PayPal Account

If you have ever purchased or sold anything on ebay, you know about PayPal.  It is a way to pay and be paid for things online.  I am much more inclined to use PayPal than to expose my credit cards online.  PayPal ties into your bank account and it costs nothing to sign up.  They make their money by charging a small fee to the seller.Your purchases are guaranteed just as if you had used a credit card.
What I like best is that you can sign up for a trial as in the $1 trial below and you can click into your PayPal account and cancel the subscription without having to deal with the seller of the product.
If you have any interest in starting an online business, I suggest that you sign up at http://www.paypal.com/

Money For Mom or Grandmother

This site is geared to work at home women although men might be interested also.  They discuss various ways that to earn money working at home, mostly doing fun things that people might be interested in doing anyway.  Examples are making and selling jewelry, taking surveys, making money with photography, writing, prebuilt websires, crafts, blogging and as virtual assistants. We have talked about many of these things on this blog but these ebooks go much more into delth than I can.

Check it out, you might find that you can make money doing something that you are doing anyway.

http://moneyformoms.fastprofitpages.com/?id=stevk12345

Total Profit Plan

This is another excellent way to get started making money online and you need no prior technical knowledge to succeed.  It combines a lot of things that we have dicussed in the past.  This pertains to affiliate marketing, specifically with Clickbank.   This is not a free system but you can try it for 7 days for just $1.  If you want to continue, it will be an additional charge of $67.  Even though I have nearly 50 blogs and websites already I signed up for this myself.

With this program, you get 50 established websites.  You need no hosting nor do you need a domain name nor product.  A domain name name typically will cost you $20 and hosting about $10/mo for one such site.  If you paid $140 per year for 50 sites, it would cost you $7000 annually.  This is a super deal.

In addition to the sites, he provides considerable training on how to send traffic to your websites for free.  For example, he shows you how to do a Squidoo lense and how to set up blogs.

I have often told you that I do not discuss get rich schemes in this blog.  This is just a simple process to earn a bit of money online to supplement your retirement income.  If you make just $1 per day on each website, you will earn $50 per day, $1500 per month or $18,000 per year.  Won't that make a big difference in your life?

If the answer is yes, go to this site and signup.  If it's not for you, cancel within 7 days and you have only lost $1 but don't give up.  This will eventually work.

I will give you a word of warning, after you pay your one dollar, they make some qick pitches to sll you additional products.  Do not buy them, back out and you will have the page mailed to you by way of e-mail.

http://0284bg3358apjzhcsd163h1dug.hop.clickbank.net/

Turn-Key Cash Kits

Are you struggling to make ends meet?  Are your Unemployment Benefits ending soon?  If so, you need something fast and inexpensive.  This business is absolutely free.  You won't become rich but you could earn  a few hundred dollars each month with Turn-Key Cash Kits which will provide you with all the pieces of the internet cash puzzle you need to start earning right from day one.  All you have to do is plug in one of these pre-made websites.

Start Filling Your Inbox With Cash!

These Turn-Key Cash Kits are great for everyone from beginners to advanced marketers who want to start seeing the cash flowing into their bank account with the least amount of work.

This system is perfect for beginners because you don't need a product of our own, it comes with the system.
You don't need a list of subscribers - the system will show you how to start from scratch.  You don't need to be a technical whizz - basic website skills is enough.  I have signed up for this program and I am certainly no techie, far from it.  You don't need a lot of money to get started! - your Turn-Key Cash Kits membership is 100% free!  The system is designed so that even the most un-skilled, un-trained, money-less marketer could set it up and start seeing sales almost immediately.

Each Turn-Key Cash Kit Includes the 3 Magical Pieces that every successful marketer uses. Here is what you get:with each of your free Turn-Key Cash Kits so you can Plug-In and start profiting today!
Stealth Profit Report showing you the complete system!
A hot "re-brandable report" you can brand as your's by inserting your name, website and "cash making" affiliate links for multiple profit streams (complete ebook re-brand kit and instructions included).  This alone is worth $97!
List Building Website!  Once you sell to people on the list, they are likely to buy from you again and again.
A stunningly designed and professionally written "squeeze page website" to personalise, upload and suck in subscribers (website re-brand instuctions included).  The value here is $197!
Follow up emails!

You have nothing to lose, here is the site http://turnkeycashkits.com/?e=stevkuj

Facebook Fan Pages

I am sure that many of you have Facebook acounts.  We use them to keep in touch with our families and friends but they can be used other ways.  I have used their advertising features in the past but, perhaps, their most lucrative use lies in the Fan Pages which essentially are a free host for web pages.  If you are interested in this feature, see my blog at http://www.facebookmoney.biz/.  This is one of my blogs and it contains a lot of free information and some very informative e-books that you can purchase.

Using Facebook Fan Pages is a very economical way to set up a website since you do not need a domain nor do you need to pay for hosting.  This can save about $100-150 per year.  In other words, this is a great way to start your online business with minimal initial outlay.  Check out the blog to find ways to use this inexpensive source.

Credit Card Processing-Merchant Accounts

One of the critical needs of starting an online business is selecting a credit card processing service or a merchant account.  We have all seen retail clerks run our credit cards through credit card processing equipment.  Online businesses need the same type of equipment to accept credit cards.  It is called a merchant account.  The equipment is usually installed at minimum cost, if any.  Businesses offering credit card processing equipment make their money.  The merchant account pays anywhere from 1% to 4% of their sales to the equipment owner.

If  you are looking for credit card processing equipment, please check out this blog

http://www.creditcardprocessingmerchantaccounts365.com/

Sell Services and Products By Way of Cell Phones

I just signed up for this opportunity 10 minutes ago and the potential is unbelievable.  This system takes into account affiliate marketing, CPA marketing and other systems that we have discussed previously with a new twist.  I will write a report this weekend discussing my success/failure with this program.  If you would like to check this out go to
 http://5f043c01ahasi0gi29mfq8-jfi.hop.clickbank.net/

The price is a bit higher than the ones I generally promote but this is new and you can get it on the cutting edge.  The writer claims that he makes $1,000/day.  When I purchase a system, my goals are more like $50/day but my long term goal is to be operating at least 6 of these systems, or $300/day.  I really believe that this will be system #5.

Fiverr

Fiverr.com is a website that can be used to earn money in multiple ways.  It is a list of things that people are willing to do for $5.  You can make money in the following ways:
1. Offer to do something for $5.
2. Save money by buying services at extremely low prices.
3. Arbitrage, offer a service on other sites for $10-$15 and have it done on Fiverr for $5.
The services offered are all types, but the following are quite numerous; programming, advertising, money making opportunities and advice on how to use social media in your business.

A Place for Mom

I realize that this is not something we typically discuss but we recently had to place my mother is an assisted living facility.  Whether we want to think about this, or not, this is literally a fact of life that we all eventually have to face.  We worked with this company and they made the process bearable. If you are currently looking into this, I recommend you sign up with these people, it costs nothing to do so and you will be glad you did.

Interesting MLM Pre-Launch

I don't usually promote MLM programs because I have never been able to get in on the ground floor.  I am going to make this exception.  You might want to check this out. The promoter, Mike, is one of the heavy hitters in the MLM industry.
http://73700.prelaunchinvitation.com/

Additional Education

As we are winding down our careers and looking for alternative ways to supplement retirement income, we might want to consider additional education.  We have more time than before so going back to school is a good way to fill our time, keep our minds sharp and learn new skills.  The internet has opened up a whole world of education that we can consider.  I will be reviewing some programs and discussing some options.  Also, scholarships might be available for some of us.

Outsource Your Work

As you work on your online business it oftentimes becomes more efficient to outsource, or sublet out, your work.  Let's say that you want to advertise on Facebook, or Twitter or MySpace or You Tube.  You need to get a large number of people as Followers or Friends to get your offers seen.  Here is a site where you can sign up and buy Friends, if you will, by outsourcing your task for minimal cost.
http://www.microworkers.com/?Id=8bb9ee86
Here is another site for large jobs
http://www.freelancer.com/
You can also sign up on these siters and perform tasks that can earn you money. At microworkers, you can get paid small amounts for doing simple tasks, for example, signing up for a free sample or signing up as a friend or follower.  At freelancer, you can earn larger amounts for doing larger projects such as writing an article.

Make Money Online Without Selling Anything

This is called CPA standing for Click per Action or Click per Aquisition.  In this business you sign up for companies and then direct traffic to a squeeze page with your affiliate code.  You get paid for sending traffic, not for actually making a sale.  For example, a company might agree to pay you $2 for getting signups to a free fantasy football league.  You get paid for the actual signup.  One can take this one step further and outsource the work.  You can go to sites like freelance.com and find businesses that will work for you and you can pay them .30, as an example, for each signup.  The profit to you is $1.70 per signup.  You might contract with them to sign up 500 people over the next 2 months.  The theoretical profit would be $850.

Imagine the potential if you had 20 such campaigns operating

Here is a membership site for CPA offerrs.  You might want to try the 7 day $4.95 trial before signing up for $75.

Rapid Income Creator

This is another of those systems which you start with 5 predesigned landing pages and you earn an affiliate commission when somebody buys a product from Clickbank that you promoted.  I have recently signed up for this myself so I will write a review in a few weeks.  The price is a one time charge of $49.95.  There are no additional charges, such as hosting.  You will have to pay a bit for advertising.  I'll give you a hint, start to exit out of the page and they will offer you a better price of $39.95.

http://ed6f9hvz4dc0j-7oxery-sln6p.hop.clickbank.net/

Edit:
I just signed up for my first 3 campaigns.  I will keep you posted as to my results.  My goal is to gross $50/day so we shall see what happens.

How To Get Free Traffic To Your Website

We have talked about setting up an inexpensive webpage but the next thing to look at is how to get traffic to your site.  the best website in the world sells nothing if nobody sees the site.  People are not just going to randomly stumble upon it.  We have been talking about ways to supplement retirement income with the assumption that baby boomers need to earn income, not spend what they have. Here are ways to get free traffic if you have no money to spend and even if you have money but are to cheap to spend it.
 1. Article writing and submission to article submission sites.  The two sites I use are http://www.ezinearticles.com/ and http://www.goarticles.com/  You write about topics related to what you are selling on your website and you can use your url in the resource box at the bottom of the article.  This costs you nothing and these backlink to your site is very good link.
2. Video creation and submission to video submission sites like You Tube, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.  Your kids and grandchildren will be shocked to see Dad's or Grandma's videos published on these sites.  My kids think that I am lame, especially my oldest son who has a degree in advertising.  Lame or not, several of my videos are on p.1 of Google. If you care to check these out, my usename in the four sites above is stevkuj.  They are simple yet effective.
 I gave you a couple of video creating sites last week.  Check them out.  You will have to pay for these but not much.  One is only about $17.
3. Squidoo lenses are another free source.  Check them out at http://www.squidoo.com/
4. Google Adwords is the best pay for traffic method.  Here is a source that teaches you to be successful using this system http://acb1ed496i7nczavrl672cn7kz.hop.clickbank.net/
Once you learn the system, this guy explains how to get your ads for free http://e7509lz17f8sc1k3zzo3telfif.hop.clickbank.net/

Affiliate Silver Bullet

I don't typically promote something so blatantly as this program but the potential is intriguing.  They give you a cut and paste program each week to follow.  This is an affiliate program selling Clickbank products.  They set up the entire campaign which costs $47/mo. and it lasts for about 6 months.  Other than the monthly fee, you pay nothing.  They will host the system and you do not need a domain name.  You follow their instructions to drive free traffic to your pages.  I can also provide that information as well.  Other than driving free traffic to your site, you do nothing.  Clickbank processes everything and you don't have to carry a product.
I would imagine that the average sale would net you $25-30 each.  If you make one sale a day, that would net you between $750-900/mo.  You won't get rich but we are looking at ways to supplement retirement income, not to get rich over night.  Earning that much money on an investment of $47/mo is good enough for me. I just signed up for this program and will let you know how it works out.  I would suggest that you do the same thing.  Go to this link now.
http://02b11r00555z5r924-z5m3-m1t.hop.clickbank.net/ 

Boosting Baby Boomers Earnings by Working Online to Supplement Retirement Income

If you are on the verge of your retirement years it is good to plan ahead so that you will be able to enjoy it more by being able to support the retirement lifestyle that you want. Since it is an acceptable fact that prices of commodities always tend to go up, it is practical then to make sure that you can fill the gap when essential lifestyle expenses exceed your total retirement income. In most cases retired people rely on the funds provided to them by Social Security but these days, retirees admit that it does not support much of a lifestyle anymore and even more so within 3 to 5 years from now. Retirees then should find a way to boost baby boomers earnings to be able to fill the gap between basic retirement income and the retirement lifestyle expenses.

The first thing you need to do is determine how much of a gap you need filling up when you retire. This way you will be able to have an estimate on how much money you should be making as a supplement retirement income. You need to determine a lot of details then such as how much time you have until you retire, how much you have saved for your retirement, how much annual interest you would possibly earn from your savings, how much is your social security and pension plan income per month, and how much you need to spend monthly to be able to have the retirement lifestyle that you want.

Once you have determined the figures, the step that you would need to take next is to determine your options on how to earn some extra dough during your retirement years. The internet has provided a lot of opportunities available for people who want to work from home and it does not make an exception to anyone in the world no matter what age or what nationality. Never think that you are too old to make money using the internet.

There are a lot of legitimate home business ideas you can take advantage of in the online industry. Being a retiree, you probably know information or acquired some skills that others would like to know about. You can actually sell these kinds of information online by writing about them to be able to earn supplemental income. People will always search the internet for information they need so there is indeed a very large target market for you to take advantage of. Best of all, you will be able to work from home with the schedule that you want to have.

Other options you can explore include part-time jobs perhaps with your previous employers, being an affiliate marketer either online or offline, and a lot more. Explore you options and make decisions before you retire so that you will be able to enjoy a lifestyle you want for the rest of your life.

Create Videos for Online Marketers

Many internet marketers are turning to videos to promote their websites.  You can help them out and supplement retirement income by learning how to create videos and allowing them to outsource their work to you.  Here is a video that I had created for me to promote a site I own selling watches.

http://animoto.com/play/gVFV2FSG0Q8btBRIW3QuPg

I was impressed but found out that I could create such a video myself including voice.  You don't need to be a computer geek nor do you need to be exceptionally creative.  I am neither. I even have begun selling my videos.  I charge $15 if they write the script and $25 if I write the script.  The script would be about 225-300 words.  Remember what I said recently about writing eBooks.  The same thing applies to writing a script.  It is actually an article and you can find thousands of articles online that all you have to do is rewrite.
You can charge even more money if you want to submit it to video sites and social marketing sites.

You can find a couple of instructional videos at these sites that will teach you how to create videos.

http://b739ff638ahn8368i-8csl013f.hop.clickbank.net/

http://84cbbr6cz8grbwiondogxclk1m.hop.clickbank.net/

Try Your Hand at Blogging

There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of blogs on the internet.  They are very easy to set up and there are many platforms that you can use but 2 dominate the market.  One is Blogger.com and the other is Wordpress com. I have both types.  This particular blog is on Blogger but Wordpress blogs are somewhat more sophisticated and a bit more difficulat to set up.  Blogger is free including the hosting.  Wordpress blogs are usually set up using a person's own domain and hosting. 

You can write about anything that interests you or that you might feel that others would find interesting.  You can actually make money doing this, at least they tell me that you can make money doing this.  If you look in the margins and underneath the current posts, you will see ads by Google, as an example.  If your visitor clicks on the ad, the owner of the blog receives money from Google.  This might be an enjoyable way to supplement retirement income.

This guy offers video training on setting up a Wordpress blog.  This is how I learned to do this.  His site is
http://e39b8r79a62sdpawoszd2o0p2j.hop.clickbank.net/

eBook Publisher

Publishing and selling your own eBook might be one way for a baby boomer to supplement retirement income.  An eBook is an electronic book that is written and sold online.  There are millions and many more are written each day.  Here is a typical eBook sales page
http://www.informationsources.net/ebooks/index.php
They can be and are written about nearly any topic.  Each one is slightly different from the next.  They are typically anywhere from 20-120 pages depending on the complexity. 
The types of people who could conceivably publish and eBook are the following:
1.  Those who can write but have no technical knowledge.
2.  Those who can't write but have some technical knowledge.
3.  Those who can't write but have no technical knowledge.
In other words, anybody.

Clearly you can publish an eBook if you can write and have technical knowledge.  If you lack technical knowledge, you simply pick a topic and research it.  You obviously know how to use a computer and the internet.  If you lack writing skills, find somebody to write for you, a ghostwriter.  You share the knowledge and they will put it into words.  If you lack both writing skills and technical knowledge, do a search for private label rights or PLR.  These can be articles or eBooks that you can purchase the rights to and use as your own.

How To Take Advantage Of The Massive Use Of The Internet

Over the past years, web hosting has grown much bigger than it used to be. With more companies getting into this business and finding the many benefits it can give them, the demand for web hosting has never been higher. These seem to be the trend of today.  Millions of people will put up their very first websites online this year, the majority of those sites will be offering different affiliate programs for people to choose and participate.

This might be the time to consider the possibility of operating a web hosting service.  One could do their own hosting or become a reseller.  Since very few people have their own server, the idera of becoming a hosting reseller might be the business you are looking for to supplement retiremenmt income.

Support will be the number one consideration for people when choosing a web host. It will be obvious that traditional advertising will become less and less effective. Most people would rather opt for the web host based on things that they see and hear. Also based on the recommendations by those who have tried them and have proved to be a successful.  There are hundreds of web hosting and programs to choose from that the difficulty in finding the right one for them is not a problem anymore.

How does one become a successful affiliate in the niche markets using web hosting?

If you think about it, everyone who needs a website needs a web hosting company to host it for them. As of now, there is really no leading hosting industry so most people choose hosts based from recommendations. Usually, they get it from the ones that have already availed of a web hosting services.  This often comes from the person who sold them or set up their website or blog. Anybody selling a site on Ebay must provide a hosting package along with the site.  One of the reasons that you can buy a site so inexpensively on Ebay is that many of the sellers operate the hosting service.  In other words, they make their money by hosting, not by designing and selling websites.

Web hosting is just one affiliate market you could try out and make some good and continuous income. Just remember that to be successful on your endeavor also means that time, effort and patience is needed.

Retirement Is Going To Cost You

No matter how much times people dream about their retirement, few are actually prepared emotionally and financially. We will leave the emotional aspects for another time and focus on the financial aspects of retirement. The general consensus when I was growing up was that you needed to have 70% of your income at retirement because your expenses would be much less.  I guess that is true if you don't expect to do very much but most retirees want to live better in retirement than they did previously. They want to travel and do things during their new found freedom. Living on 70% of one's previous income might not cut it.

A couple of things have happened over the past couple of years that have made even 70% almost unobtainable for many. People have seen the equity in their homes plummet as well as the value of their 401K plans. Many baby boomers are either going to have to work longer or find something that will allow them to supplement retirement income before or after retirement. Some are continuing to work while they collect early Social Security benefits.

Opting for early Social Security is somewhat problematic however. You can begin to collect Social Security at 62 but there are limitations on how much you can earn without being penalized with a smaller Social Security payment. Also, Social Security pays out about 24% at age 62 and 32% at 66. If you take early benefits at 62 and continue to work, you will also have to have Social security withheld. Once you stop working and reach age 66, your Social security benefits will be recalculated.

Medical costs need to enter into consideration as well. With the new health care law, nobody really knows what to expect. The first effect is that insurance rates will go up and taxes will also increase. This makes it even more difficult to save for retirement. Medicare will also be changed so this is just another impediment to baby boomers who want to have a financially secure retirement.

When Should You Retire?

Once you have all the wheels in motion for your financial retirement it is often difficult to wait for that great and liberating day but you must take the time to make sure that there is no detail that hasn't been covered or has been overlooked in the planning process. Most of us worry over whether we'll be able to maintain a certain level of income when we retire and little else. The problem is that maintaining the same level of income during retirement is often not enough to keep things going and take care of all your family's needs during your retirement.

Have you checked out your insurance expenses? You should make a point of checking that all of your current insurance plans will either cover you during your retirement or at least that you have something in order until your Medicaid benefits kick in. This isn't only about medical insurance. There are all kinds of insurance coverage that we need in order to avoid potentially huge amounts of debt during our retirement. Some of the common types of insurance you will need include the following: homeowner's insurance, auto insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, long-term care insurance, and, perhaps, life insurance.

Once you've taken care of your insurance for your financial retirement. Have you established a budget that you and your partner can live with during your retirement? You need to be absolutely sure that you are in agreement on the budget or hard feelings could develop over time. Talking about things can accomplish so much and smooth many ruffled feathers you didn't even know existed.

Have you mapped out plans for things to do both together and individually? This is another thing that is important. While you are a couple you are still individuals with independent needs and desires. Make sure that you both have time and funds set aside to pursue interests that appeal to you as individuals as well as those that appeal to you as a couple.  Do you plan extensive travel?

Other important considerations include what bills you have. Are your bills paid off? How about those pesky high interest credit cards? Those can add up over time and you need to eliminate as many of these as possible along the way. You should also take great care to make sure that your home is paid for and all the taxes are caught up. You do not want any surprises that might jeopardize your security once you retire.

The list may seem endless but each question is very important in the grand scheme of things. You will want to take every effort to make sure that there are no nasty surprises along the way. Those surprises could mean the difference in you enjoying your retirement and facing the need to return to work at some point during your retirement in order to replace funds that must be spent for emergencies that were unexpected. Once you have all the answers to these questions and the answers are good, then you are ready to retire.

Once you have reviewed your future budget, you might very well find that you can't quite afford to retire and that is where information on this blog comes into play.  You can continue to work and attempt to supplement your retirement income before you retire or you can supplement your retirement income after you retire.

So, You Have a Website

Now what?  The most beautiful website sitting alone in cyber space is going to earn absolutely no money unless it is seen by potential buyers.  You need to drive traffic to your site and a lot of it.  There are so many ways to do this.  You need to do search engine optimization but what is the best way to do this?  You could hire a professional service but that would cost a lot.  You could pay for advertising but that is also quite expensive.  There are many ways to advertise for free.  You could participate in traffic exchanges, write blogs or submit articles to article submission sites.  I have even had videos created and submitted to video submission sites.  To determine the proper technique for you, you need to study all the techniques and try a few.  The following site suggests free and paid methods and contains many sources of information.
http://www.expertseohelp.com/
If you don't have a website, here is a free one.  No hosting charges either.
http://cbglobe.com/index.shtml

Reverse Mortgage

For some baby boomers, a reverse mortgage might be an excellent way to supplement retirement income before and after retirement. A reverse mortgage is exactly that, a reversal of a normal home mortgage. Instead of borrowing money and making monthly payments to a mortgage company, the home owner gets a loan from the mortgage company which will be paid out over time, usually for 15 years. The loan can be up to 60% of the home's current value. The homeowner continues to live in the home and pays the insurance, real estate taxes and normal upkeep. The homeowner benefits by no longer having to pay their mortgage, it comes out of the monthly loan payment from the mortgage company, and actually receives additional money from the mortgage company. Obviously, the homeowner needs to have significant equity in the home prior to entering into such an agreement. Since this is actually a loan, the homeowner must pay substantial closing costs. The reverse mortgage ends when the homeowner sells the house or passes away. At that time, the remaning balance of the loan is paid off and the homeowner or heirs receive the remaining equity. A reverse mortgage is not for everybody but is something one should look into in an effort to supplement retirement income.

Travel agent

It used to be that it required a storefront office to become a travel agent but the internet has made it possible to do this at home with no employees.  One of the advantages is that you can become a licensed travel agent with minimal cost and effort.  Once you become licensed, you can go to cruise lines, hotels and airlines and get free trips under the understanding that you want to check out their offerings for your clients.  I know one baby boomer who works with her local senior citizen group and makes a nice living organizing trips 3 or 4 times a year. If you are interested in becoming a travel agent, you might want to check out this website http://ad03fe4a6a7x6tf7p1j4-k0hjy.hop.clickbank.net/
It is very easy to become an affiliate for any of the airlines, cruise lines, car rental agencies and Hotel chains.
One problem that might arise is you probably have to have a computer readily available at all times.  Another possible business is with this company.  They sell discount travel packages.  They provide you with a website and potential customers call their office and their sales people close the deal.  Here is their site.
www.tvtravelpackages.com/sk8128.

Do Baby Boomers Need to Supplement Retirement Income?

Some have asked why I am doing this blog?  They tend to think that most baby boomers are pretty well set for life when they are ready to retire. I beg to differ.  I would guess that a person needs roughly $60,000 annually to live fairly well in today's economy.  This is equivalent to $5,000 per month.  Assume Social Security income of $1200 per month and a pension of $1800 per month, for the lucky ones.  This income still leaves us $2,000 short of our $5,000 per month goal.  In order to compensate, one would need roughly $750,000 in their 401K plan to achieve the difference.  Let's be honest, how many people actually have an investment account approaching anywhere near $750,000. Most baby boomers need some way for them to supplement retirement income.  

Selling on Ebay

One of the most obvious ways to supplement retirement income online is selling products on Ebay.  The question is what to sell.  The easiest place to look for items to sell is around your house.  There are all sorts of items around our house that we no longer need.  Believe it or not, somebody will buy your unwanted items if you price them properly on Ebay.  Some people go to yard sales, tag sales, garage sales, rummage sales, or whatever you call them in your area, for the simple reason of finding things to sell on Ebay.  Another source is estate sales but the ultimate way to supplement retirement income is to buy products from wholesalers who will dropship your products to your customers.  If you want to go this route, check out this source for wholesale dropshippers
http://www.informationsources.net/wholesale/index.php

Gigs

One of the best ways for baby boomers to supplement retirement income is to find the right gig. If you live in a big city, look at your local Craigslist for possibilities.  If you are unfamiliar with Craigslist, it is an online classified ad publication, see http://www.craigslist.com/  I just perused the San Siego edition and found dozens of listings under Gigs.  These are short term term or part time jobs.  What better way to supplement retirement income?.  For those of you who are computer experts, they were looking for web developers, Adobe Dreamweaver instructors, telecommunications technicians and graphic designers.  Other gigs available were article writer for online publication, brochure designers, freelance hair and makeup artists for weddings, tutors, personal assistants, caregivers and driving cars cross country for used car salesmen. It all depends on what you have done previously but there appears to be more gigs listed than actual full time jobs.

Mystery Shopper

A mystery shopper goes to various places of business and gathers information to complete a form as to their experience.  The form can usually be completed online and generally doesn't take much time.  For example, you might be assigned to a fast food restaurant.  You would report on the attitude of the employees, the cleanliness and general condition of the restaurant and the service in general.  You might be asked to describe the signs and ads that you see.  If you are interested in learning more about mystery or secret shopper programs, check out this website.
http://c901fnx34hb09yffp2r7-g4e8e.hop.clickbank.net/

Can Baby Boomers Succeed in an Online Business?

While it is true that very few of us who went to college in the 60s or 70s majored in Computer Science or Management Information Systems, we have all become somewhat familiar with computers. We have nearly all worked on them at our place of business and have our own computers at home. We can at least do word processing, prepare our taxes and surf the internet. These are the only requirements for operating an online business to supplement retirement income.
I actually cannot think of a better business for baby boomers than some type of online business such as internet marketing. One of the things that we lose is our mobility and ability to get around. I do not care if you are confined to a wheelchair or one of those scooters, you can still move in close to your computer and work away. It is much better than going out and fighting traffic, finding a parking spot, get into your office and reverse the process at the end of the day. Besides who wants to work in some type of suit or dress. It is much more comfortable working in your den in a bathrobe.
I do not personally do this but many baby boomers are active on the various social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. It allows them to keep in touch with their families and friends as well as to make new friends. This allows for a wonderful network with which to get help or even advertise ones business. There are also many forums and blogs in which seniors can participate. The internet provides an almost endless supply of information for the startup entrepreneur.
One of the things that seniors are concerned about is keeping their minds sharp. Being active online is excellent for doing this if nothing else. One can develop hobbies online and research virtually anything.

Writing as a Part Time Job

Many of the ways to supplement retirement income discussed to date have involved starting online businesses.  There are certainly more traditional ways of earning money part time.  If you have a flair for writing, there are always many people looking for writers.  Bloggers often hire people to contribute to their blogs.  Many online marketers rely on article marketing.  They submit articles to various article submission services in order to build backlinks to their websites thus increasing traffic. If you can research and then write numerous articles around a specific keyword, this might be something to look into.  Usually, you will have to produce 20-30 articles in a week or two.  These articles are typically 300-600 words.  The going rate is $10-12 per article.  I have personally written dozens of articles and it really isn't terribly difficult, an article this size generally takes 25-40 minutes each.  Other writing jobs available include writing for magazines, newsletters and sales pages.  If you are interested in writing, check out the following website.  They will discuss the type of jobs available and how to apply.
http://d6be3n-3y47tgveh0ex7w9mmr3.hop.clickbank.net/

Baby Boomers Tempted to Draw Early Social Security

According to Social Security records, an increased number of early retirement claims have been filed in the past year. It isn't necessarily that baby boomers, those born during the years 1946-1964, are retiring, they are just starting to tap into their benefits. Many baby boomers who are lucky enough to have jobs are collecting benefits while continuing to work. For some baby boomers, they may continue working as long as they are physically and mentally able.
Early forecasts called for an increase in applications for retired worker benefits to increase 15% from 2008 to 2009 due to the aging of America. They report actual increases in the neighborhood of 25% through the first 6 months of 2009. Some theorize that the difference is due to the economy.
Once a worker turns 62, a worker can collect a reduced social security benefit and can continue to work. The benefit for a worker at 62 is about 75% of what he or she would receive if they retired at full benefits at 66. Why are they doing this? The most likely reason is the reduction of their retirement portfolios, 401K plans, and other plans. They have also seen their home equities shrink. They need to do something to replenish their income and net worth prior to retiring.
There is a catch, however, those who continue working while receiving benefits, are limited in how much they can earn without being penalized. Earnings are capped at $14,160 per year and anything over that results in 50 cents being deducted from the Social Security payments for each dollar earned. Once the worker reaches full benefits, 66 in this example, there is no reduction of benefits. The other factor is that the worker continues to pay into Social security while working. Fortunately, there is a recalculation of the rates once the person stops working.  All baby boomers need to be concerned about ways to supplement retirement income.

Completing Surveys

There are often ads about how one can earn hundreds of dollars by completing surveys online.  I haven't really spent much time researching this method to supplement retirement income but I have come up with a couple of problems with what I have seen.  Many of these surveys are there to sell you something.  In order to "win" a product such as a gift card, you must complete a few tasks.  Specifically, you must go thru a series of offers and choose a certain number of them. If you were already shopping for these items, that is fine.  Offers are for places like Netflix, record or CD clubs, credit reports and various health products.  The survey companies want you to win chances on a sweepstakes or collect points to win products.  If I am doing a survey, I want money, nothing else.
If you are looking for paying surveys, check out this site
http://www.informationsources.net/

Multilevel Level Marketing

Multilevel marketing, MLM for short, has been around forever.  Who doesn't know somebody who has been involved in Amway, Mary Kay, Shaklee, Watkins or many others.  The problem with those programs was that eventually somebody had to sell and buy  products and, after awhile, everybody had more than they could ever use.  Recruiting and training was all by word of mouth and very tedious.  Very few people stayed in the programs very long.
Today's MLM programs are quite different, yes those other programs are still out there, they involve little face to face contact.  It is primarily done online and the products are not typically household products anymore.  For some, probably most, that might be considered an inprovement.
Over the next month, I will investigate and discuss several such programs including Global Domains International, LGN Prosperity and others.

Click Per Action

We have discussed online marketing, mostly affiliate marketing.  There are other types of products or sevices that a baby boomer might use to supplement retirement income. One such business is Click Per Action or CPA.  In this kind of business, we advertise products or services owned by others.  This is similar to affiliate marketing because it requires no inventory, no shipping and no customer service.  The difference is that no sale is required.  A CPA affiliate gets paid for causing an action.  For example, the only CPA business I have is with a mortgage company.  I bring traffic to my site and get paid for each application that gets filled out.  The person who fills out the application does not have to actually close on the loan.  I simply get paid for the action of the the application being completed and submitted.  It makes no difference what happens after that, I have earned my commission.  The website is
www.americanmortgagemarketing.com/8128

I am looking at a couple more CPA opportunities right now.  I will report back once I learn more.

Five Keys for Being Successful in Internet Marketing

Many people of all ages are getting started in internet marketing, the competition is heating up. You cannot turn on your computer without seeing an offer on how to make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year with your own internet marketing business. One would think that he or she is the only one who is not a millionaire at this point of time. These internet marketers all have their own secret which they would be willing to share with you for several hundred dollars. With some luck, they will even offer to mentor you for a year at a mere $1500-5000. You have to pass their screening process before being accepted. My guess is that their screening process is that you have $1500-5000 available to spend.
Internet marketing is a great way for anybody to earn additional money, especially for retired baby boomers who want to supplement retirement earnings.
Although each has their favorite spin on things, the self proclaimed experts pretty much agree that these are the 5 keys for being successful in internet marketing:
1.Start by selling other people's products, in other words, affiliate marketing. You could be an affiliate for almost any company that you could imagine from Amazon to WalMart. One of the best is Clickbank which handles digital products which have a much higher profit margin than the retail stores.
2.You eventually need to have your own website. You can buy websites cheap enough but you also have to purchase a domain name and arrange for hosting. The process will cost roughly $200 to set up and host for the 1st year. If you would like to do this free, go to my website for a free website selling Clickbank products.
3.You need to build a list. If a customer buys from you once and is satisfied, he will likely buy from you again. You will want to have a squeeze page so that you can capture your potential customer's name and e-mail address before passing them on if you are selling as an affiliate.
4.You will need to have some product to give away to your customer in order to gain credibility. Remember, even though you are selling a product, you are selling yourself. Treat your customers well and they will keep coming back to you.
5.You need to drive traffic to your website. You can pay for advertising but there are many free ways to obtain free advertising such as article writing.

Affiliate Marketing. a Good Place to Start

in Internet (submitted 2010-01-06)
Many newbies to internet marketing face the question of where to start. The answer for many is affiliate marketing. In this scenario, you sell other people's products and you do not need to invest in inventory nor do you need to provide customer service. You neither ship nor handle the products. There are any number of businesses looking for affiliates, you could become an affiliate of Wal Mart or Amazon as examples. You could sell just about anything that you can imagine from clothing to books to furniture to information. I personally sell travel, books, software, watches and information. Information is perhaps the easiest place to start and information certainly allows for the highest markup. If you are selling another person's information, you can earn 50-75%. If you are selling your own information, or information that you obtained the resell rights, you can earn effectively 100%. The site that I am going to send you to offers a free website.This would be an excellent way to start selling information online in order for baby boomers to supplement their retirement income . If you are interested in selling information online, go to http://www.cbglobe.com/

Supplementing Social Security

As more and more babyboomers reach retirement age, they have to make multiple decisions. They need to determine whether they can afford to retire just yet and how they can supplement their Social Security checks. Social security roughly pays recipients 24% of their gross at 62+ years up to 40% at 70 subject to minimums and maximums. The fact that most people's 401K plans have been seriously compromised over the past year or two complicates the situation even more. We all know that even 40% of one's wages is not likely to be enough so let's take a look at some of the options to supplement retirement income:
1. Work part time. That would be just fine except for two problems. Part time work typically pays at or near minimum wage. I don't know about you but I am not about to do very much for minimum wage. The other problem is that part time jobs have been filled by people who no longer have full time jobs.
2. Work as a consultant. In strong economic times, this would be a viable solution for some. Firms facing financial difficulties are not about to be hiring consultants for several years.
3. Start your own business. Most of us can't really afford any type of franchise or other type of business requiring a large downpayment. If you have substantial amounts of cash to invest in a business, you probably aren't reading this anyway.
4. Start an online business. There are some online business that are practically free. You can find out how to get your own website, products that will be dropshipped, hosting, high percentage profits, and a great marketing plan on the following websites.
http://www.informationsources.net/
http://www.cbglobe.com/ See the upper left hand link to get a free website just like this one.

Purpose of this Blog

The purpose of this blog is create a discussion around baby boomer issues leading into retirement and after retirement. As you all know, baby boomers are those born in the post WWII era, 1946-1964. Personally, I was born in 1950. I am 60 years old and still working but making plans for retirement. Like many of you, my 401K has taken a hit over the past couple of years and things are not looking as stable as they had in the past. Most of us will receive social security and some of us will be lucky and have a pension of some sort. Will we have enough of an income to survive? Some of us won't and others who will have enough, could very well be looking for additional income anyway.
The 2 main topics on this blog will be ways for baby boomers to supplement our income and a bit on traveling. I will look forward to your comments and suggestions.