Travel and Leisure

After awhile, all of the doom and gloom in the air starts to wear you down. For us baby boomers, now was supposed to be the time that we've all been waiting for. Our cherished golden years are upon us - or almost so - and this was to be a very special time for us. Blissful retirement, travel, leisure, fun - it's what we worked for our entire lives.

And then came the financial meltdown. We've been at war for 10 years now, and it's still going on. The government can't seem to get anything done, and the country appears to be losing its edge to China, India and who knows who else. Our homes have declined in value, we think we need more money, and nobody's hiring. Baby boomers are crying the blues - this isn't what we signed for.

It's time to get a grip, fellow baby boomers. It's not really all that bad. In fact, it could be a lot worse.

Think about it.

Just because things might not be working out exactly the way we wanted to and the way we always thought they would doesn't mean anything really. We just need to adapt and adjust, the way we always have. We just have a new sense of reality about the world around us.

For example, many baby boomers set out long ago to become "millionaires." Some of us made it and some of us didn't. But the term millionaire is simply a label, nothing more, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of life that you lead. In fact, there are some pretty unhappy so-called millionaires out there right now who wish their lives were a little less complex and a lot more fun.

Your goal should be to have enough money to live comfortably and to be able to enjoy your life. You don't need a million dollars in the bank to do that. You just need enough to support your lifestyle, and there is nothing wrong with making the money you need as you go. There are lots of ways to do that, if you'll only spend a little time and look for them.

That's another thing baby boomers now have, more than ever - time. Our kids are for the most part grown and on their own. Many of us have moved on into new careers that don't demand that we commit every waking hour of every day to our business endeavors. In short, we're free to do what ever we want to do for as long as we want to it, whenever we want to. How cool is that?

We've also learned that we don't need to live like Donald Trump to be truly happy. We know, through experience, how to live within our means, and we also know that we can be happy doing that. Baby boomers have learned how to shop for the things that they really want, at a price they can afford to pay.

In short, we are truly free to be ourselves, and to enjoy every second of the process. At the end of the day, that's really the key - enjoy yourself, while you can. The Big Clock is always ticking. Let's face it - you won't live forever. Don't let the incessant prattling of the media, the shenanigans of big banks and big business, and the flailing of the government get you down. Live your life the way you want to live it. You've earned it.