Sharing photos, videos, vintage images I've discovered, and -- occasionally -- commentary and thoughts from retired life and travels.

retirement

Mini-Depression?

February 27, 2009

store closing

February 27, 2009 — Watching the evening news, it sometimes appears as though the recession continues to spiral downward toward a mini-depression, if not  worse.

Store closures.

Massive layoffs.

Stocks indexes dropping to levels not seen in over a decade.

Bankruptcies.

Reductions in services.

Nonexistent availability of credit.

Continuing high rates of foreclosures and dropping home prices.

We live in an area that has seemed almost recession proof in all of the economic downturns since we moved here in 1980.  Yet, even here, there are empty stores as well as layoffs, foreclosures and higher unemployment.  On the other hand, there are new homes being built, businesses that are adding on or building new, and a few help wanted signs.

Most of the people we know, both here and elsewhere, are weathering the storm fairly well, though not all.  Quite a few people, including two of my brothers-in-law will have to postpone retirement because of losses in their savings and a nephew employed by Circuit City has lost his job.

So far, we have not been impacted, though we have changed some of our spending habits.  In these trying times, it seems better to be frugal and conserve what we have — just in case.

How are things in your area?  Have you made adjustments because of the economy?

Store Closing photo from flickr,  by dpicker, creative_commons creative commons licensing

Mini-Depression?

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Applying for Unemployment — The Rest of the Story

February 16, 2009

In January, I wrote about a coworker’s suggestion that I apply for unemployment when the contract that I was on was over — even though I didn’t need the job when I took it.  Comments on the piece overwhelming supported my decision not to apply for unemployment compensation. (see Applying for Unemployment)

aarp

The contract was over at the end of August.  In the turbulent economic months since then, I’ve had a few moments where I’ve thought about the extra cushion that unemployment income could provide.  However, I’ve never had a moment where I regretted my decision.

A few weeks ago I was at one of our every-other-week retirement breakfasts when I heard some fellows talking about putting in for unemployment benefits after thay had finished a contract job.  The nature of the industry that we retired from is that there is a lot of opportunity for contract work for those with the right experience and/or credentials. It wasn’t surprising that the idea of putting in for unemployment had occurred to others.

Apparently a couple of them had actually applied.

They were turned down!

They weren’t qualified because they were making too much money from their pension!

Since I was a contract worker working as an employee and NOT an independent contractor, if I didn’t have any other income, I could have applied for unemployment payments.  However, with my pension and other income, it didn’t seem right to apply.

In the end, I was not only morally right, but legally right, as well.

I would not have been able to receive unemployment compensation.

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Applying for Unemployment

January 25, 2009


Posted on flickr by royal_broil

On my last job, one of my coworkers asked me if I was going to put in for unemployment when my contract was finished.

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” I told him.

“You really should, ” he said.  “After all, you’ve been paying for it all these years. It’s your right. I’m going to when I do contract work after I retire.”

He went on about it a while longer, but I didn’t have much to say on the subject.

I thought about it for a while, though, and concluded that, no, I was not going to apply for unemployment.

While the extra income would be helpful, I didn’t need it and, after all, it’s supposed to be used to help those who need it bridge the gap between jobs.  I wasn’t going to be looking for another job.

For that matter, I didn’t actually need the contract job that I was working.  It was helping to pay off some debt and, while I was working, we weren’t having to use any of our investment funds.

So, since I went to work when I didn’t need to, it just didn’t seem right to me to apply for unemployment.  It felt like taking advantage of the system.  (I’ll have more on this in a later post.)

What do you think?  Should I have applied for unemployment?

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I’m retired…, or am I?

October 6, 2008


Image shared on Flickr by Christopher Dick

I guess I don’t know what being retired means.

Either that or it means something different to other folks.

I guess there is being really retired where you don’t do anything that might bring in some extra income.

For some retirement includes working part time to bring in some supplemental income.

Then, there is retired and going to work in an entirely new career field.

As well, there is retired and going to work as a high paid contractor or consultant in the field you retired from — don’t know about the “high paid” part of that.

Then, there is military retirement, which apparently isn’t really enough for anyone to live on, as all the military retirees I know are working full time towards a second retirement income.

———

Even though I went back to my former place of long-term employment for a short stint as a contractor, I was still retired.  Sure, I was getting paid — better than what I was getting before I retired, I might add — for the work, but I was also getting a pension check.

And there was a difference in me that others noticed!

Before I retired, I couldn’t quit without putting my early retirement in jeopardy…, and I was not happy — stuck in a job I couldn’t leave.  As a retiree coming back to work a contract, I always had a smile, something that was more rare than I realized before I left.  I didn’t have to be there and, if I felt like it, I could leave with no adverse consequences other than the loss of pay and reduce likelihood of being asked back again.

Plus, I was getting to do the fun part of the job.

I’m retired and I don’t have plans to look for a new job.  However, if I’m asked, like I was last time, to go back to work for a few months and I get to primarily do the fun parts of the job, I’ll do it.

Until then, Im really retired — I think.

—–

In my recent post, I don’t wear a watch when…, one of the commenters said that she didn’t think I was really retired.

What does retirement mean for you? Do you want retirement without any other work or will retirement include working in some way for you or your significant other?

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I don’t wear a watch when…,

October 2, 2008


Image shared on Flickr by fdecomite

When I retired at the beginning of 2007, I stopped wearing my wristwatch.

I didn’t put it back on until I took a short term contract job in February of this year.  At the end of the contract, I again stopped wearing the watch.

I guess, in a way, it’s a symbolic gesture.

I’m no longer tied quite so tightly to the clock, to a routine.

If I need to know what time it is, there’s a clock on my cell phone, in my camera, on the dash of my car, truck, and motorhome, on the back wall of my motorhome, on the TV, computer, microwave — you get the drift.

I don’t need the watch for me to be able to keep track of time.

Not wearing it is pretty much symbolic of a little more freedom.

——–

Is there something you do or don’t do that is symbolic of something?

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Rainin’ in Peoria…, and other news from the road!

September 8, 2008

We’re sitting in a B arnes and Noble in Peoria, Illinois, catching up on e-mail and other stuff.

Today was supposed to be a rainy day so we decided to look for Barnes and Noble stores in the area that we are in so we could get online.  Turned out there was about 10 within 60 miles, but none closer than 50 miles, so we decided to drive to Peoria, Illinois.

We had planned on leaving last Wednesday, but decided that we didn’t want to drive through the remnants of Gustav all day, so delayed a day.  It started raining Tuesday and rained hard all day Wednesday.  We had a lot of water running through the yard off of the road.  Fortunately, though, we live near the top of a hill in the Ozarks, so flooding is never a real concern.  We did get word today that the main highway from our area going north is going to be closed for a month for road repairs.  We figure it was probably slides due to all of the wet weather that we’ve been getting this year.

The drive Thursday was wet most of the day, but there wasn’t any bad rain.  By the time we got to our destination, Fort Massac State Park, we hadn’t seen any rain in a couple of hours and the ground was dry.  Fort Massac is the site of several forts dating back as far as the French and Indian War, each fort built over the ruins of the older ones.  It is located on the Ohio River in southern Illinois, across the river from Paducah, Kentucky.

On Friday, we visited the quilt museum in Paducah, a huge fabric store (Hancocks of Paducah), and the old downtown area.  I’ll have pictures that I’ll be posting later from there and other places.

Saturday, we took a long drive and got some photos of a old native mounds site and another really neat state park, the name of which eludes me right now…, more photos.  We drove through the old river town of Cairo, Illinois.  I got a couple of shots from the Ohio River, but none from the Cairo.  It seems to be a dying town.

Yesterday, we drove to Starved Rock State Park in north central Illinois.  It seems to be very large.  We’ll be exploring it some tomorrow when the weather will be better.  From there, we’ll be going into Wisconsin on Wednesday.

Hopefully the remnants from this next hurricane will not come back around and go though our area back home.  Everything is so saturated.  Fortunately, we’ve got family, friends, and the neighbors watching and checking the place so we will know right away if there is anything wrong.

While we are traveling, I won’t be checking in as much on all of the feeds that I normally use and won’t be able to comment while we’re traveling.  We will be at a campground starting Wednesday that will have wireless.

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