Inside Your Wealth - September 2019

Enjoy and Thrive as Summer Transitions to the Fall Season 

With the Fall (Autumn) season, comes the transition of your social activities from beach time, barbeques and sports to indoor dinner parties, sports nights and the annual upcoming Holiday planning from Halloween, to Thanksgiving and through the December Holidays. We prepare our gardens, our home decor to welcome this change in season. The nights begin to be colder and if you are caught after dark without a coat, chilly winds may prevail. Your coat collars are lifted up and out come the scarves, the sweaters, and the sweatshirts! 

With this change in season, so does our menu with hearty soups, kinds of pasta and stews. Also, these Fall fruits and vegetables like squash (numerous varieties including pumpkins), cranberries, apples, persimmons, pears, sweet potatoes, and beets can enhance our meals,  among many others. Try new recipes that use these fresh foods that are healthy and yet hearty. Recipes abound on the internet for new Fall dishes. 

Take time to get your annual shots for flu, pneumonia, and other health    regimens so that the weather changes do not impact your health as the days grow shorter and the weather much colder. With the onslaught of the end of year celebrations and the season’s changes, we sometimes forget to take great care of ourselves first!  

We wish you well as the seasons move ahead and look forward to our next conversation. 

Best wishes and Enjoy!  

Best Wishes,
Marilyn and Ora

Are We Ready for the Baby Boom Retirement?

Fifteen years ago, a Health Services Research report described the challenges ahead for the United States as the Baby Boom generation aged into retirement. Four issues were paramount: 1) improving payment and insurance systems for long-term care, 2) ensuring people remain healthy and active as they age, 3) organizing community services so care is readily available, and 4) changing cultural perceptions of aging so everyone remains “integrated into the fabric of community life.”¹ 

Have these challenges been met? Let’s take a look at each issue: 

Long-term Care Needs

Here’s the bad news: Government estimates suggest 62 percent of older Americans will need long-term care (LTC) during their lifetimes, yet just 7 percent of Americans age 50 or older have stand-alone LTC policies. In fact, sales of these policies have fallen by 60 percent, according to LIMRA.² 

Here’s the good news: Sales of combination products, such as life insurance policies or annuities that also have long-term care provisions, have increased.² 

Health and Wellness

Here’s the bad news: Older Americans have many more physically unhealthy days than younger Americans do, according to the Centers for Disease Control.³ 

Here’s the good news: Boomers are more focused on health and wellness than prior generations. In a Forbes article, the authors of Health + Wellness 2017 wrote, “There has been, perhaps, no more pervasive lifestyle shift in the American contemporary scene than the desire among Baby Boomers to lead active, healthy lives…it is the initiative taken by aging Boomers to create a new way of living based on the pursuit of not just wellbeing but being well that has driven permanent changes in America food culture and healthy living.”⁴ 

Caregiving

Here’s the bad news: The need for caregiving is expected to increase rapidly during the next few decades.⁵ 

Here’s the good news: The resources available through private and public organizations “can help solve long-term care issues and ease the strain on the caregiver,” according to AARP. Home and community-based services often include companionship, transportation, housekeeping, and meal programs.⁵ 

Perceptions of Aging

Here’s the bad news: Cultural views of aging are slow to change.⁶ 

Here’s the good news: We continue to evolve as we age, and our lives often become more fulfilling, according to the longest longitudinal study of human development in history. “Surrounding oneself with positive people is boomers’ best strategy to be joyful in their third act, with love and support from others a far more effective anti-aging technique than any pill or treatment,” reports Psychology Today.⁷ 

While some issues related to the health and wellbeing of the Baby Boom generation have yet to be resolved, many boomers will probably enjoy rich and satisfying lives for years to come. 

Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of the Day

A healthy breakfast can kick start your metabolism and give you the energy to get through a long day. On most days, it’s a good idea to start with something tasty and nutritious, like granola with fruit or a smoothie. On the days you decide to indulge, this recipe will thrill your taste buds! 

White Gull Inn's Cherry and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast⁸

1 loaf egg bread, unsliced

1 8-ounce package cheese cream, room temperature

1/4 cup whipping cream

1-1/4 cups tart Montmorency cherries, drained, divided in half

7 eggs

Cinnamon, for garnish

Powdered sugar, for garnish 

Trim ends from loaf and cut bread into six slices (approximately 1½ to 2 inches thick). Make a cut three-quarters down the middle of each slice (to form a pocket) being careful not to cut all the way through (each slice will become two slices but will be joined together at the bottom). Set aside. 

In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese, whipping cream, and 3/4 cup cherries. Spread approximately 1/6 cup of the mixture into the pocket of each slice of bread. Gently press slices together, evenly distributing filling. 

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Dip stuffed slices into egg mixture and coat all sides. Place immediately on a lightly-oiled, heated griddle and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook over medium heat until golden brown, turning to cook second side. 

Remove cooked slices from griddle and place on a cutting board. Gently make a diagonal cut through each slice, forming two triangles. Arrange two triangles on six individual plates. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining cherries. Serve with maple syrup.

What Do You Know About Women?

During Women’s History Month (March), the World Economic Forum celebrates the achievements of trailblazing women who may not be remembered in our history books. See what you know about some of these amazing women. 

1. Who was the first African-American woman elected to the United States Congress? (Hint: She was also the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.)⁹
   1. Barbara Jordan
   2. Yvonne Burke
   3. Shirley Chisholm
   4. Cardiss Collins 

2. What didn’t Huda Shaarawi do in her lifetime?⁹
   1. Live in a harem
   2. Fight British colonialism
   3. Establish the Egypt Feminist Union
   4. Send a text message 

3. Anglo-Irish sports photographer and journalist Lilian Bland was the first woman in the world to design, build, and fly an aircraft. What did her father offer to buy her if she would stop flying?^{9, 10}
   1. An automobile
   2. A race horse
   3. A husband
   4. A camera 

4. Hedy Lamarr wasn’t just a pretty face. She patented an invention that has been employed in wireless technologies like cell phones. What was it called?⁹
   1. Electrodynamic induction
   2. Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum
   3. Electronic numerical integrator and computer
   4. None of the above

 Quiz Answers:

C – Shirley Chisholm

D – Send a text message

A – An automobile

B – Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum

What Would You Say?

Imagine one of these scenarios: You’ve just finished a grueling seven minutes of wrestling, your team eked out a win in a close football match, or you’ve completed a run or swim with a personal record. Next thing you know, a reporter thrusts a microphone in your face and expects you to say something. What would you say? Here are a few memorable quotes from some great athletes: 

“Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.”

--Vitas Gerulaitis, Professional tennis player (after winning his 17^th match against Jimmy Connors)¹¹

“Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don’t move.”

--Satchel Paige, Professional baseball player¹¹

“Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.”

--Billy Jean King, Professional tennis player¹¹

“Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind.”

--Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Olympic heptathlon and long jump champion¹²

“You can't win them all but you can try.”

--Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American gold medalist and LPGA player¹²

“If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.”

--Mario Andretti, Professional racecar driver¹³

“I never said most of the things I said.”

--Yogi Berra, Professional baseball player¹³

Quick Tip - Teamwork

Learning to be a good team member is as important as being a good team leader. Cooperation, collaboration, and communication are critical skills for a team member or leader to reach team goals and objectives. Your team may be an athletic one, a community group, an engineering or financial project, or a special task force to solve a specific problem. Even if you prefer to work alone, learning to be a good team member is a skill that will help you move along the “Yellow Brick Road of Life.” 

Challenge yourself to be better, to grow inside and out. And smile after you try!

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.

Henry Ford

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.

Michael Jordan

Transition — An Opportunity for Growth  

We all have had life-changing transitions whether personal, career, health or relationships among many  others. Each one of these is an opportunity for growth and a life event that may cause you to feel unexpected emotions. For example, retirement for men and women may cause one to feel a loss of identity and  self–value. One day you were the person in charge, being compensated nicely, and the next week, you are Mr. or Mrs. “Retired in Place”, drawing Social Security and perhaps a pension. (The financial conversation is a whole another topic). Or you decide to leave a long-standing love relationship and the

transition to being on your own socially caused you to feel  undervalued and of course  under-loved. This is where small actions can lead you to your next success.  Focusing on what makes you happy and productive is a good way to take small steps to complete a  transition. How many of us have made big changes in our lives and have questioned ourselves day in and day out?

We can share many more life transitions and decisions that we all make to move away or “forward” as we say in our wealth management practice. The words we use when talking to ourselves matter, and words like moving ahead; moving forward; are supportive of our internal decisions.

Take time to take good care of you when you are in a life transition. Healthy habits will help you to make healthy decisions daily. A successful transition usually does not happen in a few days, and some time may take months, which we all know can be very challenging.

There is a saying we use, that “What we appreciate, Appreciates!  Meaning that when we focus on a goal, a positive outcome, we  usually will experience that result over time. Positive intention is one foundational technique for success.

Equally important is having a support system of  family, friends, and colleagues that you can trust and share your feelings and ideas with when you are making a life transition. Moving through a life transition without a strong support system is  challenging. Even if there is only one person that you can lean on, ask for support and guidance or just an ear that will listen. As we process our emotions, one at a time, we can move forward much more quickly.

Remember, transitions and change can produce   positive growth in your life. Be open to the change, and life will open up for you.  

The above material was prepared by Peak Advisor Alliance. 1_676134