FORTY PLUS EDITORIAL NOVEMBER 22, 2005

This cover speaks volumes.

It refers to the amount of money you earn each year.
If you're in the bottom 1/3rd of the economy, you’ll be looking at something like $25,000 a year.

If you’re in the middle... you're earning maybe $50,000.

At the upper end, the number is $100,000 and up.

But only a small sliver of Americans make $100,000 or more. If your husband or wife works, that number can be easier to reach, or even soar well above that. But this is normally only true for Wall Street, Real Estate, Lawyers or Doctors...plus executives in Big Business. Add sports stars, movie stars and, finally, Lotto winners.

The point should be obvious: You need to live within your means.
Whether that's $25, $50 or $100K. So stop looking over the fence at the Bigger Faucet next door.

The American Economy is at a crossroads. You are now very much on your own. Nobody is going to "take care of you," and that may eventually include even Social Security. So you need...now...to face reality.

You not only have to live with the faucet you’ve got...you have to very alert to someone turning off that faucet! (That can be General Motors, as they fire 30,000 people...or a small company that waits until Christmas Week to dump you. There IS NO stigma anymore about firing you at any time.)

Whatever you’re making...whether that’s the so-called National Average of $50,000...or more, you need a Career Plan.
You need a Safety Net.
And you need to plan for your next job.

That’s because most of us will have 4.5 jobs during our careers.
Whatever you are doing today is NOT what you’ll be doing in 5 years!

Your Game Plan may include trading up. That is, moving your income up to the next level to provide more cash. If you don’t have money, you simply can’t do much, except play defense.

To earn more, however, you have to spend time and money.
You won’t just wake up and find a New Job.
You need to really work at it. Learning new skills, or getting an MBA, for example. But this does not come free.

It’s a trade-off in current money vs future earning power.
But not just ANY new skill will do. A current ripoff is the high cost of education vs. the actual career payback.

Education is often too expensive...and the career...non-existent!

If you are in the upper income brackets, it is a whole lot more difficult to fall on really hard times...but for the unwary, it happens: Move into a McMansion ...pay too big a mortgage... drive a BMW when a Ford would have done fine ...spend it as fast as you make it...and then watch when the Housing Boom collapses and you end up with a bigger mortgage to pay than your house is worth! THEN get fired. Look out below!

You are probably saying: "Nah...it can’t happen to me!"

Welcome to Forty Plus New York. It’s happened to thousands of men and women who were just as smart and just as capable as you are.
Only...guess what? They got caught in a merger. Or an acquisition. (And their counterpart in the acquired company was 10 years younger, $20,000 cheaper, and had great legs! Bye, bye, job.)

We help you to evaluate your job skills, your marketability, your likely income range. Then we help you hone your resume, your presentation and learn all the other skills (including all-important networking) to get you on the road to your new job.

To repeat: Step One is to live within your current means.
Step Two is your Game Plan.
Step Three is connecting with your new life.

The good news is that Forty Plus actually helps make all these good things happen. Good Luck.

Richard Calderhead    FortyPlusNy/November 22, 2005

Back to Top