To get a burst of energy while prepping for a presentation or performance, or motivate yourself to do so something you don’t really want to, like exercise, SING. That’s right. SING a funny song to yourself before you have to do the thing you dread. Singing will psyche yourself into action. The more lively the music you sing the more you will boost your performance and your mood. To get moving, get singing.

Americans’ confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement has dropped to its lowest level in seven years, reflecting worries about health costs, the economy, and home values, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

In its study, “The 2008 Retirement Confidence Survey: Americans Much More Worried about Retirement, Health Costs a Big Concern,” EBRI examined retirement worries, and found that:

o Overall retirement confidence dropped sharply: The percentage of workers very confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement decreased from 27% in 2007 to 18% in 2008, a decline of 9 percentage points and the biggest one-year drop in the 18-year history of EBRI’s retirement confidence survey. Retiree confidence in having a financially secure retirement also decreased sharply, from 41% to 29%, down 12 percentage points. Decreases in confidence occurred across all age groups and income levels, but were particularly acute among younger workers and those with lower incomes.

o Health care costs have become a big issue for retirees: Among retirees who left the work force earlier than planned, more than half (54%) say they did so because of health problems or disability. Almost half of retirees (44%) say they have spent more than expected on health care expenses. More than half of retirees (54%) say they are now more concerned about their financial future than they were right after they retired, a 14 percentage-point increase from 2007 (40%).

o Workers may be waking up to the lack of health insurance in retirement: The survey found that 34% of workers now expect to have access to employer-paid health insurance in retirement, down 8 percentage points from 2007 (42%). Although 41% of retirees say they currently have access to health insurance through a former employer, many employers are eliminating health care coverage for future retirees, EBRI noted.

o Retirement planning up, but still not high: Less than half of workers (47%) say they and/or their spouse have tried to calculate how much money they will need for a comfortable retirement, up from 42% in 2004-2006, and considerably higher than the low point of 29% recorded in 1996. As before, the 2008 survey found that doing a retirement savings calculation is particularly effective at changing worker behavior: 44% who calculated a goal changed their retirement planning, and of those, 59% started saving or investing more.

o Most savings levels are modest: The percentage of workers (72%) saying they have saved for retirement has returned to 2001-2006 levels after a slight dip in 2007 (66%). Forty-nine percent of workers report total savings and investments (not including the value of their primary residence or any defined benefit plans) of less than $50,000. Twenty-two percent of workers and 28% of retirees say they have no savings of any kind.

Don’t let this be you! Open up a self-directed IRA today and start taking advantage in true diversification with your IRA or Individual (k) www.theentrustgroup.com.

The number one sector of the economy that women are moving up is technology. Women are taking prominent roles in high tech. From Google to Facebook to Travelocity and more, High tech companies are looking past gender and race to recruit top notch professionals. In other words, high tech is women friendly!

Looking to save money at the pump? Pay cash! Credit card fees are killing gas station owners. Now they are offering discounts for cash as they still make more money giving you a 5-10 cent per gallon discount. Help these owners stay in business, and help yourself to savings at the pump.

Con artists love bear markets. Anxious people may listen a little longer to a pitch. Oil and gas scams, in which promoters sell partnerships in dry wells or shares in suspect drilling equipment, are especially big now. Be alert! Telltale signs of a scam: promises of guaranteed returns and pressure to invest quickly. Also, make sure the projects and agents are registered in the state where the investment is before you invest!

The Entrust Group and its affiliate companies assist individuals and small business with record keeping and administration services for retirement plans. Entrust has been doing this successfully for the last 27 years and through several volatile markets. We provide the ultimate safety on behalf of our IRA clients. Cash deposits are held by our custodians in FDIC insured banking institutions.

Not all custodians offer FDIC insurance on the cash their clients have with their institutions. In these troubling times, safety and security are paramount to the last savings benefit Americans have. An Entrust IRA provides peace of mind for individuals who need to feel their funds are secure.

If you do a lot of traveling for business like I do, I feel obligated to warn you that besides the fact the airlines are hurting due to the oil crisis, some airlines are incompetent, period.

Allow me to share my horror story.

I recently had the wonderful opportunity (yes, I am being sarcastic here) to travel on Iberia airlines. This was a simple trip from Paris, France to Spain. Besides zero leg room and charging you euros for water, Iberia lost my luggage. I have had my luggage lost both on domestic and international flights in the past. Usually it shows up within 24 to 48 hours. It has now been 2 weeks and Iberia cannot locate it—in other words, the bag disappeared. My business attire was in the bag. Imagine the cost of replacing 2 suits, shoes, toiletries, cosmetics, etc.

I stayed at two different hotels whose Spanish-speaking staff tried to help me. It took them hours to get a live body on the phone. Iberia told them after 21 days, the bag would be considered lost, and then I would have to file a claim. In the meantime, they told me to save my receipts from replacing my clothes. They will pay me 50 Euros a day for the days I actually traveled in Spain and the day back to the US.

This was 5 days total. With the dollar what it is against the Euro, I could not buy the shoes and toiletries for the total allowance that Iberia is willing to pay. And guess what? They didn’t care!

They lose the luggage and you spend more than what it cost you to fly there in replacing your belongings. Does this make sense?

The moral here: Go as light as you can. Carry on, even if it is a pain. Or, if you are traveling for a long period of time, make sure you have at least two days worth of everything in a carry on bag. Put cosmetics in smaller bottles that can be carried on. Carry an extra tooth brush, hair brush and tiny shampoo. Clothes can be laundered or dry cleaned when you have an extra day’s worth of clothes to change into. When you have no clothes, there is no laundry!

I use to love to travel, but the attitude today and the hassle of getting from point A to point B makes me wonder if it is worth it. If you must travel these days, know your rights before you go, go online and print out a copy and carry that with you, too.

Happy Travels!

Have you ever been frustrated trying to get a live person on the phone in today’s voicemail society? Recently, I needed some information from my bank. I called and spent a good 10 minutes on the phone pressing one for this and two for that and basically going nowhere. When I finally reached a real person, I was totally flustered. There are times when we call our bank, credit card company, the airlines for a reservation and more, when we really need to talk to a live person, not a computer. Try these tips to reach human contact next time you feel as though you need one.

1. Push zero repeatedly. Say “operator” or “agent” as soon as you get the computer or stay on the line until the end of the options.

2. Try calling sales, investor relations or corporate headquarters instead of the 800 number.

3. Select the Spanish-only option. You’ll likely get a bilingual operator faster then an English-only speaking one.

4. Call the company’s international customer service number collect, it is an incentive for them to not keep you on hold.

Hopefully these tips will help you avoid voicemail hell.

Remember the days not so long ago when financial professionals would give an estimate of 70-80% as the number you would need in pre-retirement dollars to retire with the same lifestyle you have today? Well, no longer. A recent survey by Hewitt Associates projects workers will need 126% of their final pay in retirement. Inflation is putting future retirees in a bind. What can you do about this?

Invest in assets you feel are valuable to your financial future. I recently attended a workshop where investors were buying oil and gas leases. They felt with the oil shortage, they could not go wrong. Others are buying gold as their emergency fund and others still were buying solar energy and green investments. They all had one thing in common. They were investing in these assets directly with their self-directed IRA. I am not one to suggest what anyone should invest in. You should invest in what you think you know best, what you feel is the future and what you believe in. I believe this is different for all of us based on our own individual goals.

Think about the answers to these questions to help you develop your financial plan.
1. How many years do you have until you retire?
2. Will you be able to afford to retire in the first place?
3. What investments make sense for you based on your financial situation today?

Many people depend on their CPA or Financial Planner to assist them with these questions. The financial community provides a very important role and a good advisor is an asset. However, I believe no one will take as good of care my money as I can. What about you? What do you believe? I am not a financial planner or a CPA. I am an investor who believes a portion of your IRA or 401 (k) should be invested in assets you have a choice in, not in investments that someone else recommends.

Time after time, I hear horror stories of people who have lost their pensions, savings and more in the market because they never understood the market in the first place.

Perhaps now is the time for you to get into the drivers seat, to have some accountability and control to what you invest in. After all, it’s your financial future, why not take action? A self-directed IRA into today’s world makes sense. With a nationwide local presence, The Entrust Group, the leaders in administration for self-directed retirement plans, has offices that understand your local marketplace. Since Entrust makes no investment decisions, those decisions are up to you; they are an independent party acting on your behalf.

Here is my perspective: Diversify your IRA today and take financial control of your future, or you will not be able to attain the goals you set for yourself years ago. Ever hear the saying, “The only thing you can count on is death and taxes?” Now more than ever, I encourage you to take control of the last tax enhancement we still have available to us. With the state of the economy, you cannot afford not to!

For more information on local Entrust offices and how to self-directed your retirement plan, log onto www.theentrustgroup.com.

Be careful who you give your email and cell phone number to you. I recently read how a woman ended up in court suing her neighbor for impersonating her online which resulted in identity theft, SPAM and more! She ended up spending hours alerting credit reporting agencies, asking for fraud alerts to be posted, getting a police report and eventually having to shut down her e-mail account and get a new cell phone number. The message here is simple: Be more protective of your personal information. You just never know!