Whatever happened to growing old gracefully? I think it died out about ten
years or so ago now. Nobody grows old gracefully any more! With all of the different
cosmetic surgery procedures available, it is more preferable paying thousands
of pounds to work against nature than allowing nature to do its thing. As a
result, there are plenty of alternatives out there for anyone wanting to do
something about their wrinkles, and that includes a new facelift technique.

The 50+ age group are just at the right age to take advantage of the new facelift
technique out there at the moment. Sad, I know, but very true! With new wrinkles
rearing their ugly heads every single day and living in a society that seems
to discriminate against aging these days, this new facelift technique can actually
make you look younger without the tell tale signs that you have had a little
work done.

The incision made for the new facelift technique is located on the temple or
sideburn and is made at a certain angle so it doesn’t disturb hair growth
at all. As a result, your hair would grow over it and cover it within weeks
of the procedure. Not only are you manipulating your wrinkles, you’re
also tricking the hair follicles into thinking nothing happened! It is a fantastic
idea for those of us that want to grow old disgracefully and look younger than
our years, at least facially because nobody can stop your neck or your hands
aging! Unfortunately!

The new facelift technique is a lot less invasive and most plastic surgery
surgeons can perform the procedure now if you elect to have this type of procedure.
It does broaden your options and will no doubt give you more confidence, removing
all self-conscious thoughts afterwards as to whether anyone has noticed your
scars. If they can’t see them, they can’t prove that you don’t
look younger naturally! The only question is, do you want to put yourself through
it in the first place?

Ok we all know we are gonna get older, there no escaping it. Now into my early
50s things ache and crack that never did before and my eyesight is not exactly
20/20. I care more than I let on about my seemingly ever changing hair color
and it’s increasing ability to magically disappear without a trace!

Doesn’t sound great does it, but in all honesty its not as bad as I thought
and although I do have some genuine concerns, I am quite happy with my foray
into being a 50 something man. Lately I seem to be making more regular trips
to the bathroom. It got me thinking about what could be causing it and of course
as if by magic a TV program just happened to be on that evening so I decided
to watch it. Long story short - my prostate.

The program didn’t offer a great deal of useful information and probably raised
more questions for me than the answers I was expecting it to provide. You can
guess the outcome of this, right?Yes my wife is in on the act, surfing the internet
and making suggestions about herbal supplements, drinking pomegranate juice
and using prostate massage.

I feel like a guinea pig and certainly have no intention of sticking my own
finger up my butt to massage my prostate - really it is bad enough that I need
to go for an exam without doing it myself.

Anyway the latest suggestion is Botox injections into the prostate gland. Apparently
it reduces an enlarged prostate as well as the frequent urge to go the toilet…Although
I may make light of my wife’s suggestions, some precautionary and or preventative
measures seem like a good idea. I’m happy to follow any or all of my wife’s
suggestions if it keeps me far away from the need for Botox injections.

So we thought, start simply. Maybe some kind of supplement would be a good
place to start. Keeping in mind that I hate taking pills and really only want
to do this if there are real benefits, I think some more research is in order…Is
it just me or maybe it’s a “man thing”, but sometimes I wonder just how effective
these things really are. You know stuff like, Saw Palmetto, Red Clover. Can
Saw Palmetto really help with your prostate & help prevent hair loss or
is it just a really clever way to empty my wallet, I hope not!

Throughout the year, the dollar has dropped considerably compared to the other
major currencies. With many baby boomers set to retire in the coming years,
this puts a big strain on the value of what they have save up for in the past
few decades. They no longer seem to have a cash pot large enough to buy them
the dream retirement home or vacations they had hoped of getting upon their
deserved retirement.

While economists say that there are as many pluses as there are minuses for
the economy due to the dollars fall, to retirees it may be the case of more
minuses taking into consideration that they will still be consumers and will
continue to consume products and not earn probably as much as they would if
they were still employed.

The dollars’ decline drastically reduces the buying power of their hard earned
pension savings, the value of which is probably a lot less than they expected
it to be when they retire. While retirees are probably not too concerned about
helping out the economy at this point in their lives, the economy has a direct
correlation to their ability to live a sustainable life during retirement. The
cost of basic goods will continue to rise and they will not have the means by
which to augment their pension savings.

Does it mean that American retirees have to find additional forms of income
while they are retired? Perhaps…but what other means are there to people who
supposedly should be taking a break and enjoying the rest of their lives, and
is there still motivation to continue to find ways to make a buck. It may be
unlikely for many retirees to find reasonable means to live out their retirement
in the comfort they had planned.

Only a drastic increase in the power of the dollar will perhaps improve the
predicament facing the soon to be retired, but this has to be addressed soon
otherwise it may be a little to late for them. How much of an impact will these
trends in the currency be to you?

Whatever happened to bell bottoms and Nehru jackets? I thought they would never
go out of style, but then again I thought that Eve of Destruction was a song
with a timeless message. Now when I think of my life I feel that, like
Fonzie, I have finally jumped the shark and am ready for retirement. Of course,
does retirement mean cuddling up besides Social Security as you travel along
that final ride?

I hope not, because as many people are painfully aware of, there is nothing
secure about a future that depends on Social Security. With so many people drawing
compared to the number contributing, Social Security checks will soon become
the equivalent of discount coupons from the Sunday paper.

However, no one wants to work forever, and with retirement just around the
corner, even with proper planning there isn’t enough time to prepare. This means
one of two things if I want to maintain my quality of life well into my eighties:
I have to either hit the lotto or quickly build a nest-egg.

As with anything, this is easier said than done, however that doesn’t mean
it’s impossible, but more than likely it does mean tightening my belt for a
couple of years. Focusing on my “golden years” means investing, saving,
and working hard now so I can actually retire at age 67, when I’ll be either
too old or too lazy to work. Since there are no “safe investments”,
that also means diversifying my revenue streams so that I can enjoy the good
life.

If you had parents that lived through the depression, you know what I mean
by “the good life”.

The good life is the life I’m living now, with a Lay-Z-Boy, kids that eat too
much, a wife that shops too much, and a TV that is on way too much. The “good
life” in general is too much, which leaves you with too little when it
becomes time for “senior savings”. If you started late in the game,
then the only way to glide your way to becoming a geriatric is to bite the bullet,
and sacrifice now so you can live well later.

I’m sick and tired of these couples who go crazy after retirement. The day
after they leave work for the last time they purchase a $120,000 motor home,
leave their kids and grandkids behind, and take to the road. Others move far
away, buying a home hundreds or thousands of miles from their children and grandchildren.
They don’t know their grandkids and don’t seem to care.

First on their mind is having fun and being free. I think that is tragic. Those
are the years they could be helping with their grandchildren, developing relationships
and demonstrating the importance of family to their own children and grandchildren.
It just seems very self-centered to me.

I hope as baby boomers retire they don’t move thousands of miles from their
families, travel half the year, or spend all their time volunteering so that
they are just as busy or busier than when they worked. Don’t get me wrong. I
know not all retirees leave their families behind.

There are some who are exceptional and put family first. For their retirement
they stayed in the same area as their children. They spent a lot of time getting
to know their grandchildren. One of my favorite memories is my grandmother walking
with me to a local restaurant and buying me an ice cream. It was just the two
of us.

That was over 35 years ago, but I remember it as if it was yesterday. How much
better would the country be if family stayed close to each other? Imagine if
children could ride their bikes a few blocks and visit their grandparents, where
they could sit down to some milk and cookies and listen to stories of when their
grandfather was growing up during the depression, or how their grandmother helped
on the farm as a girl.

That is what retirement is all about: Having the time to spend with family.
If you have any special memories to tell about your grandparents, please leave
a comment about it.