Seashells: Artifacts of the Ocean

I recently took a vacation to the beach on the Australian Gold Coast. I love the smell of the ocean breeze and the way the sun beats down on me as the motion of the waves calms my every worry in the world. I could literally spend years on the beach and never regret a moment of it.

One of my favourite beach activities is searching for seashells. There are millions of seashells in the ocean that come from a wide variety of creatures. They all look different and each has their own personalities that come across in the divots and impressions in the shells.

As I was looking for my seashells, I had a thought. The ocean is a vast body of secrets that has a story underneath that no one really knows about. So, in essence, each sea shell tells a different, but small, portion of the ocean’s story. They are true artifacts of the ocean that show what the ocean has been, is now and will be in the future.

Pretty deep if you think about it. Just like each person has a different story and a different set of artifacts that they take with them from day to day, so do the seashells at the beach. Each has experienced its own part of the story of the vast ocean and has lived to tell about it. Making it on to the beach is its way of trying to get the story out to the world.

I kept thinking about this as I made my way down the beach with my collection of beautiful shells. Each had a different shape, colour and texture and each was beautiful in its own way.

We have our own stories so in essence, we are like the seashells in the ocean of life. We each carry our own personal artifacts with us that are a representation of what we have experienced in our lives and we really cannot share our true experiences with anyone other than ourselves. Other people will see the artifacts on our skin and the laugh lines on our face, but they will never truly know our story, just like we will never know the story of the ocean or the seashells.

The point was not to be too philosophical, but to realise that people are all unique and we are special in all of our own ways. People do not take the time to realise that anymore and when they don’t realise it, they lose a bit of their identity each time they forget about it.

So, remember you are an artifact of the world and you tell your own unique story in the world, just like seashells tell the story of the ocean, piece by piece. People don’t feel like they are important enough and thinking about this idealistic notion will make you feel better about your place in the world and realise that we are all important in our own way.

Pictures Can Be Artifacts to the Past

Do you enjoy taking pictures and collecting the photographs in scrapbooks, photo albums or online on their own special place? Of course, you do! Most people do and they love to take picture after picture of everything from a random night out with friends, to pictures of their family and children to photos of their vacations to every corner of the globe.

Why do people love taking pictures so much? Well, look at the reasons why you like taking photos. You like to take photos because it is a reminder of the good times and of the bad times. In essence, photos serve as your very own historical artifact to the past and allow you to remember events that have memories that fade with the passing years.

Pictures are personal artifacts that tell the story of you. You can look at other people’s photos and never really truly understand what they were feeling when the picture was taken. But you can easily take a picture of something and remember your exact feelings years later.

So, do not miss an opportunity to take photos at every instance you can. You never know when that moment will be snapped away from you, never to be seen again. Remember the faces of your children and relatives as they grow older and remember what your parents looked like while they were young. Photographs allow you to do all of that.

Also, pass on the importance of photos to your family and friends. They will most likely already be aware of the importance of creating photo artifacts, but you will want to make sure that they agree that taking as many photos as possible in life is a good idea. That way, they will possibly get a picture that you were not able to get and you can share that memory with them.

Photo artifacts do not have to be overly mushy either. They can show the raunchy and crazy experiences you have had in your life and serve as a reminder of a good time along with the happy and sad times.

You can tell your family story through pictures as well. Photos of births, weddings, funerals and other family events will show a lot about the way you feel about your family members and how they felt about you at a certain point in time. That way you can remember your crazy Aunt Ruth after she passes away.

Taking pictures is probably one of the rewarding and fun things you can do in your life. Now with different photo editing software, you can do things to your photos that you never even thought was possible. Take your photo artifacts to the next level and create a history of your family that can be viewed for years to come by you, your family, your children and anyone else who would care to see the history of you and your life. Let the photos tell the whole story.

Is That for Real? Fake Artifacts and the Truth

People love to collect things: especially artifacts and other collectables that they deem to either have personal or monetary value. Unfortunately, with the growth of this popular pastime comes the people who are out to take advantage of these people who wish to purchase artifacts for their collections.

These crooks only want to defraud the innocent people of their money while preying on their desire to have something unique and original. Until these people are all caught, it will continue. However, the sad fact is that there will continue to be sideways crooks that will prey on unsuspecting people until the end of time.

So, if you are a collector, take note. If you are looking to purchase any sort of collectable from someone who claims to have something original, make sure you take the time to research the claim before you shell out your hard-earned cash.

How can you be prepared to avoid crooks? Well, it surely is not easy, but here are a few steps you can follow to try to protect yourself, your interests and most of all, your cash:

·       Only buy from a reputable antiques or collectables dealer. These people will have references and contacts in the industry

·       that will prove that they have the goods

·       Never buy from someone who approaches you about buying something unique or rare. Most times these people are trying to

·       take advantage of your interest. Instead, only buy things you have had the time to research in advance.

·       Go with your gut, if you look at something and it seems too good to be true, it of course probably is just that.

·       Do not let your excitement get in the way of your good judgment. You may be excited at the prospect of purchasing a

·       unique artifact, but do not let that cloud your good judgment and make sure you research your purchase before buying,

·       by confirming on historical records, etc.

·       Develop relationships with your dealers and buyers. That way you will build trust and you can be assured that you will   be able to trust these people and know that what they are saying is the truth.

There may come a time when you do get bilked out of your cash and end up losing some of it due to a bad business deal. Do not dwell on that, it can happen to even the savviest of collectors. Instead, brush it off to a hard lesson learned and then get up and try again. 

You will no doubt have the opportunity to purchase many find artifacts and collectables in your life. Some will be amazing, some not so much. In the end, you will have a great collection of artifacts that will make you proud to show off to your friends and family. It will take some time to assemble this amazing collection, but once you do, you will be amazed at the satisfaction you get from it.

Does working full or part time play a role in retirement?

Working Americans expect to retire at age 66, up from 63 in 2002, according to a recent Gallup poll. But most retirees don't stay on the job nearly that long. The average retirement age among retirees is 62, Gallup found. So why is this important?  According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), life expectancy for American women increased to 81.2 years and 76.4 years for men in 2012, reports Medical News Today. 

When you consider that in the 1930s, life expectancy was age 62 for women and 58 for men, it’s plain to see that our retirement years are growing to be an ever-larger percentage of the total years of our lives.

A June 2015 Government Accountability Office analysis found that that average Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 have accrued about $104,000 in retirement savings. Sound like a lot? Not when you realise that sum would translate into a $310 monthly payment if your money were invested in a lifetime annuity.

I have seen it recommended that by the time, you reach 60, you should have six times your salary saved – that’s $360,000 if you make $60,000 per year.

Unfortunately, the average sixty something has an estimated median of $172,000 in the bank. Not nearly enough. At this point, it’s hard to save enough to make up for the shortfall. Instead, look at your assets. What can be monetized at some point to help sustain you?

As you try to figure out where your income will come from, when you retire, don’t forget Social Security or in Canada Old Age Security and Canada Pension. Most seniors find these to be a significant source of monthly income. In the United States, the 2016 estimated average monthly benefit for a retired worker is of $1,341 per month; yours could be more or less. In Canada, the estimated average monthly income from Canada Pension and Old Age Security can range from about $1,100 to $1,500 a month.

In Canada, if you only have these Old Age Security, which is about $568 a month, as a source of income, you may be eligible for a Guaranteed Income Supplement, which may bring your monthly income up to about $1,400

In the United States, if you plan on drawing Social Security you can currently earn up to $15,720 per year without any reduction in your monthly Social Security benefits. You might want to keep that magic figure in mind when you go in search of part-time employment opportunities. There is no such limitation in Canada, although if you earn over $72,809 a year, the government will start to claw back your Old Age Security income.

Many retirees need to have additional income, some need the job to give them a sense of self-worth. For whatever reason, work part time or full time is part of the retirement reality. There are websites like Seniorjobbank.org that let you search current job listings with businesses specifically looking for older works, and AARP.org has a job search section with job hunting tips and a list of companies seeking employees.

Some companies top-ranked companies on the lists of the best part-time employer for retirees include: Barnes & Noble, FedEx, JCPenney, JPMorgan, Chase, Costco, Lands’ End, Lowe’s, Nordstrom, Publix, REI, Starbucks, Target, Trader Joe’s, U-Haul, UPS, Wegmans, Whole Foods Market and YMCA.