Image via Wikipedia

The news is full of stories about the thousands of boomers who will be retiring every day beginning this year and much of the political discourse seems to be centered on the viability of Social Security and Medicare entitlements, causing concern among many middle-aged citizens

Before Social Security was enacted in 1935, men and women who became physically handicapped or too old to work depended on relatives who often didn’t have much to share; children who lost their father were often treated as a burden to others or sent to an orphanage.

There are some big lifestyle differences between those first generations of Social Security beneficiaries and the present generation of retiring boomers.

Well into the third quarter of this past century, workers avoided accumulating debt and aspired to pay off their mortgage before they reached retirement age. It wasn’t until sometime in the 1970′s that the banks started
stepping up the promotion of credit cards and home mortgage refinancing.

Offsetting this dreary financial situation is this generation of baby boomers’ attitude… they generally believe in staying fit and keeping their mind and social life active. Many of them are thinking about producing an extra income to supplement their Social Security check.

In earlier days, producing some extra income wasn’t easy; it meant getting a part-time job in a company or the local hardware store, teaching a skill or providing a needed service, such as small house repairs, gardening or cleaning services. Starting a small business could be an option, but that required some capital and a big time commitment. Any of those endeavors required some commuting!

Today, the Internet is providing practically unlimited means of communications with no geographical limitations, making it fairly easy to start a successful home business. A boomer facing retirement could be looking for answers to the following questions:

* How does my view of retirement differ from my parents’?
* How could I get some kind of home business up and running?
* How does knowing that I’m probably going to live longer than previous   generations change my outlook on life?

With plenty of time to do research answers to those questions and many more can be found on the Internet;there are many dependable websites and blogs offering free or low cost step-by-step instructions for planning a home business and making it work.

Here at Apprentice Marketer Gazette, I share information I’ve learned over the past four years and continue to get through daily contact with other bloggers and marketers.

What are your thoughts about extra income possibilities? Do you have some
suggestions other readers would like to read about?  Please share!

Fran

Photo: Ida Mae Fuller, the first SS recipient, photo information at Wikipedia