By Marie Langworthy, NABBW’s Transforming Retirement Associate Yikes! Water! Water! My hair’s on fire! Oh, it’s not my hair! It’s my bank account! I have completely smoked it! I inadvertently incinerated it during these last 30+ years of career building. If it’s any consolation, you have loads of company in your current miserable dilemma. Alana Semuels, in a February 22, 2018 The Atlantic article, “This What Life Without Retirement Savings Looks Like,” says that “… the median savings in a 401(k) plan for people between the ages of 55 and 64 is currently just $15,000,... Read More

I’ve recently read three excellent books – one a novel – by two NABBW members, both dealing with the topic of widowhood. Life as a widow is not a scenario I’ve ever given much thought to, despite being advised, many decades ago in a collegiate gerontology course, that since women tend to live about five years longer than men, if we don’t want to end up widowed  it’s best to marry a younger man.  (In my defense, I was already married by that time, so couldn’t act on this sage advice.) More recent statistics, provided by WISER, the Women’s Institute... Read More

By  Anne L. Holmes, APR NABBW’s “Boomer in Chief” Recently, Rick Montgomery, a reporter for the Kansas City Star called me, in my role as the Boomer in Chief of the National Association of Baby Boomer Women, for an interview. He was seeking my point of view on a generational demographic tidbit he had picked up recently: the fact that sometime this year, the Baby Boomer generation will no longer be country’s largest. Due to our kids’ aging into adulthood, we’ll be losing our famed demographic “pig in the python” position to a younger generation, the... Read More

By Meryl Ain For the NABBW The weeklong celebration of Hoda Kotb’s 50th birthday on the Today Show culminated with a congratulatory video message from First Lady Michelle Obama to a surprised and delighted Hoda. Throughout the week, 50 was celebrated as glamorous, sexy and a time for reinvention. This is all true, and I wish Hoda a happy birthday and many years of good health and fulfillment. But I have to think that it would have been nice when those of us in the leading edge of Baby Boomers turned 50 and then 60 to have had validation of how glamorous, sexy, and “young” we were. First,... Read More

Diane MacEachern Checks Out – and Reports On – The Green Clean Service Offered by the Maid Brigade Franchise By Diane MacEachern NABBW’s Going Green Expert Don\’t you love it when someone else cleans your house? I sure do – unless, of course, they “clean” it using products laden with nasty chemicals that leave my rooms smelling like antiseptic and that leave me with a big headache. I\’ve tried a lot of so-called green cleaning services over the years, but generally have found that, unless I provide my own healthy, non-toxic cleansers, most housekeepers... Read More

A Cruise I Couldn’t Refuse By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Expert Doing nothing is perfectly acceptable on the 150-foot Safari Explorer luxury motor yacht. You don’t have to jump up for whale sightings or watch bottlenose dolphin ride the bow wave. You can sit on the upper sundeck wrapped in Sky Father’s blue dome cooled by the sea breeze and enjoy your favorite book. Peering into the cobalt blue depths at the amazing adaptations of creatures living in the coral reefs is not mandatory. You certainly don’t have to partake in all the wonderful gastronomic delights placed... Read More

By Pamela J. Sams, CRPC NABBW’s Retirement Planning for Women Expert More women are working and taking charge of their own retirement planning than ever before. What does retirement mean to you? Do you dream of traveling? Pursuing a hobby? Volunteering your time, or starting a new career or business? Simply enjoying more time with your grandchildren? Whatever your goal, you\’ll need a retirement income plan that\’s designed to support the retirement lifestyle that you envision, and minimize the risk that you\’ll outlive your savings. When will you retire? Establishing a... Read More

If you have ever dreamed of living abroad, you are not alone. There are a growing number of boomers who have packed up their belongings in order to establish residency in a new country. Americans and Canadians often wander south to warmer climates found in Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Belize, or Ecuador. Northern Europeans have moved in droves to Spain, Italy, Portugal and other locations. However, did you know that there is a way to live abroad without settling in one specific location or setting up housekeeping for good? I am referring to international house sitting, a form of long-term travel... Read More

Eat: Thanksgiving Lentil Pâté By Janice Taylor NABBW’s Expert on Weight Loss and Hypnotism Last Thanksgiving, for a change of pace, I whipped up “Janny’s Lentil Pate” that was to die for. It was a mega-hit. People asked for the recipe! Imagine!!! It’s delicious, it’s healthy, it’s amazing and it’s Our Lady of Weight Loss approved! a 5-YUM’mer if ever there was one! Janny’s Lentil Pâté 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 large onion, chopped 3 garlic gloves, chopped 2 teaspoons bombay masala (I’m betting any masala would be great) 1 teaspoon ground coriander 2 pints vegetable... Read More

Are You (or are you married to) A Depressed Husband? Maybe It’s IMS – Take the Quiz By Jed Diamond, Ph.D., LCSW NABBW’s Male Menopause Expert After writing, The Irritable Male Syndrome: Understanding and Managing the 4 Key Causes of Depression and Aggression, I received hundreds of letters from women and men concerned about the impact that irritability and anger were having in their lives. Many of which are about either being or married to a depressed husband. This one is typical of the many I received: “Last month a man came home from work with my husband’s face but he did not... Read More