I am a resident of New Jersey and we are in the midst of a long journey back from super storm Hurricane Sandy. Though we do not live along the shore, it is a favorite vacation and day trip destination for us and many. Even worse is the destruction to summer and year-round homes.
Personally, my home is in the midst of wooded Northern New Jersey. The type of damage suffered was the falling of many many trees on wires, homes and cars. We were fortunate in that the worst that we suffered was power out for 10 days, some are still without power as I type this.
In memory of our beautiful New Jersey shoreline, here is a picture and short video taken with my little point and shoot camera only 2 months before Hurricane Sandy swept much beauty and history away.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those in New Jersey, New York and other States affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Updated 11/30/18
Because we have a good credit record, borrowing money has not been hard for us. Perhaps it is as good as it is because we don't borrow just because we want something, always pay our bills on time, and are generally careful about managing our money.
We have had some challenging emergencies that have come our way that have required borrowing, and though we don't like owing money, it has been good to know our credit score is good enough to make it easy and possible.
Monitoring your Credit Report and Score is made a lot easier if you know how your financial decisions affect your credit score. If you would like to learn more about the things that harm your credit score, and find links to get free credit scores, you'll find a lot of educational information at the link above.
Updated 11/28/18
If you have wondered what is involved in becoming a Virtual Assistant, you will want to visit a site owned by someone I've been acquainted with online for a number of years.
A Virtual Assistant in simple terms is someone who does typing and other secretarial and clerical type work from home for any number of clients. Services you offer will be based upon your skills, you decide what you can or cannot do.
Please take a moment to visit VA Directory and look at the main links on the page and the drop-down menus along the top to learn more. There are links to post your job, for VA training, a forum, and so very much more for anyone who is interested in knowing what it means to work from home as a Virtual Assistant.
Updated 11/28/18
I am looking at this screen through computer glasses, and when they come off, on will go my progressive lens glasses. I think insurance has helped us a bit with our glasses, though I'm not 100% sure, as we did pretty well finding good deals before we had insurance for vision.
With another potential job change coming up, and the possibility that we may not have the same insurance we do now, we may lose our vision insurance.
I was reading some retirement advice that suggested that you might be able to get a free eye exam by ophthalmologists that volunteer to do them for those that can't afford them and need an exam. If this is you, and you are over 65, it suggests that you go take a look at EyeCareAmerica.org to find an ophthalmologist that will offer free eye exams in your area.
Updated 11/28/18
I was actively involved with a network marketing company several years ago, and am still a member and customer, but not involved in the business part of it any longer. At the time, though, it was fun and there was some success. I made a bit of money and won 4 trips, a couple for myself, one that I went on with my husband, and one that we went on as a family of 4.
Whether or not you are successful at this type of business depends upon how much support you receive, how persistent you are, and many other factors. If you are interested in learning more, you will find some support at Mark Hall's MLM Opinion, a site that offers advise and support for those who are interesting in this type of business. Some network marketing companies are also called multi-level marketing businesses, this is what the letters M L M stand for.
Though some tried to discourage me from getting involved with the company I did, in my case, it was successful for a time, and part of some very happy memories.
Updated 11/28/18
Unemployment statistics always seem to be negative and at the same time, more seniors are finding it necessary to supplement their retirement income, or make career changes if not quite at retirement age. It's possible with current economic trends that more retirees will be working to supplement income.
AARP at their website, aarp.org, provides a list of the top 50 jobs for career change for those over 50. The top 10 in their list of 50 includes:
- Home Health Aid
- Personal and Home Care Aide
- Computer Software Engineer
- Medical Assistant
- Network Systems and Data Communications Analyst
- Dental Assistant
- Self-enrichment Education Teacher
- Compliance Officer
- Dental Hygienist
- Veterinary Technologist
And the list goes on, providing estimated income information as well as education required for the type of work described.
Updated 11/28/18
It is not uncommon to feel a sense of loneliness when you are working at home, especially if you have moved from parenting to an empty nest. You looked forward to the day when all that chaos and confusion of combining raising children and working at home would end. You longed for the day when you could focus on your work without distraction. That day has come and gone, it was nice for a while, but now there may be a gnawing sense of loneliness that has taken up the place where chaos and confusion used to reside.
This may not be everyone's experience, some may thrive on working alone, but it is my experience. I have been searching for and discovering some helpful solutions to this. Some I am practicing, others need to be added to my life to broaden and expand it. Let me share a few things that I've found helpful in overcoming loneliness while working at home. Some suggestions are not new, but we often need reminders to get back on track.
Following are some suggestions for overcoming loneliness while working from home:
- Find other friends who work from home on Facebook and Twitter - this won't completely fill the void, because we need to hear real voices and see real tangible people to do that, but it helps a lot. There are many groups of people with like business interests that can be found and joined on Facebook. Using the Hashtag (#) feature on Twitter you can search for "tweets" about things that interest you and share as well. I suggest that you turn off the "notifications" feature when you join or are added to a group on Facebook or you will be overwhelmed with emails...but do keep up with the groups, you do that by going to the "Home" link in the upper right and looking at the list in the left margin. Open up a tab on your browser with your Facebook account during working hours, and twitter as well, so you can interact when you wish, and share your accomplishments. I have a separate account for business acquaintances and friends on Facebook, that window is open during working hours, and in the evening I check in on family and personal friends on my personal account.
- Go out for a walk, alone or with your dog if you have one, and exercise. I try to walk or do Yoga each day, and do fail to do so some days, but also do manage to get out there more and more. It helps so much to get outdoors for an hour or more and run into neighbors and take in some sunshine, or walk in the rain with an umbrella when possible. You can do a little in the gardens and feel a sense of accomplishment.
- Get up each hour and do a chore around the house. This helps me so much mentally and physically. It's not good to sit for hours a day if you are physically able to get up and move. If you must sit due to a physical condition, learn about sitting exercises you can do and do some each hour to aid circulation. Youtube has many exercise videos, look up "chair yoga" or other exercises that can be done while sitting.
- Call a friend or family member and talk a bit so that you hear a voice. Though social networking, emailing etc. are nice, there is nothing like an "old fashioned" talk on the phone and visit with a friend over a cup of coffee.
- Get involved in a hobby or activity through your community center or go to a Woman's Bible Study. I do the latter each week which gets me out among women who like to share their joys and trials and support one another in and through them.
- Consider ways that your work might include tangible or visual contact with other people. Some work done from home includes this naturally, like those who go out and show products in homes as part of their business, but for those of us who are writers, more creativity may be needed. Join in on video chats and other visual forms of interaction. You will find that if you "social network" as discussed in #1 above, you'll hear of events taking place like this that you can take part in. Do so when you can.
Do you have other suggestions for avoiding loneliness while working from home? Please do share in a comment.
Updated 11/28/18
