According to the U.S. Labor Department, September, 2010 statistics show that among the 14.9 million unemployed, in excess of 2.2 million are 55 and above, and nearly half of those have already been without a job six months or even longer. The rate of unemployment in the 55+ age bracket is an all time high 7.3%.
As the months without an income drag on many of these forced early retirees are draining their personal savings accounts and 401(k) retirement accounts, and borrowing heavily from friends and family. Traditional medical health plans are being dropped for catastrophic plans that cover just medical emergencies. Holiday travel is completely out of the question. Even important extended family events like wedding ceremonies and funerals are being passed up if air travel and hotel stays are involved.
With Social Security benefits still years away many Boomers are running out of options to continue to pay their mortgages and health-related expenses, or to help their children and grandkids, some of whom may also be without a job, with everyday living and college expenses.
If you find yourself in this boat and if borrowing from your 401(k) is necessary to keep the boat afloat, the experts suggest that you learn about how to minimize the tax hit and penalties, which run at 10%. The guidelines for withdrawal are complex and they come with a variety of seen and unforeseen consequences so it is well worth your time to investigate.
One other point worth taking a look at is how you can turn your work and life experience, your hobby, or your special interest into an online business. Starting an online business is a viable idea. Nearly everybody is a guru about something. Individuals from around the globe browse the internet everyday for specialized factual information, and they are prepared to pay for it too. Most people tend to underestimate their knowledge, but think back. Wouldn’t you pay to leapfrog your understanding of 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 preliminary investigation to evaluate the marketability of your special knowledge. And if you determine that your knowledge is saleable the cost of putting your new business online, top to bottom, can be calculated in a few hundred dollars and not the thousands of dollars it could take to get started with a conventional storefront or office kind of business.
A successful home based business doesn’t just have to be about selling information either. People are buying everything online – from toothpaste to trotting horses. You can earn commissions selling hard goods and tangible products individually or in a niche store. Almost all the most important manufacturers, and a number of smaller ones too, offer what are called affiliate programs, that you can join for free. You get paid a commission on every sale from your web site. All the bookeeping and backoffice stuff is done for you. You don’t manually handle any products and you don’t store or ship anything. The sites that offer the customer unique and useful information regarding the things they are looking to buy tend to do well, even in the most competitive fields.
There is a world of opportunity to replace a lost income with an internet business. The money necessary for entry is low enough to make it practical for almost everybody. With some brain work, a little motivation, and the right guidance starting an online business can become the early retirement problem solver.
