Those of you who have been following this blog and reading the useful information on www.BabyBoomerLifeboat.com have often heard us urging you to re-position yourself for retirement by leveraging the economic resources you have left after being beat up by the Great Recession.  I have now taken this advice myself.

Just as we were looking forward to retirement, the recession hit my wife and I hard.  Half our savings disappeared overnight and the equity in our home vanished.  In fact, we are now upside down on our mortgages.  And no one in the government is coming rescue Baby Boomers in our situation.  We are on our own.

So, we took the chips we have left and came up with a Plan B for eventual retirement.  There are no jobs to be found in California, so going back to work is not a real option.  Besides, my home-based marketing consultant business still has a pulse and is poised to take advantage of an eventual recovery.  So, our strategy is focused on re-positioning ourselves for retirement within our remaining financial assets and anything beyond that is gravy.

First, we had to get out from under a home that was once a big contributor to our retirement planning, but is now a financial albatross.  One option was to just walk away, and this is a good plan for some people.  However, it makes it is almost impossible to get a new loan for several years, and key to our plan is purchasing a new home.  So, we are renting a temporary home in an area where we want to retire and getting our old home ready to rent out.  Fortunately, we can get a positive cash flow.  So after a year we'll qualify for a loan to buy a new home at a depressed price in the area where we want to retire.  Moreover, we'll continue to enjoy income from our rental property.  In short, we're trying to make "lemonade out of lemons." 

The point is, we're taking positive action by implementing a plan that works for us.  Those of you who are ignoring the economic reality of the recession and it's long-term impact on your retirement plans are likely to be in a for a rude awaking.  Doing nothing is equivalent to sticking your head in the sand.  There are opportunities amongst the ruins.  Put together a plan that works for your situation and then do it...NOW!