A recent article in the New York Times caught our attention. The Times analyzed census data, a feat that should be applauded in and of itself! However, we digress. Their analysis looked at data regarding the percentage of women in the United States who are married and single. The results are very interesting. In 1950, 35% of women were living alone. In 2000, 49% of women were living alone. In 2005, 51% of women were living alone!The reasons for this are many and varied. For instance, women are living longer as widows, are less likely to remarry after a divorce, and are living with a partner to whom they are not married. Prof. Stephanie Coontz, Director of Public Education for the Council on Contemporary Families, is quoted as stating, “Americans now spend half of their adult lives outside of marriage.” Coontz states that this phenomena is unprecedented in our society with the possible exception of major wartime mobilizations and when African American couples were separated during slavery. William H. Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution described the shift as “a clear tipping point, reflecting the culmination of post-1960 trends associated with greater independence and more flexible lifestyles for women.” He goes on, “For many older boomer and senior women, the institution of marriage did not hold the promise they might have hoped for, growing up in the ‘Ozzie and Harriet’ era.”On the other hand, 53% of men are living with their spouse. Frey states that this is because “women continue to outlive men, they have reached a non-marital tipping point - more non-married than married.”In addition, the data demonstrates that the proportion of married people, especially among younger age groups, has been declining for decades. Between 1950 and 2000, the share of women ages 15 to 24 who were married dropped from 42% to 16%! Among 25 to 34 year olds, the proportion dropped to from 82% to 58%!What does this all mean for our society? You tell us. From a practical standpoint more women are living lives that allow them a level of freedom that they may not have experienced in the past. At FutureDecisions we are seeing a greater number of women signing up for our Reinvent Yourself Program. These women are pursuing a course of action to assist them in becoming more self-actualized than perhaps they have been in the past. They are pursuing their dreams with an eye towards what they want out of life, not what others may want for them.These numbers are bound to change the working landscape; how remains to be seen.

Here in the U.S., people are spending everything they make and pushing the personal savings rate to the lowest level since the Great Depression more than seven decades ago.

The savings rate for all of 2006 was a negative 1 percent, meaning that not only did people spend all the money they earned but they also dipped into savings or increased borrowing to finance purchases. It was the poorest showing since a negative 1.5 percent savings rate in 1933. During the Great Depression when one-fourth of the labor force was without a job, people dipped into savings in an effort to meet the basic necessities of shelter and clothing.

Whatever the reason for the low savings, economists warn that the phenomenon exists at a particularly bad time with 78 million Baby Boomers approaching retirement age. Instead of building up savings to use during retirement, boomers are continuing to spend all their earnings. The savings rate has been in negative territory for 21 consecutive months.

Source: The Associated Press, February 2, 2007

While we at FutureDecisions cannot assist you with financial services we can help you in realizing your dreams when it comes to finding that perfect next career. Give us a call at 916-812-6033 or visit the FutureDecisions website and let us get you started on creating the life you love through our Reinvent Yourself Program!

As we close out the year a couple of things of note regarding we Baby Boomers. Number one, the first wave of Baby Boomers turned 60 this year. By the end of 2007 40% of Baby Boomers will be 60 years old! This is amazing to us here at FutureDecisions because neither one of us ever thought about being 60, it was sooo old, but yet one of us will be there soon.Second, we are constantly amazed at how much the Baby Boomer population has to offer society. When we were younger we protested and wrote letters and dodged the draft in defiance of the status quo. Then, we became the status quo and judging by many of the problems facing the United States as we close out 2006 we have not done a terrific job. We have a war which that seems to go on forever, corporate corruption at unprecedented levels; political corruption seems to continue unabated and so on. Yet, we when we work with Baby Boomers now we find that there is this realization that although things may have not gone as well as we might have wanted when we were imagining the future in our younger days the fact of the matter is we have new opportunities to positively alter the landscape.While many of the ideals we had in our younger days went by the wayside there is an awakening in many of us that we have a second chance. If we make the most of it we can bring a new level of peace, prosperity and integrity to our world and leave a legacy of which we can all be proud.

Recently a friend purchased a DVD for us at Tower. The title is “The Open Road - America Looks at Aging”. It is a fascinating 60 minutes that was originally aired on PBS in 2005, it was filmed in 2004.

If you have a chance to view it we would highly recommend doing so. It chronicles several individuals who are just approaching retirement and those that have been retired for quite some time. Because it was filmed in 2004 it is slightly dated but worth viewing non-the-less. Many interesting facts and figures are presented in the film some of which we shall share in this blog in the future. One worth noting, in our eyes at least, is this one; by 2030 39 States in the United States will have as many retiree residents as Florida does today. Interesting food for thought.

We recently attended a Baby Boomer conference and one of the featured speakers was Mollie Katzen the author of the well-known Moosewood Cookbook. Mollie had many interesting tidbits of information to share but the ONE that we wanted to share is the fact that obesity will soon replace tobacco as the number 1 preventable cause of death in the United States!We all know that obesity can slow us down a bit but we really need to take notice when obesity is about to take over tobacco in the death count column. Those few extra pounds not only detract from our appearance but they can also kill us! Next time you start to eat that donut, slice of pie, or whatever, think about it in terms of lighting up a cigarette, it may give you enough pause to reconsider whether you REALLY want to eat it.Some healthy eating habits suggested by Mollie:

• Eat lots of fruits and vegetables
• Say yes to good fats
• Say yes to good carbs
• Choose healthy proteins
• Stay hydrated
• Alcohol in moderation
• Take a multi-vitamin everyday no matter what your eating habits
• Eat mindfully, enjoy your food

Nothing new here we know but good advice nonetheless and worth repeating.