Lifestyle Newsletter 15 July 2009

PROFITABLE HOBBY: SELL VIDEOS ON-LINE

Benjamin Christie – Sydney NSW - sells access to his (personal) online video files.

His most successful video is about sharpening knives.

As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald 10/27/08, he contributes to several sites, including Metacafe and Viddler.

Christie does this by using TubeMogul (www.tubemogul.com), a free service that sends your home-made videos to multiple video-sharing sites and then provides the creator with information about how, where and when their videos are being watched.

"I did the video on sharpening knives as a test to see if it would be of any interest to anyone. On YouTube it did about 3000 [views] and on Viddler about 4500," Christie says. "So obviously there's a market for that kind of stuff."

"I made about $2,500 out of YouTube, whereas on TubeMogul I think I probably made maybe $7,000 in the last 18 months," Christie says.

source: www.hobbiesforprofit.com

RETIREMENT IN THAILAND

Here’s an interesting website http://www.retire-on-550-month.com

It’s promoting Chiang Mai, a major city 400 klms north of Bangkok, and the most popular retirement destination - for westerners - in all of South East Asia. (The proof to this claim is that there are 10 foreign consulates there.)


ENCORE CAREERS

If you are thinking that you may need to reinvent yourself and defer retirement and do something that you enjoy, there are two U.S. websites that may give you some ideas.

They are www.retirementjobs.com and www.retirebrains.com

From just a cursory glance at these sites, you can tell that healthcare is huge, and that there will be a shortage of nurses for years. Some states offer fast-track programs for anyone with prior work experience (e.g. unemployed auto workers) but in Australia to become a nurse it’s still a three year slog to qualify. But the good news is that there is no age barrier to entry.

Healthcare is the fastest growing industry in America, and covers doctors’ offices, clinics, home health care, laboratories and hospitals.

There are also emerging opportunities for seniors in financial services sector. The premise here is that boomers prefer to deal with advisors of a similar age.

And of course for ease of entry (which also means low wage) there is always the retail sector.

All this means good news for workers 50 and older who are considering a career change – either forced or unforced.

PLAN FOR “AFTER YOU OPT OUT”

In my job I often think that I have become a family counsellor, as I often have to ask “What is it that frightens you about retirement?”

The answers are difficult to articulate, as we are not used to thinking about it, however (for men) they often come down to: Separation from the group, a loss of identity, knowledge that we’ll miss the action, and general anxiety about the future.

One day we’re in this incredibly stable job with friends, enemies, and a mission — the next day we’re one of “them,” just another citizen.

Women by and large have different concerns, but money – or lack of it – is generally top of mind.

One reason is that they are more aware then men of escalating and unpredictable health care costs in old age.

So if you still have time, no matter what your thoughts are about your own retirement, just make sure you have a plan. That’s the solution to overcoming the anxiety that many of your peers face.

If you would like me to help you explore your options for 20-25 years of dignified retirement, contact me – Bernard Kelly – anytime. My email is admin@retirelaughing.com

For another approach to this topic, go to

http://www.mining-silver.com/ It’s about a “SuperCharged Retirement” – a book by Mary Lloyd.

LATER RETIREMENT MAY DEFER DIMENTIA

Working beyond normal retirement age might help stave off dementia, scientists said today.
Keeping the brain active later in life appears to reduce the chances of an early onset of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study of 382 men with probable dementia. The researchers suggest a significant link between later retirement and delayed symptoms.

The findings emerged from a wider study on data from 1,320 people with dementia led by members of the

Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London, and funded by the Alzheimer's Research Trust and the Medical Research Council.

The researchers found no link between education or employment and dementia risk, but found that those who retired later prolonged their mental abilities above the threshold for dementia.
guardian.co.uk, Monday 18 May 2009

Until next time

Bernard Kelly 0414 778 518 www.retirelaughing.com

PS for each successful referral of a family member, friend or work colleague, I'll pay you $1000 (which is what I pay Google each month for a similar result)