two of John and Laura’s 1o survival tips.

1) Determine where you are financially.

This involves listing all of your available resources and expenses. You need to know how much money you have to get you through the transition (your next job). Do you have two weeks, two months, or two years of expenses saved?

Resources include: Savings, investments, retirement accounts, cash value life insurance and lines of credit.

Expenses include: Rent or Mortgage payments, insurance, food, utilities, loans, and car notes etc.

Writing down your cash flow on paper can be calming. You will find out what you are spending or what the “burn rate” is of your assets. This will help you to know how quickly you need to get back to work.  Finding any job ASAP, just to have paycheck coming in; or can you wait until you find your “career job”.  Once you complete the analysis, you can determine how long you have before you must take “any job.”

2) Next, work on improving cash flow.

Look at where your money is going. In light of your new circumstances, you may need to re-do your budget. (I know I just used the “b” word.) No one likes budgets. However, you need to get over it. “Financial Survival” is not for sissies.

Here is a short list of ideas to reduce your expenses or increase income:

• Eat out less
• Have a yard sale
• Sublet a room in your home or apartment.
• Shop for bargains, clip coupons
• Lower your thermostat and wear sweaters more often
• Restructure your credit card balances to the lowest rate.
• Increase deductibles on auto and home insurance. (But only if you have   enough cash saved to cover those deductibles)
• Cable TV costs and gym memberships should be examined for reduction or elimination depending on cash flow, even if only temporarily.
• Take a part-time job on weekends if possible.
• Sell that extra car
• Take mass transit (you will need to do a cost comparison first)
• Call your utility company and ask for someone to come out and do an “Energy Check-up” on your house.

John and Lisa Stohlman’s comprehensive article includes eight Money Tmore tactics to consider to significantly reduce your expenses while maximizing your income, including tips on health insurance, taxes, credit cards, loans and analyzing the risks of company stocks.  To read the entire article, go to 10 Money Tips for Unemployment Survival.

Until we find the fountain of youth, this blog post on Silver Buzz Café will have to do. Thomas Perls from the Boston University School of Medicine cites the top 10 things that may make you live longer, based on his research with people over the age of 100. As Perls states, “There’s nothing stopping you from living independently well into your 90s.”  (I’ve mentioned my love of the Willard Scott segment in other blog posts, and it comes to mind again as I think of the many people living a long, full life as affirmed by researchers like Perls).

To some extent, we can’t fully avoid disaster, disease or other dangers that affect our longevity, but as far as what we can control, here are the things that Perls suggests for the lengthening of life. Drumroll, please…

1. Don’t retire – it’s all about staying active. If you don’t want to work, consider a volunteer position. Perls writes about the Chianti region of Italy, where many centenarians reside and work on the vineyard in some capacity even after they’ve retired.
2. Floss every day – as per a 2008 NYU study, daily flossing reduced the amount of gum-disease-causing bacteria in the mouth, which correlates with arterial health. If the bacteria stays out of your mouth, it can’t get into your bloodstream. It’s all connected!
3. Move around – exercise, exercise, exercise. Enough said.
4. Eat a fiber-rich cereal for breakfast – it doesn’t matter if you’re an Olympic athlete in training or not, you should still eat your Wheaties, thereby reducing your risk for diabetes.
5. Get at least six hours of sleep each night – nobody likes a grump anyway. Get your z’s for good health.
6. Consume whole foods, not supplements – add more color to your diet with fruits, whole grains and veggies and cut back on the “white stuff” (breads, flour, sugar).
7. Be less neurotic – here’s one I could work on in 2010…don’t sweat the small stuff or dwell on things beyond your control. Translation – try yoga or meditation, not downing a bag of chips or a gallon of Ben & Jerry’s when you’re feeling low.
8. Live like a Seventh Day Adventist – They’re focused on family and community, and, believing that their bodies are on loan from God, they take very seriously the care of their bodies (i.e. no alcohol abuse, no smoking, no excessive intake of sweets, etc.). You may not agree with their religious tenets, but their health habits are effective: Seventh Day Adventists have an average life expectancy of 89 (which is about a decade more than the average American).
9. Be a creature of habit – the good kind of habits, of course. Getting up at the same time each day, exercising daily, and following a healthy diet will pay off.
10. Stay connected – social relationships are so important. Stave off life-draining illnesses like depression by getting on Facebook or going out with friends as often as you can.

Here’s to good health and good habits in 2010 – and cheers to long, full life to all our SFL followers!

-Michelle Seitzer

There’s no doubt that the American workforce is “graying.” People are working longer, not only in order to maintain an income, particularly during this time of recession, but for many reasons, while younger adults are delaying their entry into the working world to go to college.

As a matter of fact, a study by the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project found that a whopping 93 percent of the growth in the US labor force from 2006 to 2016 will be among workers ages 55+.

Though current economic conditions and an aging Baby Boom generation play a big role in the graying of America’s already older workforce, Pew’s survey found that healthy seniors want to stay active well into the later years and they remain working for a variety of reasons:

A new nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends project finds that a majority (54%) of workers ages 65 and older say the main reason they work is that they want to. Just 17% say the main reason is that they need the paycheck. An additional 27% say they’re motivated by a mix of desire and need.

When asked to identify specific reasons for working, older workers emphasize psychological and social factors: “to feel useful”; “to give myself something to do”; “to be with other people.” Younger and middle-aged workers are much more inclined to cite classic pocketbook considerations: “to support myself and my family”; “to live independently”; “to qualify for retirement benefits”; “to receive health care benefits.”

My dad is 77 and still teaches high school full-time. While he needs the income and benefits, he is also someone who needs to work. It’s what he’s always done and I think it keeps him active and healthy. He’s not really a “joiner,” so he’s not someone who would be active in groups and clubs by nature, and he’s not really a hobbyist, either. In other words, work is his social outlet and he would be bored and perhaps lonely without it.

While I won’t be near retirement age for a while, I have a hard time imagining myself not working since it’s what I’ve always done. However, since I’m married to a teacher and I’ll have a child in his 20s when I’m 65, working probably won’t be optional, anyway.

-Elizabeth Thielke

Some good news for coffee drinking men: Researchers have found a strong association between coffee consumption and a lowered risk of lethal and advanced prostate cancers:

The initial findings of the present study carried out by researchers from the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health have established a connection between coffee and prostate cancer, which mostly affects men who are 60 or older.

Researchers analyzed coffee intake of 50,000 men once in every four years from 1986 to 2006. It was observed that those who drank six or more cups of regular or decaffeinated coffee per day had 60 percent lesser chances of developing advanced prostate cancer, and 19 percent lesser chances of developing any kind of prostate cancer than those who did not drink coffee.

In what may be some even better news for others, beer may even have a role in prostate cancer prevention, too:

Tests showed that the ingredient, xanthohumol, blocked a biological pathway that allows prostate cancer to be fuelled by the male hormone testosterone.

These studies are definitely worth following, but be sure to follow your health care provider’s advice. And remember that maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle is key to aid in disease prevention. For the record, the greatest risk factor for prostate cancer is age, as about two-thirds of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men age 65 and older.

-Elizabeth Thielke

An article from the summer edition of AARP Bulletin Today highlighted a fantastic find for boomers who would like to get in shape while getting on the road. Designed especially for the 50 and over crowd, “lifestyle bikes” are focused on the rider’s comfort, equipped with features like padded seats, U-shaped crossbars that are easy to mount, low gears, and a frame sturdy enough to promote balance. Some even have power-assisted wheels if you need the extra boost.

Most boomers aren’t looking for a bike that can outrace Lance Armstrong or climb the Rocky Mountains, so the bike market responded accordingly: lifestyle bikes currently command a third of the 3.1 million bike sales in 2009, writes Maureen McDonald (who pedals a hybrid Cannondale Silk Path 700). This shift in the market correlates with a shift in the riding population. Says Loren Snyder of Cannondale USA, riders between the ages of 9 and 29 have plummeted, while the number of riders over 50 has moved from 7 to 21 percent since 1998.

There are two main reasons for this shift: boomers are focused on saving money and staying healthy to live a longer, fuller life. John Brunow, a D.C.-based comfort bikes specialist, says it best: “Activity equals longevity.”

It’s too late to use up those holiday gift cards for a lifestyle bike, but even if it means treating yourself, it’s a great way to kick start a healthier 2010. Your body will thank you.

-Michelle Seitzer

This guest blog post is contributed by Boomerater.com, a free online resource for Baby Boomers with advice on everything from retirement planning to family adventure vacations. Seniors for Living’s properties are featured in Boomerater’s Memory Care facilities directory.

In your budgeting for 2010, have you considered the cost of long-term health care?  Often overlooked, this cost can take a huge bite out of an otherwise well-thought out retirement plan.  Here is the question from a Boomerater member about long-term health insurance and responses from other Boomerater members.

Question: I’d like to hear some thoughts about paying the high premiums for a strong Long Term Insurance plan or simply investing the money wisely to be used later when needed. Some people think the huge amounts of money spent on premiums could be put to better use.

Replies:

1. No one expects to have a chronic illness or a severe disability that requires long term care (LTC).  But it happens, and nursing home costs are expensive and are escalating every year.  It is not unusual to pay $100,000 or much more a year, depending on the level of care needed.  Even if you just need assistance in bathing or dressing, you may find your health insurance policy does nothing to pay for those necessary, everyday expenses.   Medicare will barely make a dent in those expenses and Medicaid won’t help offset costs until you have depleted all other funds, and at that point you may find you are stuck with whatever option they decide for you.   The cost of long term care depends on your age when you buy the policy and how much care you anticipate you will need.  Buying in your 50s, or younger will ensure a lower rate.  If you wait to buy at an older age the price will be much higher – or even prohibitive.  Once you purchase a policy you may have a waiting period (typically 60 or 90 days) before the policy will pay expenses.  Also, whether or not they will pay on your policy is determined by a number of factors, including your condition and the tasks you can or cannot perform.  Also, cover all contingencies by making sure your policy covers care at home, in an assisted living facility and in a full-care nursing home.
   
2. I have my father in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s. It is an expensive proposition to have to stay in a nursing home. Insurance costs are function of what it costs to maintain viable policy. Most of us have health insurance which is also very expensive when you start paying for yourself rather than the company you work for. I think investing in LTC is a good way of insuring against large expenditures when they become necessary.
3. Insurance is just that. Insuring against something you can’t otherwise afford. At least consider insuring a part of the future cost of possible care costs.
4. The biggest issue you face if you wait is that the need for LTC is typically unexpected. At $7,000 per month, nursing home care will quickly drain your estate. Similar to life insurance, LTC insurance is intended for estate planning and preservation purposes, as much as for the insurance side. Do consider it carefully before dismissing it out of hand.
5. If you are in your 50’s and you purchase a policy that includes a 5% compound inflation protection feature, you would have a pool of benefit dollars to spend on care that would be far more robust than you could hope to achieve in any kind of investment.

Add your own suggestions about long-term health insurance or find out what other boomers have to say. Or learn first-hand information about finances, travel, family and relationships, shopping, interests and passions, health and fitness and careers, all from the boomer perspective at Boomerater.com.

The holidays are over, but that doesn’t stop people seeking ways to make a dishonest dollar, especially as those credit card bills start rolling in.

Nowhere Like Home, a Canadian-based home & healthcare service site, recently posted a blog on the latest senior scam to hit the airwaves there: fake grandkids calling for cash. As the post describes, a woman received a call from someone claiming to be her granddaughter. The young woman explained that she had just been in a car accident in Montreal. Her credit card was not working and she didn’t want to call her husband or parents to tell them about the accident. Promising to pay it back ASAP, the young woman asked for $4,000 to be sent by Western Union so she could fix the car and return home. Although the clerk in Wal-mart was suspicious about the wire transfer, the “grandmother” felt obligated to help.

There were more than a few red flags flying in this scenario: the granddaughter did not give her name, nor did she explain why she was in Montreal, and being in Montreal should not have hindered the use of her credit card. The Walmart clerk was grounded in her suspicion; according to the post, “hundreds of seniors have fallen for this scam operated out of money-transfer stores, and among them they have lost more than $3.5 million.”

Sally Herigstad, a writer for CreditCards.com, gives a few quick pointers to prevent telephone scam artists from pulling the wool over your eyes:

1. Don’t give your personal information over the phone.
2. If someone claims to be a relative, verify it with a few pointed questions.
3. Be wary of calls that prey on your emotions (be it sympathy or greed, i.e. “I’ve been in a car accident” or “You’ve been selected to receive $2,500 in our monthly drawing”).

While seniors may be targeted in these type of scams more frequently, people of all ages should be savvy about and skeptical of business transactions that don’t add up. Check out http://www.stopseniorscams.org/ for more information on senior-specific scams and http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm for details on internet-based scams.

-Michelle Seitzer

Like many private citizens, nursing homes and other long term care agencies are suffering during these tough economic times. Reimbursements are down and expenses are up. There are more and more vacant beds as people can’t afford to move in because they need the money from the sale of their homes and the housing market is at its lowest point in years.

One assisted living facility in Southern California decided to expand its services a bit to help themselves and the community:

The Lakes in Banning is not your typical retirement community. Most people are aware that The Lakes is an independent and assisted living residence for seniors, but probably have no idea that many of their services are available to the general public. Pass area residents can visit the hair salon, buy a homemade pie, have an event catered, and even hire a shuttle bus from the facility.

The Lakes saw needs in the community and filled them in creative ways. People from the community bring their elderly loved ones to the salon since it can accommodate wheelchairs and people with physical limitations. And, in addition to their famous pies, they even do wedding cakes.

I think it’s a great idea. Right after my mother died a few years ago, I thought about approaching an assisted living facility near my dad’s house about purchasing meals for him until he got into his new routine. I didn’t do it, but now I wish I had — perhaps I would have started a new trend!

-Elizabeth Thielke

It’s peak cold/flu season, folks. I’ve commenced the season with nasal congestion, a sore throat, and a persistent cough… and I just want it to go away.

The cold weather doesn’t directly affect whether or not you will get a cold or the flu – it’s more of a cause/effect relationship. Bacteria/viruses are the culprits, so if you’re spending more time indoors with poor ventilation, the likely outcome is that your health will be compromised. Also, the lowering of your body temperature can lower the response of your immune system, so if you’re not bolstering that system with a healthy diet, it’s only a matter of time before it’s attacked.

If you’re battling a cold or the flu, check out WebMD’s list of 10 foods to expedite the healing process:

1. Popsicles – make sure they are loaded with vitamins, not sugar. This icy treat will soothe your sore throat while keeping you hydrated — the key to kissing congestion goodbye.
2. Turkey Sandwich – the lean protein that turkey provides will give your body the energy it needs to get you back on your feet.
3. Vegetable Juice – go for the low-sodium version for the antioxidant rush your body is craving.
4. Chicken Soup – it’s not just an old wives’ tale, chicken soup has stood the test of time for its nourishing and hydrating properties. Added benefits: mild anti-inflammatory effects and improving the function of cilia, the small, hair-like parts that line your nasal passage and filter out the bad stuff.
5. Garlic – your breath won’t be minty fresh, but your congestion may be alleviated and your immune system stimulated. And when your sinuses are clogged, any relief is well worth the halitosis.
6. Ginger – if you’re experiencing nausea or other nasty stomach-related symptoms, a bit of ginger works wonders.
7. Hot Tea – in my opinion, healthy or sick, there is nothing like sitting down with a steaming cup of hot tea on a cold day. If your throat is sore, a touch of lemon and honey will maximize the soothing properties of my favorite caffeinated beverage.
8. Bananas – when you’re sick to your stomach, bananas go down easy, easing you back into a regular diet patterns.
9. Toast – an old standby, toast fills the hunger void and is easy on the stomach too.
10. Meal Replacement Drinks – look for high protein, low-sugar drinks to keep you on the mend.

If you haven’t caught a cold or the flu yet and would like to keep it that way, check out WebMD’s “15 Immune-Boosting Foods” and keep the cabinets stocked with these necessary items.

Cheers to a healthy 2010!

-Michelle Seitzer

For his 5′5” stature and 150 pounds, Joe Rollino was one of the strongest men alive. Known as the “Mighty Joe Rollino” and the “World’s Strongest Man,” he once lifted 475 pounds — with his teeth! With one finger he moved 635 pounds. He bent quarters with his thumb.

Yet last week, the 104-year-old was struck dead by a minivan while taking a walk in his Brooklyn neighborhood, as reported in this New York Times article.

Rollino had attributed his longevity to never drinking milk, smoking cigarettes, or partaking in alcohol. He walked five miles each day to stay in shape. Many residents of Coney Island knew Rollino well and say that he will be missed.

“He was one of the last links to the old strongman days of Coney Island,” said Charles Denson, a historian and the author of “Coney Island: Lost and Found.”

“Coney Island was the training ground for strongmen. He was one of the best.”

(Photo: DrDarden.com)