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This past October, Kroll Inc. Suggested in their Annual Global Fraud Report that for the first time digital robbery exceeded bodily robbery and that companies providing monetary services had been amongst those who had been most impacted through the surge in cyber assaults. Later that identical month, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that cyber criminals have been focusing their attention on small to medium-sized corporations.

I will admit that I am not terribly interested in my family's history. I come from a small family, not a lot of nieces and nephews, aunts, or uncles. I'm not excited about tracing my family tree back through many generations. Even when we lived in Salt Lake City, home of the nation's largest genealogical research library, I wasn't moved.  My wife is more involved than I. Her family is large, with lots of branches on her family tree. A few notebooks are crammed with the kinds of details that serious seekers of family history love. At one point, I remember a distant relative did visit us to share letters, birth certificates, and other official-looking pieces of paper with Betty. She joined one of the on-line sites to help her with her explorations. While the interest is still there, her family searches have been relegated to a back burner for now. In doing a little research for this post, I ran across Genealogy In Time Magazine. One of its articles presented answers as t...

...retirement was an unknown concept for most of human history. Work until you die, or can't do anything productive any longer was the "rule." With most of us living in rural situations, retirement made no sense. The cows needed milking and the crops had to be planted, regardless of your age. Most experts cite the start of Social Security in the United States in 1935 as the official recognition of a change in mindset. But, not until Medicare was enacted in 1965 were most people able to even consider retirement at some point. As you are aware, 10,000 Baby Boomers are retiring every day. This massive flow will continue for another several years. That many people puts Social Security and Medicare under tremendous pressure. Neither was designed to support so many folks for so long. In 1935 the government figured setting the retirement age at 65 was a safe move; the majority of recipients would not live for very many years after that. Well, we showed them! Within a few ye...

My recent computer hacking problems have forced me to think about what I could live without. and what would diminish my life's satisfaction. Some things are essential to me, some to my happiness and sense of satisfaction. Others are a part of of daily life but I could certainly function without them. This list is by no means complete, but it might be a thought starter for you, too.   It would be very difficult  or very unpleasant to live without: My wife and family Could I physically survive without them? Yes. Would it turn my world upside down and remove a large share of what I feel makes my life meaningful? Absolutely. If things ever begin to unravel I want to have those most dear to me by my side.  Freedoms If I had been born someplace other than The United States or another country in the developed world my sense of what constitutes key freedoms would probably be very different. But, being born to a middle class family in 1949 in Ame...

The faint click of tiny nails, the rapid patter of small feet, woke me up. It was probably the middle of the night, though with no bedside clock there was no way to know. I recognized the sound, a field mouse most likely, running in the attic over my head. The sound no longer scared me, in fact it was kind of comforting since I heard it most every night. It reaffirmed I was in a favorite place for our family vacation: my grandparents' summer place, a rural farmhouse, out buildings, and  36 acres of fields and trees  north of Pittsburgh, a few miles from  the small town of Butler. Hearing nothing more, both the mouse and I relaxed back to sleep. My dad would work the day before we left on our annual trip, then drive all night to arrive the next morning in this magical place. While mom sat next to him during the long, dark, drive to keep him awake, the three boys were in the "back-back," the rear of the station wagon, sleeping on blankets and pillows. An occasional stop at ...

Have you ever seen the movie, The Curious Case  of Benjamin Button? T he lead character, played by Brad Pitt, gets physically younger while the rest of the world ages.  Eventually, it does not turn out well for him. He dies as an infant but with old age dementia.  In real life, there are actually some advantages to getting physically older, which is good since we don't have much choice. Here are five that came to mind: 1). We don't care nearly as much about how we look in a bathing suit (or birthday suit) . When we were younger, the effort expended to drop some weight before summer began was a common occurrence. Time spent jogging or at the gym become a fixed part of our schedule. Looking younger than our years was important. Face creams and lotions are a multi-billion dollar business.  While the health aspects of staying in shape remain important until we shuffle off our mortal coils, the reason changes. We are more concerned with our interior health than our e...

I am among retirement writers who suggest that moving right after retirement is a step that should be taken with caution.  Leaving friends and familiarity is never easy.  The adjustment after leaving work generates enough stress. Adding a move and all that implies just puts more pressure on you.  Moving after retirement is an important decision; it takes time and planning.  Over the six plus years of this blog I have shared several stories of newly retired folks who have left both a job and a long time home in short order, and regretted that move more often than not. Usually, the difficulty in establishing new friendships and missing ties at home lead the list. In short, home sickness can strike at any age. Others found the weather not as ideal as it seemed after watching the Weather Channel. Housing prices may be so different that affording a place to call home is too difficult. That being said, for some of us a move soon after retirement is the right step...

A growing trend among retirees is the desire to remain in one's home as long as possible. In fact, a recent study quoted by AARP shows 87% of those 65+ want to age in place for as long as it is safe. Even among those 10 years younger, 71% would opt to stay put. Familiarity and community ties are the biggest draws. Even so, the market for retirement communities remains strong,  such as Jimmy Buffett's new retirement community approach . Sun City communities and other planned offerings have adjusted to a more active lifestyle and the positives of providing care that includes nursing home facilities.  The ability to choose between staying home or moving to a retirement community or coop housing setup is a new development. In part, it has occurred because there are more options available to receive medical care in one's home. With nursing facility costs out of reach for many retirees, it is good news that other choices exist. For purposes of this post, let's assume you woul...

Almost six and a half years ago I wrote a post about how we exhibit  love when we care for our parents as they age. Just last week I re-read that post and felt a twinge: I still had both of my parents when it was written.  I wanted to share this with you again since this is something virtually all of us must deal with at some point. I haven't changed the original text which was written while both were still alive. For many of us, One of the toughest things we face is dealing with our parents as they age. Watching someone you love decline is not pleasant. My mom and dad are struggling so I am learning as I go. Since they live in town that makes my wife and me the primary caregivers, though my brothers do what they can by long distance. Almost 4 years ago, my parents had the foresight to move into a retirement community. It offers independent and assisted living options as well as a nursing care center. They wanted to avoid the situation where one or both became unable to c...

The end of an old year tends to bring out the predictor urge in many of us. We look back at the 12 months that is now in the history books and wonder what the new year will bring. Instead of looking ahead only a few months, I thought it would be fun to leap forward a decade. What will be different in 2027? What things that we take for granted today may not exist in their present form in 10 years? Here are a handful that might come to pass: 1) Black Friday will have passed away from lack of interest and the steady shift to Internet shopping . Already Americans are buying more online during the holidays than at brick and mortar stores. That trend will only accelerate. The idea of rushing out to shop right after Thanksgiving dinner, or getting in line at 5:00 AM for a chance to save on a PlayStation will be a distant memory. Such a shift will also mean the end to many of the physical stores that populate our malls and strip centers. 2) Retirement will be later for the majority of folks....

It is easier to lead a  satisfying retirement  if you have few financial worries. While money certainly doesn't buy happiness, few would argue that your options for living how and where you choose are more likely to happen the fatter your investment portfolio. So, this post isn't for you. On the other side of the issue, much of the popular press would have us believe we are doomed to a future of diminishing opportunities and darkening skies. I disagree. Yes, way too many seniors have been put in a very tough position by recent events and they will struggle. They may have to choose between buying some medicines and skipping meals. For the richest country in the world to allow that to happen is, in my view, criminal. So, who am I writing for today? This is for those who have a retirement income that is sufficient for our needs and allows for satisfying an occasional want. The Great Recession may still affect what we can afford and how we live. We have li...

All of us have probably experienced at least one vacation that didn't live up to expectations. The planning, the anticipation, along with the money and time invested produced a flop. No matter how we sugar-coated the experience, that vacation was disappointing. Of course, some of the reasons can be purely bad luck: getting sick or being injured can happen. Something goes wrong at home or with family and the vacation must be ended quickly. But, in thinking about vacations my family and I have taken over the years, there are five factors that seem to conspire to lay waste to the best-laid plans. Being reminded of their potential to mess things up may help you avoid a vacation washout.  Over or Under Scheduled I am a planner. When my family and I take a vacation, the days are often plotted as carefully as a military campaign. If we are going to spend the money and take the time, by golly, we will not waste a minute, we will enjoy everything and at double speed. Luckily,...

We have all experienced disappointments, loss, and troubles both big and small. If you live long enough there will be things you have done you'd probably like to undo. Life is a never-ending challenge that requires us to have hope in ourselves and the future. All too often, though, we can forget our achievements, those things we have done over our lifetime that make us happy, maybe even a little proud. As we enter the last few weeks of 2016 (Yea!) I thought it might be encouraging to focus on some of the achievements that we are most proud of. I will list a few of mine to get you started. Notice that some of the things on my list seem rather small. But, that is the important thing about achievements: size doesn't matter. 1. I quit smoking (That was a tough one) 2. Raised two well-adjusted, happy daughters who want me in their lives 3. Have been happily married to the same woman for over 40 years  4. Am loved by my grand kids 5. Rebounded from being fired to forming a successful...

I received the following press release about caregivers and those who are cared for.  I found the results both encouraging and distressing. I' welcome your reaction. SAN FRANCISCO – October 31, 2016 – As part of November’s National Family Caregivers Month, Honor™ ( www.joinhonor.com ), the fast-growing tech-powered home care company, surveyed ove3r 1,000 men and women ages 18 and older across the U.S. and found a surprising discrepancy in opinions and perspectives related to caring for aging loved ones. The 2016 Honor Family Caregiving Survey revealed that age and experience have a strong impact on attitudes. In particular, a larger number of Americans within the consumer sampling who hadn’t yet been exposed to the caregiving process or personally tasked with the related responsibilities viewed caring for an older loved one as a “burden.”  This same group also expressed far greater concern over the financial impact of providing care. Ironically, those who were already deep i...

Blogger Galen Pearl is is one of my favorite writers. She is also a very good friend to Betty and me. So, I wasn't surprised when I asked her to write a guest post and she quickly agreed. You probably know her from the 10 Steps To Finding Your Happy Place blog, or her latest effort,  No Way Cafe . Here is her insight on an important satisfying retirement topic: choice. I look forward to your comments. “I have no choice!” Recently, several people spoke these words to me while describing situations that were causing them deep distress. The situations were very different, but in each case, my first thought was, “Of course you have a choice.” In one situation, for example, the parents were in despair over an adult child who was still living at home. Not an unusual scenario these days. But the adult child was not making any effort to find work or otherwise contribute to the household. On the contrary, she took over the living room, falling asleep on the couch watching TV till late at n...