Older Than 55, Jobless And Running Out Of Solutions
As stated by the U.S. Labor Department, September, 2010 statistics show that from among the 14.9 million unemployed, upwards of 2.2 million are 55 or older, and approximately half of these have already been unemployed 6 months or longer. The unemployment rate in the 55+ age bracket is an all time high 7.3%.
As the weeks without an income drag on several of these forced early retirees are draining their savings accounts and 401(k) retirement accounts, and borrowing frequently from relatives. Standard medical health plans are being dropped for catastrophic plans which cover only medical emergencies. Leisure travel is out of the question. Even important extended family events like wedding ceremonies and funerals are now being avoided if flying and hotel stays are involved.
With Social security income still several years away many Boomers are running out of options to continue to pay their home loans and health-related expenses, or to assist their kids and grandchildren, some of whom may also be without a job, with living and college expenses.
If you find yourself in this boat and if borrowing from your 401(k) becomes necessary to keep the boat afloat, the experts advise that you find out about how to attenuate the tax hit and penalties, which run at 10%. The rules for withdrawal are complicated and they come with a variety of seen and unforeseen consequences so it will be well worth your time to investigate.
One more thing worth investigating is how you could turn your career and life experience, your hobby, or your special interest into an online business. Starting an online business is a viable idea. Just about everyone is a guru about something. Individuals from around the world browse the world wide web every day for specialized information, and they are willing to purchase it too. Most people tend to underestimate their knowledge, but think back. Wouldn’t you have paid to leapfrog your knowledge about your own special interest – if you could get the benefit of somebody else’s years of experience?
It will cost you nothing to do the initial investigation to gauge the marketability of your special knowledge. And if you establish that your knowledge is saleable the cost of putting your new business online, top to bottom, can be measured in a few hundred dollars and not the thousands it would take to get up and going with a traditional brick and mortar or office kind of business.
A successful online business doesn’t just have to be about information either. People are buying everything online – from toothpaste to trotting horses. You can earn cash selling hard goods and tangible products one at a time or in a niche store. Virtually all the major vendors, and a number of smaller ones too, offer what are called affiliate programs, that you can register with for free. You earn a commission on every sale from your web site. All the bookeeping and backoffice stuff is done for you. You don’t physically handle any products and you don’t warehouse or ship anything. The websites that offer the consumer unique and valuable information regarding the things they want to buy tend to do well, even in the most competitive niches.
There is a whole world of opportunity to replace a lost income with an online business. The money necessary for entry is low enough to make it practical for just about everybody. With some brain work, a little motivation, and the right guidance starting an online business could be the early retirement problem solver.
