Print This Article
& Post it at Your facility
July 1, 2009
Turning 60!, Buying American -
Again
& Working & Learning in Retirement
by Dennis V. Damp, Retired FAA
FEATURING:
Turning 60! Over Easy Please
Buying American - Again
Working & Learning in Retirement
Turning 60! Over Easy Please
I made it to 60 this past May, four and a half years after I retired from
federal service. It wasn’t a day worth noting, nothing special, still feel
the same, just a year older and hopefully a little wiser. I’m the last of
four children in my family to make it into what was at one time considered
old age. I don’t feel old, maybe look the part to a degree, but overall
still feel mentally like a 35 year old. There are days when I question that.
This morning I discovered that today was Thursday by snapping open my daily
supplement container that has a slot for each day of the week, I hadn’t
turned on my cell phone yet.
Sixty was a target of mine, my mother died at 60 and my father at the
young age of 41. I made it - don’t know for how long - but intend to enjoy
it for as long as I possibly can with the love of my life whom I’ll be
married to for 40 of my 60 years this November. This wasn’t exactly a
turning point for me because I seldom dwell on age or circumstance, just
keep moving and enjoying the time God has given me and my wife on this oasis
called earth.
This has been a good year, my son married the love of his life in May and we
are now blessed with a beautiful, intelligent, and caring daughter in-law.
My son is 37 and took his time to find just the right person to spend the
rest of his life with. Our daughter is a respiratory therapist and she
enjoys traveling with us now that we have the time to travel unlike when I
was working 9 to 5 with the FAA. In semi retirement, I still work 40 hours a
week in my business, I have a flexible schedule and ways to handle things
when I’m away.
Overall 60 feels pretty good and I don’t look back, just forward for the
most part. My son’s wedding triggered many great memories of family and
friends and out of 9 aunts and uncles on my side only three are still here
with us and only two could attend. It seems like just yesterday that Mary
and I married. Time flies when you are having fun and I must admit I’ve
enjoyed these 60 years and hope to enjoy many more.
Buying American - Again
I spent the past 4 months looking for a new car, either a crossover SUV
or large sedan that would be good for trips. In 2007 I purchased my first
new foreign car, a mid-sized Lexus ES-350 and it is the best car I’ve ever
owned. It runs like a top as we use to say in the 60s, handles like a dream,
is quiet and responsive, and even with a 271 horse power V-6 engine gets 31
mpg on the road. Prior to purchasing this car we test drove the best of the
American brands, including the Cadillac DTS, and found no comparison.
During my recent search I test drove over 15 SUVs, vans, and large sedans
from all manufacturers. We couldn’t find a SUV that offered similar comfort
and ride to the Lexus until last week. I test drove vehicles that cost
anywhere from $19,000 to as high as $57,000 and settled on the
new Chevy Traverse, a full
size SUV on a car frame that we purchased from
North Star Chevrolet In Moon
Township. They had the best selection in Pittsburgh and the sales staff was
courteous and knowledgeable.
The new Traverse has a smooth, quiet, and comfortable ride, a
powerful V-6 engine that gets between 19 and 29 mpg on the road, and has
tons of room. Our model included one year free OnStar service with GPS and
hands free phone service, XM radio, power drivers seat, telescoping steering
wheel, stability control, 7 passenger, antilock breaks, privacy glass,
remote keyless entry, 18" machined aluminum wheels, six air bags, and a 5
star side and front crash test rating.
You sit up high with this model and it is very easy to get in and out of
the front and rear seats. The captain seats are comfortable with an
exaggerated power lumbar support. The lumbar support expands from lower to
mid back and is so much better than any of the cars we test drove. It
handles as good as my Lexus with a few exceptions. We opted for a front
wheel drive version without a sun roof which we never used in our other
cars. The fit and finish is impressive and the list price was only $32,965,
considerably lower than the Lexus RX and other comparable models.
We received numerous incentives and $3,000 in GM card credits that we
accumulated over a 7 year period that reduced the price considerable below
list. The XM radio is an added bonus for long trips. Its our first
experience with XM radio and we love it. You have over a hundred channels
including news, weather and talk channels plus channels devoted to music of
every type including the 50s, 60s, 70s and more with NO COMMERCIALS. With XM
you don’t have to find new channels because of poor reception or change CDs.
I used the April issue of Consumer reports to guide my search and found
few American cars and SUVs recommended and initially steered clear of this
model for that reason. The Traverse is new and they may not have had
sufficient input to recommend this new edition to the Chevy line-up. I
believe it will be a recommended model after next year’s consumer report
survey comes out. If you are in the market for a SUV or crossover take a
look at the Traverse, you won’t be disappointed.
Working and Learning in Retirement
We continue to expand our retiree jobs boards for those who retired and
either need additional income or simply like to be out and about and make
money while doing so. We have posted a number of job vacancies on our
Jobs Board that may
interest you and you can also explore many other private sector jobs boards
that we now list on this site. We also link to a
free resume posting service
that you can use.
A number of site visitors have expressed interest in taking additional
college level or non- credit courses to either complete degrees, earn a
certificate, simply learn something new or pursue something they would like
to do. Visit our educational exploration service to find and
explore
educational opportunities of every type.
Visit our other informative
sites
http://federaljobs.net
(Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federalretirement.net (FREE Retirement
Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info
(Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career &
Jobs Center)
http://postalwork.net
(Postal Career Center)
http://ehsjobs.org
(Environmental Health & Safety Job Center)
http://stolenplates.cm
(What to do if your plates are stolen)
Educational Opportunities (Explore online degrees and
courses)
Security
Clearance Jobs (Find private sector security clearance
jobs)
Send comments to ddamp@aol.com
Print This Article & Post it at Your
facility
Jobs, TSP Thoughts, and I-Bonds
by Dennis V. Damp
FEATURING:
• Jobs - Opportunities for Retirees Increasing
• TSP Thoughts
• I-Bonds - Still Worth Consideration
Jobs
This past month we have had more companies post job vacancies on our
Federal Retirees Jobs
Board than we have had in the past year. The jobs range from a beer
store clerk in Washington state to HR, personnel specialists, and engineers.
All are looking for federal retirees and even in this down market the skills
you used while employed with Uncle Sam are highly sought after in the
private sector today. If you need additional income in retirement take a
look at our Jobs Center at
http://federalretirement.net/jobsboard.htm. We will be expanding our
free job posting services for employers and we hope to bring many more job
opportunities to retirees later this year.
TSP Thoughts
I talk with active federal employees and retirees each month and I
repeatedly hear that many have reallocated their Thrift Plan to the G fund
and more than a few have done this recently while the market was at its
lowest point. If you followed my column you will recall that I kept much of
my TSP split between the G fund and the L2020 funds when I first retired. I
mentioned in my
October 2008
column that I moved 50% over to the C and S fund funds and here is what
I said at the time. “I’ve recently changed my TSP mix to 10% S, 40% C
keeping 50% in the L 2020 fund. I don’t know if we are at the bottom yet but
no investment specialist knows when a bottom will be reached. What I do know
is that long term the economy will recover, as it has in all previous
recessions, and when it does the S&P 500 C fund and other stock funds will
lead the pack and appreciate significantly. Buy low and sell high is always
a good strategy. I seldom buy at the very bottom, but it seems prudent,
after a 40% drop in most indexes that now may be a good time to start bottom
feeding. I don’t recommend anyone changing their mix based on my personal
preferences.”
The S&P is now close to where it was when I made my change 7 months ago and
there is still the potential, baring an unforeseen calamity, considerable
gains to be made during the recovery with the index where it is today.
I’ve watched the market go through down turns and recoveries many times
and with the indexes this low, and the prospect of the recession nearing its
end, its was time for me to jump back in. The S&P hit its all time high of
1576 in October 2007 and yesterday it was 893, a 46% drop. Five years ago in
May of 2004, before I retired, the index was at 1127, above where it is at
now. Typically, small caps in the S Fund lead a market recovery. Major
indicators have many economists predicting the end of this recession and it
has been one of the longest historically.
I kept my TSP after retiring because of the G Fund. It is the only fund
that never goes down in price and the Thrift does this by buying special
bonds from federal agencies. When most bond funds were returning less than
2% the G Fund out performed most government bond funds and was yielding in
excess of 4%. Private sector government bond funds fluctuate because they
invest in less secure government investments like Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac. Also, the expenses charged for the TSP funds are some of the lowest in
the industry.
If the TSP is all you have to fall back on and if it is your only
investment in retirement the G Fund is the best place to be, 100%
guaranteed. If you have other savings accounts and investments such as E & I
bonds, brokerage accounts, CDs and savings you may want to consider some
adjustments to your TSP account allocations.
I-Bonds - Still Worth Considering
I am still a strong believer in
I bonds even after they announced a zero % composite interest rate for
the next six months in may of 2009. The prior 6 month rate was 5.64% and I
have some of he older bonds that yielded as high as 8%. The money supply is
increases exponentially with the new administration's spending and out of
control budget. Every time this has happened in history, in any country,
inflation is sure to follow and even though I-Bonds may be down but not out
for the next 6 months, they will be one of the premier investments when
inflation returns. Another way to get protection from the inflation that is
sure to come is through
Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). For those who remember
the early 80s when you could get a 13% yield on bank CDs because inflation
was rampant, its coming back as the Obama administration attempts to spend
their way out of the recession.
Visit our other informative
sites
http://federaljobs.net
(Federal Career & Job Center)
http://federalretirement.net (FREE Retirement
Planning Guide)
http://fedcareer.info
(Career Development Center)
http://healthcarejobs.org (Health Care Career &
Jobs Center)
http://postalwork.net
(Postal Career Center)
http://ehsjobs.org
(Environmental Health & Safety Job Center)
http://stolenplates.cm
(What to do if your plates are stolen)
Educational Opportunities (Explore online degrees and
courses)
Security
Clearance Jobs (Find private sector security clearance
jobs)
Send comments to ddamp@aol.com
By
Dennis V. Damp
