Many baby boomers joke about working until they keel over because they can't afford to retire. That may not be the case, but boomers as a generation might need to work longer than they were planning to. Thomas Hardy, a finance professor at Cleary University and California Lutheran University's Institute of Finance, has some advice for anyone hoping to enter their golden years sooner rather than later.

Has the current economic situation changed retirement planning for baby boomers?

Clearly, the reduction in 401(k) balances and other retirement accounts coupled with the drop in housing prices has made it necessary for many baby boomers to delay retirement. Every extra year of working helps build up retirement account balances, delays the beginning of drawdown and reduces the amount that will be needed in retirement. So as unpleasant as it may be, (delaying) retirement may be the best and sometimes only way to handle the changed situation.

For retirees already on a fixed income, what have been the effects of the recession?

One effect of the recession is low interest rates, which reduces the interest income some retirees count on for living expenses. But while low interest rates decrease income, there is a silver lining. Rates tend to correlate with inflation, and the greatest risk for retirees already on a fixed income is higher prices, but the recession has kept inflation relatively benign. At the current anemic rate of economic recovery, it should be at least several more years before the threat of serious inflation revives.

How can an individual plan for retirement and determine the total amount he or she needs once retired?

The process of estimating needs for retirement requires making a series of carefully thought-out assumptions about savings, retirement age, longevity, lifestyle and long-term investment returns. Just about any Certified Financial Planner would be able to assist in estimating the amount one would need for retirement and put together a plan to reach that goal.

What significant impact has the economic meltdown had on investment plans such as 401(k)s?

As most everyone is aware, the stock market crash of 2008-2009 caused many 401(k) accounts to drop in value by 40 percent or more, but the most significant impact was on investor psychology. After the market crashed, many investors got out of equities and into low-risk, low-return investments and they missed the rebound growth that occurred from the market bottom. Over the very long term, the market has averaged a return of 7 (percent) to 10 percent per year, but the average investor in the market has obtained a return closer to 2 percent since investors often get out of the market after it has fallen to a bottom, and they stay out until the market has run up high again, getting back into the market in time for the next market crash.

Is there an ideal age retirement planning should be put first on the list of savings?

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Retirement sooner than never

By Tom Gibbs - May 21, 2012 | Tickers: COST, SWY, SVU, KR, WMT | 0 Comments

Tom is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

The grocery industry is abuzz thus far in 2012 as discretionary consumer spending has continued to increase and many shoppers begin to emerge from the emergency saving habits that have developed over the past several-year recessionary period. Many of the sectors primary players -- including Kroger (NYSE: KR), Safeway (NYSE: SWY), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), and Costco (NASDAQ: COST) -- have enjoyed increasing top lines from mid-recession trough levels as a result of consumers spending more per shopping visit on more discretionary and higher-margin items like pre-made foods and wines/spirits.

The same cannot be said about Supervalu (NYSE: SVU), which has experienced a near 20% revenue decline and has lost 90% of its stock value over the past five years. On the surface, the grocer appears to be an entity that most would not touch with other investors' money short interest represents more than 40% of the float, the corporation has an extremely unattractive debt and pension obligation balance, and performance metrics (on square footage basis) continue to falter while competitors continue to enjoy year-over-year improvements.

Despite the poor performance over the past several years and the huge strides Supervalu must take to restore confidence in its brand, the gross beating that the stock has taken since recent 2007 highs has created a unique value-focused opportunity for patient, long-term oriented investors. The recent upgrade from Longbow Research from neutral to buy with a price target of $8 (64% appreciation from todays price) suggests that others believe that the wheels are already in motion for a turnaround.

Why is Supervalu a buy at current market valuations?

A Plan is Outlined

An investment in Supervalu is not based on hopes that the grocer can boost its top line and operating margins to average peer levels. Due to the pessimism surrounding the stock and the weak outlook expectations (as the short interest implies), Supervalu simply needs to show some improvement to begin driving stock price appreciation.

The corporation has, most importantly, identified one of the primary turnaround points for operations and has outlined a reasonable plan to begin experiencing improvement. In order to re-build consumer loyalty and drive store traffic toward historic levels (comparable store sales have declined for the past 15 consecutive quarters), Supervalu is using these approaches:

Cash Flow Positive

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This Grocer Presents a Super Value Opportunity

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire -05/22/12)- Atlantis Computing, the leader in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) storage and performance optimization solutions, today announced that Washington Trust Bank, the largest independently owned full-service commercial bank in the Northwest, has deployed Atlantis ILIO as part of its VMware View 5 desktop virtualization deployment to enable employees to access their virtual desktop from anywhere using Wyse thin clients and zero clients, iPads, personal computers or repurposed corporate PCs.

"For us, VDI is really for our knowledge workers because they require mobility," said Christopher Green, vice president, IT Infrastructure Systems, Washington Trust Bank. "VMware View and Wyse cloud client computing solutions allows our mobile users to access their virtual desktop from anywhere they have an internet connection, over Wi-Fi or through the 3G devices that are provided to them."

When Washington Trust Bank first deployed VMware View with traditional SAN storage, the testing and pilot achieved a high level of success. However, as the deployment of virtual desktops grew, Washington Trust Bank sought ways to accelerate the desktop performance during times of peak usage, such as morning logons, when employees began their workday.

"Our employees needed to have performance on par with a physical desktop," continued Christopher Green. "If we are going to pass users off to a new technology, the expectation is that it will be better than the old."

Upon further investigation of their existing desktop virtualization environment, the team at Washington Trust Bank sought out solutions to optimize and accelerate the storage IO traffic for peak usage periods.

"One school of thought was to add tons of storage processors and SSDs; but that increased our CAPEX cost and minimized our ROI," continued Green. "Using Atlantis ILIO with VMware View however enabled us to achieve all the management benefits of the desktop virtualization solution while providing the best end-user experience."

Using Atlantis ILIO 3.0 with VMware View 5, VMware ThinApp, Dell Servers, and Wyse P20 PCoIP zero clients and Wyse R90L7 thin clients enabled Washington Trust Bank to deliver high performance desktops at the lowest desktop TCO, thereby meeting the requirements of end-users, IT and the business. The VMware View deployment uses VMware High Availability (HA) and Distributed Resource Scheduling (DRS) with Atlantis ILIO to ensure the continuous availability of virtual desktops.

To watch the Washington Trust Bank video case study, visit http://www.atlantiscomputing.com/washingtontrustbank

To register for a live Webcast "Washington Trust Bank VDI Best Practices for Mobility, Storage & DRS" on May 31st at 9AM PDT, visit bit.ly/wtbankwebinar

Quotes from Atlantis Computing, VMware and Wyse:"Washington Trust Bank is one of several examples of how customers benefit from Wyse cloud client computing solutions," said Ricardo Antuna, senior vice president, Business Development and Alliances, Wyse Technology. "The combination of Atlantis Computing, Dell, VMware and Wyse solutions bring unprecedented value to our customers by enabling alternative computing models."

Read more:
Washington Trust Bank Goes Mobile With VDI Using VMware View, Wyse, and Atlantis Computing

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Businesses in Jordan and the Middle East believe that allowing their employees to use their own devices such as smartphones or tablets at work improves their productivity, according to a report by Cisco Systems.

"The top two perceived benefits of allowing employees to use their personal devices (including laptops, tablets, smartphones) for work-related activities were improved employee productivity (more opportunities to collaborate) and greater job satisfaction," said the report, titled "The Cisco IBSG Horizons Study of IT and Business Leaders".

"Employees are turning to use their own devices at work because they want more control of their work experience," the report by Cisco, a worldwide leader in networking, indicated.

According to the report, which was e-mailed to The Jordan Times, more than 76 per cent of IT leaders in Jordan and the Middle East labelled allowing employees to use their own devices for work as "somewhat or extremely positive" for their companies.

"As the number of devices being brought into work increases, organisations need a comprehensive mobility strategy" organisations can now provide their employees with the benefits of working anywhere, anytime," Ahmed Etman, borderless networks sales lead at Cisco Emerging Markets said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times on Monday.

Commenting on the report, Mohammad Khawaja, CEO of Startappz, said allowing employees to use their own devices enhances their performance.

"When employees feel their work is flexible and that they can work from wherever they are, even after office hours, they can contribute more to their work and be more loyal," Khawaja noted.

But this practice also entails some risks, he warned.

"Hackers can breach systems of companies through a worker's device in some cases, especially if it is not well protected," he said.

"By being connected to work all the time, employees might lose some of their privacy as they may have to do some work while at home with their families," Khawaja added.

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Jordan- Using personal devices at work increases productivity

WALNUT, Calif., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --MySammy today announced the immediate availability of their results-oriented "productivity measurement" software solution that provides employers and managers with detailed information on how an employee's time is spent on a computer. MySammy collects computer usage information in order to better evaluate employee computer behavior and ultimately increase their performance. The software does not collect users' sensitive data or screenshots; it collects only the data needed for effective management evaluation of "productive time" and avoids depriving users of their privacy.

MySammy is software designed for employers wanting to more closely monitor their employees' computer usage in order to effectively evaluate work performance and help them to accomplish their full potential.

MySammy software breaks down employee computer usage time into five main categories: Active/Productive, Idle, Extended Idle, Screen Saver and Non-Productive. MySammy software discreetly records activities, such as applications launched and websites visited, and clearly tracks a user's "duration of sessions" and "duration of applications used" for analysis and reporting. Furthermore, all corporate and user data is encrypted and securely transferred via SSL to MySammy servers in the cloud.

"The MySammy software solution is fundamentally changing the way employers manage computer usage to get the best performance from their staff," said Edward Kwang, President of MySammy. "We have a solution that helps employees improve their work performance without the need for spying on them or blocking their access to certain websites. In short, MySammy helps employees achieve their full potential. MySammy was originally developed for telecommuting workers and we later found its use can apply to all information workers."

Feature-Rich Management

Managers of both remote and on-site employees have 24x7 global, cloud-based access to intuitive graphs and color-coded bar and pie charts that provide data about productive, idle, and non-productive employee activity in a single glance. Managers can easily view and simultaneously evaluate all users, a few users or just one user; MySammy will effectively pull and analyze all user activity and display a "Big Picture" view for easy evaluation.

"Simply blocking non-productive websites does not encourage productivity for our employees," said Cindy Chang from Anthony California, a lamp and furniture importer. "Most of my employees have smartphones which I can't block them from checking their personal email or using Facebook. MySammy enables my managers and I to engage with a worker about their computer usage to provide spot-on performance evaluations and encourage them to achieve their best. It is so easy, flexible and informative that I can use it at home to measure my children, or even to measure my own productivity."

Pricing/Availability:

MySammy is priced at an extremely affordable monthly rate, with plans starting from only $7 per user per month for small businesses, up to $17 per user per month for larger businesses. Companies can try MySammy for free by visiting http://www.mysammy.com.

About MySammy, LLC

Continue reading here:
MySammy Unveils Computer Usage Monitoring Software to Boost Employee Performance

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1xeh0k8H2c

20-05-2012 12:26 Think & Grow Rich Infographic - A must watch for anyone wanting to improve their lives and their positive thinking. There have been more millionaires and indeed, billionaires, who have made their fortunes as a result of Napoleon Hill's teachings. NAPOLEON HILL's "Think and Grow Rich" is the authors most famous work. This is the book in his own voice. A true masterpiece with the fundamentals of the Success philosophy. ABOUT NAPOLEON HILL: He was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich, is one of the best-selling books of all time. Hill's works examined the power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success. "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" is one of Hill's hallmark expressions. How achievement actually occurs, and a formula for it that puts success in reach for the average person, were the focal points of Hill's books.

Read the original post:
Think

Summary: To distinguish itself from Apples iOS and Googles Android, Microsofts smartphone platform needs to be a shutterbugs paradise.

All of my Bahamas vacation photos were taken with a low-end Samsung Focus i917 Windows Phone.

Going on vacation these days for me is something of a mixed bag affair. On one hand, Im psyched that Im going to get some extremely crucial rest &relaxation, but on the other, I have a lot of personal stuff going on right now in the background thats driving me completely crazy and of course I end up missing out on what is going on in the industry at large.

So to summarize, while I was beach bumming, Facebook IPOed, Zuckerberg promptly got married, and the CEO of Yahoo! resigned in disgrace with a golden parachute, and the Oracle vs. Google lawsuit is shaping up to be Groundhog Day. Does that sound right? Alrighty then.

So where does Jason like to go on vacation? Preferably someplace cut off from civilization with warm weather, swimming pools, nice beaches, and good places to eat.

One of my favorites is Grand Bahama, as its pretty easy to get to (Its only 60 miles off the east coast of South Florida) and has some of the best beaches in the world, with cool breezes, welcoming local people and of course, great native cuisine.

I tend to do a bit of digital photography when I go on trips, but this time, I was so scatterbrained that I forgot to bring my trusty Canon point-and-shoot.

However, I didnt forget to bring a GSM-capable cell phone. Just before I left, I packed a spare Samsung Focus lying around that I upgraded to Windows Phone Mango. I hadnt intended to use it as my vacation camera, or to do any cellular data. I simply wanted to use it for the occasional Wi-Fi email check and to place and receive occasional calls using a local pay-as-you-go SIM card.

As it turned out, the Focus had to be unlocked, wasexorbitantlyexpensive to do locally ($80) so I bought a cheap Nokia world phone ($50) and had some minutes thrown onto it. Which left the Windows Phone somewhat redundant on my trip.

See more here:
Windows Phone: Photography the key to its success?

How does someone succeed in college? Its the $64,000 question or, these days, more like the $150,000 question whose answer has been sought by countless policymakers, researchers and universities over the years.

In a new attempt to provide insight into the discussion, sociologists Dan Chambliss of Hamilton College and Christopher Takacs of the University of Chicago took the long road to an answer. In 2001, they started conducting what would turn into a 10-year study of Hamilton students in an attempt to learn what had the greatest effects on their college experiences. What were the turning points? What mattered most? What didnt?

The Hechinger Report sat down with Chambliss recently to discuss the results of the study, which will be included in a forthcoming book titled How College Works," and what implications the results might have for U.S. higher education.

Q: Tell me more about the study.

A: In 2001, we started tracking a cohort of students as they went through the college. We took 100 people, randomly selected, and we interviewed them every year they were in college and every year after they got out. In addition to that, we collected a lot of information about these people. We collected papers they wrote while they were in college and papers from high school. And we basically tried to learn what were the important turning points what kind of things made a big difference, and what things didnt.

The goal of this was to find how colleges or universities could have relatively resource-neutral, reliably effective interventions that really help students in a big way. In other words, how can you do stuff that you know you can do, that you know will make a positive difference, but you dont have to turn the world upside down or have a big capital campaign and spend a lot of money.

Q: So what were they?

A: Its all about people, not programs. Colleges spend a huge amount of time and effort worrying will they have writing-intensive programs or a freshman seminar program or if a major is set up right or if their curriculum is done this way or that all the kind of stuff about the content and information for kids and students. Thats not where its at.

The problem is not access to information. The problem is motivation. And student motivation goes up and down a lot. And the key to motivation is face-to-face contact with another human being. Thats what really works. And it doesnt take that much of it to have a big impact on a students career.

So, for instance, having a great intro teacher is incredibly important, and schools dont spend much time on that at all. Yet its very, very doable. A single department chair can impact thousands of students educational careers just by moving one professor. Because if they have a great experience in an intro class, that paves the whole way throughout academia. If they have a bad experience Bam! The door slams shut.

See the original post here:
Experts: College success can spring from a single conversation

When it comes to personal finance, often the difference between poverty and prosperity is how much control you have over your investments.

The sad fact is that some people just dont either have the time, inclination, or confidence to take control over their own investment portfolio. Thats a big mistake, since no one will step in for you and make good on a lousy asset allocation strategy or redirect misguided fund selections that can lead to portfolio losses and threaten your financial well being.

Fortunately, getting a grip on your investments is easier than you think. In fact, you can get the job done in nine easy steps.

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Any good marksman will tell you the key to hitting a target is having a target. Having something to work toward is the first step in investment success. Knowing your financial goals, whether its retirement, a home or college education, will help define your investment strategy and set you on the right path.

Step 2: Know Your Net Worth

Net worth is simply the total of all the assets you own less all of the debts you owe. Your net worth gives you an understanding of where you are in relation to achieving your goal, and serves as a useful indicator of your overallfinancial health.

Knowledge of how you are tracking toward your goal is critical in the investment process, and measuring your net worth from year to year is a critical yardstick to evaluate success.

Step 3: Know Your Risk Tolerance

Your overall financial risk tolerance depends on two things: your attitude towards taking risk and your capacity to take risk.

Go here to see the original:
Get a Grip: Nine Steps to Controlling Your Investments

In business, sizedoes matter, especially if that size is small. Independent businesses with fewer than 500 employees represent 99.7% of all employer firms, according to the SBAs Office of Advocacy. They employ about half of all private sector employees,which make up about 43% of the countrys private payroll. And more than half are based out of an owners home. Incidentally, dont knock the domicile as a business incubator. After all, thats where Apple, Hersheys, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Ford started.

With numbers like that, its not hard to see why small businesses are often called the backboneof the U.S. economy. But did you know that these little companies are also responsible for hiring 43% of high-tech workers and produce 16.5 times more patents per employee than large firms? Or that small business accounted for 65% of the 15 million new jobs created between 1993 and 2009? No wonder President Obama is leaning on Congress to pass legislation that would give income tax credits and allow deductions on the full value of investments made this year.

Staggering stats aside, there are plenty of great ideas that dont ever make it off the table or shutter just beyond the starting gate. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates that only about half of small business survive past the five-year mark.

So in the spirit of helping more startups and growing enterprises succeed, Fast Company is kicking off National Small Business Week with a compendium of wisdom we've gleaned over the years.

Take a Risk

Though his signature style is rife with cynical wit and wry wisdom, novelist Mark Twain offered this tidbit which is helpful for anyone pondering the leap to entrepreneurism: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Kim Jordan, cofounder of New Belgium Brewing Company, says taking the plunge is fine--after youve assessed the market.

Is Your Idea Good Enough?

Adam Goldstein, the 22-year-old founder of Hipmunks online air travel booking platform, boldly claimed he was out to build the best travel site on the web. "And by 'best,' I mean the site that helps people find what they're looking for with a minimum of agony." Goldstein had a simple litmus test for launching: "The way that I knew it was good enough to build a company around was that it was built around a problem that I actually had.

Continued here:
The Really Big Guide Of Small Business Success Tips