DOW Down - feeling DIZZY, too?

Are you as 'dizzy' as I am trying to survive the dips in the DOW?

As a kid, I loved amusement parks, but hated the roller-coaster. Oh, I tried several over the years but always came off it with a queasy stomach and promise to never try it again.

BUT isn't that just like what we're going through again with the Stock Market??? We survive one crisis, only to get back in the Market?
I fared well in the crash of 2008 and managed to sell a few stocks this time prior to Monday's crash.........but still I can't shake that sick-to-my-stomach feel every time I turn on CNN.
As a Boomer who depends on interest and dividend income, I find this situation so upsetting because you can't seem to make money anywhere nowadays.

So, Boomers tell me......what are you doing with your extra money nowadays with CDs paying ZIP and the market in total chaos?

Any ideas where I can make some good interest income?

The "SANDWICH" Generation

I know that many of you feel trapped because you've had to delay your planned retirement by 5 to 10 years due to the unexpected financial depression that's hit our Markets. It's stressful enough that on a daily basis many of you are facing a personal financial crisis due to the tanking of your IRAs, decrease in your pensions and layoffs.

If that wasn't bad enough, you might even find yourself now with the additional burden of being financially 'sandwiched' between your parents and your kids because you make more than either of them. For many Boomers, it seems like it's all falling on our shoulders because with our parents many of them have also lost most of their life savings, so they are looking to us for help. Looking for help while caring for your parents, then check out:

http://www.aarp.org/families/caregiving/caring_parents/

If you're dealing with 'boomerang' kids who want to come back to the security of the parental nest, then you've got even more bills. Find yourself caught in that situation, then you need to immediately establish ground rules and let those adult kids know they have to contribute financially. For an excellent article on 'boomerang' kids:

http://www.googobits.com/articles/641-what-you-should-know-before-your-adult-children-return-home.html

Whether you're taking in your parents or your kids, remember:

• first talk it over with your spouse
• it's your home, so you set the rules
• everyone should contribute financially based on their income.

Has your Nest Egg Cracked?

Wouldn't it be nice if just one day went by without hearing or reading about a bailout or stock scandal?

Other than the National Election, financial horror stories have dominated the news for the past 5 months, the latest being the PONZI-like Pyramid Scheme created by Bernard Madoff, a former chairman of the NASDAQ Stock Market. It's unbelievable that someone in his position would trade on his reputation and expertise to cheat so many people and charities out of more than $50 billion dollars! It really saddened me to see one of the investors interviewed on TV who lost their entire life savings. As one man put it -- "I've lived responsibly my entire life and one phone call wiped it all out!"

I really liked the above photo because while the egg is cracked (symbolic of our own nest egg), the buildings inside look safe - right? And that's how I think most of us feel right now --- while we have watched our own 'retirement nest egg' crack and plunge to 20 t0 30% of it's value, the big corporations have received relief (safety) from the Government. If this financial fiasco hasn't hit you personally, I'm sure you have a friend or relative who has had to postpone retirement because they can no longer count on supplementing Social Security by making withdrawals from their 401Ks.

So, what can you do personally in 2009 to get some relief from this financial crunch? Use your house -- that's right!

First, if you still have a mortgage seriously consider refinancing your mortgage. Today the Fed's policy panel dropped its target for the federal-funds rate to between zero and 0.25%, the lowest on record, so there will be significant drop in interest rates. Get on the internet tomorrow and check out the new, lower mortgage rates!

The second way you can use your home if it's paid off is a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage is a special type of home loan that lets your convert a portion of your equity into cash. But unlike a traditional home equity loan or second mortgage, no repayment is required until the borrower no longer uses the home as their principal residence.

To be eligible for reverse mortgage requires that the borrower is a homeowner, at least 62 or older; own your home outright, or have a low mortgage balance that can be paid off at the closing with proceeds from the reverse loan; and must live in the home. There are many other rules, so if you're considering a reverse mortgage, go to: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hecm/rmtopten.cfm

Government Bailouts

Are you tired of the roller coaster ride?

Just like many baby boomers, my parents grew up during the Great Depression. Hearing stories from my mom about my grandfather losing his job, the lack of money and food, made me very aware of the value of money. It also made me financially responsible, so I’m tired of Government bailouts of corporate America. It’s like the Government is rewarding companies for being financially irresponsible and unaccountable to their stockholders. AIG was saved at our expense with an $85,000,000,000 bailout; now they want another 37 billion. And how about that AIG spa junket --- what a joke! Indirectly, we taxpayers funded that retreat. Like most retirees on a fixed income, I can't afford a trip to that exclusive California beach resort with its own spa and golf course. Now, other corporate executives feel entitled to a Government bailout! Some of them got mad because the Government refused and then started a probe into their financial activities. Take Lehman Brothers. I was furious when I saw Dick Fuld on CNN so smugly denying any wrongdoing. How could he sit there and refute so emphatically that he did not mislead investors? So, why haven’t those top corporate executives been forced to liquidate their assets, close out their bank accounts and give those funds to the Government before it bails a company out? The rampant fear and lack of trust created from these failures has driven down the stock market to the point where retirees have lost trillions of dollars in their 401K accounts, pension funds, and also face the loss of future Social Security benefits. Is that a cost retirees should have to pay for arrogant corporate executive’s gross financial neglect and misrepresentation? I don’t think so. Your thoughts?