• Move any money you need in the next five years out of stocks. If you’re over 60, some financial experts say you shouldn’t have more than 50% of your retirement funds tied up in stocks anyway.

• Diversify your portfolio so all your money isn’t tied up in one sector. David McPherson, founder and principal of Four Ponds Financial Planning in Falmouth, Mass, wrote in an ABC News column that Treasury notes, CDs, or short-term bond funds are safe places to put a portion of your nest egg, but that you should avoid liquidating your entire portfolio.

• Consider downsizing if you live in a bigger home than you need. It may take a while to sell your home in this housing market, but moving to a less expensive home can help you cut expenses for your mortgage, utilities, and taxes. If you plan to continue working a while longer, moving closer to your job can help cut your fuel costs.

• Moonlight at a second job or start a part-time business to earn extra money. Who knows, this second job could even turn into a nice part-time gig or small business after you retire from your current job.

• Pay down your credit cards and avoid taking on new debt.

It’s important to be proactive about managing your money so you can weather the current financial storm.

1. Dust off that resume. If you’ve been in she same job for 10, 15, 20 years, or more, you’re resume is probably sorely out of date. When writing your resume focus on your most recent duties and give pertinent details instead of trying to include every job you ever had. Highlight areas that show your stuff, such as if you held a position with a lot of responsibility, increased sales, hired and trained employees, or oversaw large projects.

2. Work those connections. More than likely you’ve built up a network of people you’ve worked with over the years who might be able to assist with your job search. Former colleagues, clients, or other business associates may have the inside track on any hiring going on at their company or other tips that can help your search.

3. Don’t overlook professional associations, clubs, or alumni groups. Attending some of these meetings may give you insight into what’s happening in the field you want to be in, as well as contacts. Most colleges and universities have alumni groups that offer help with job searches.

4. Use your state employment office or local job search agencies. Your state agency may have training and job counseling, as well as help with resumes. Check the listings in your local newspaper for free workshops at other organizations in your area.

5. Go back to school. You may need to learn some new skills to be competitive in today’s job market. While earning a degree could open some new doors, in many cases earning a certificate or just taking classes to learn a new skill may be enough. If you aren’t tech savvy, consider taking some computer classes to make yourself more marketable.

Don’t let your age hold you back from finding a job you can enjoy and excel at.

Paying for Prizes
People who are deaf and hard of hearing, and groups that work with them, are being targeted by con artists, according to the AARP Bulletin Today. One such scam involves sending emails that claim the recipient is the winner of a “lottery for the deaf” that is supposedly sponsored by the National Association for the Deaf (NAD), which is a legitimate organization. The emails say the prize is $50,000 but can’t be paid out until the winner sends a check for $1,500 to cover taxes and fees.

Of course the NAD isn’t affiliated with this scheme, and no legitimate lottery is going to request money in order for you to collect a prize. Keep in mind that when you pay taxes on anything—including sweepstakes and lottery winnings–the money goes directly to the government, not to some third party.

Skip the Surveys
Another scam involves emails from people claiming to be soliciting donations or taking surveys for organizations that work with the hard of hearing. The real purpose of these emails is to scam people out of money or get their personal financial information.

The best way to avoid being scammed is to never respond to unsolicited emails (or phone calls) requesting money or personal information no matter how much they touch your emotions. If you want to donate to an organization for the deaf or any other group, contact them directly. Investigate the background of charities you want to give to at the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. Also, never send money to anyone you don’t know or didn’t initiate contact with in the first place.

1. Equity stripping occurs when a con artist tricks a homeowner into giving them title to their home. Why would a homeowner do this? Because they’ve been told they can stay in their home as a renter then buy back the house after all of their financial issues have been resolved. The scammer takes out any equity left in the home and in the end the homeowner can’t afford to buy back the house.

2. In some cases fraudsters present themselves as someone who will help a homeowner by negotiating with their lenders. If you fall for this scheme you’ll be charged a lot of high fees for supposed efforts to contact lenders. Generally, your “rescuer” will also advise you not to answer any notices or phone calls from your creditors. Most people don’t realize they’ve been scammed until they’re in a deeper financial mess than before.

3. Bait and switch tactics focus on getting you to sign documents that give ownership of your home to scammers. They claim to be housing counselors who will help you obtain a new loan to fix all your financial woes. Of course the homeowner ends up signing away title to their property.

If you’re among the many Americans struggling to keep your home, avoid trusting strangers who offer to help you. If a stranger calls you on the phone or knocks on your door offering a deal, decline their help. If you do seek assistance from a legitimate organization to save your home, don’t sign any documents until you have an attorney review them.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, people over 65 became twice as likely to file for bankruptcy. People over 55 accounted for 22% of bankruptcy filings in 2007, up from 8% in 1971. Those figures came from a study conducted by the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, which examined bankruptcy filings from 1991 to 2007. The main culprits that lead to bankruptcy among older people are jobs and medical costs. But don’t think that all those people who cited medical costs as a reason for bankruptcy didn’t have health insurance. Many of them do, but are forced to pay high premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs that they just can’t afford.

Rising levels of credit card debt and high mortgage payments are also eating up a large percentage of many people’s income. Many workers aren’t seeing their income keep up with the cost of living, and retirees on fixed incomes are often forced to turn to credit cards just to pay their bills.

Whatever happens with the economy in the short- and long-term, one thing is for sure: Americans need to cut their debt levels any way they can. Many of the problems individual consumers are experiencing are related to the debt taken on to finance their lifestyles. Even if you aren’t a person who relies on credit to pay for things, it would be wise to cut spending and put as much money into savings as possible so you don’t find yourself heading into bankruptcy court down the line.

However, despite the increase, many seniors may still have a tough time making ends meet. The cost of Medicare Part B premiums, which are deducted from Social Security benefits, tends to rise faster than the COLA, so the net benefit won’t keep pace with inflation, according to a brief written by Alicia Munnell and Dan Muldoon of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Seniors are also dealing with higher costs for food, heat, and health care, among other things. Food and beverage prices have jumped an average of 5.9% over the past year. And the American Gas Association says people who heat their homes with natural gas could see their heating bills increase as much as 30% this winter compared with last year.

Rising medical costs are one of the key reasons many older people have a tough time keeping up with their bills. A Bureau of Labor Statistics experimental consumer price index (CPI-E), which measures the cost of goods and services people over 62 are more likely to rely upon, shows that medical costs rose 269% from December 1982 to December 2007, while inflation for other goods and services rose 115%.

So while the increase in benefits is a positive thing, it’s hard to get excited about it when people are dealing with so many price increases at the same time their retirement funds are shrinking. For many older people, any increases in their Social Security benefits will quickly be eaten up by their ordinary, everyday expenses.

Concerns have grown about the potential for voter fraud on Election Day. The voter-fraud rumor mill has been working overtime, including claims that Republicans have been telling Democrats to vote on Nov. 5 instead of Nov. 4, and that foreclosure lists will be used to keep people from voting. Lawyers are being deployed across the country in large numbers to monitor polling places and protect the rights of voters.

It’s hard to know which rumors about voter fraud are fact or fiction, but one thing is true: It’s important to exercise your right to vote so don’t let anyone say that you can’t no matter whether you’re facing foreclosure or have already lost your home. “Now, more than ever, it’s important for people to make their voices heard,” Robin Carnahan, Missouri Secretary of State, told Parade.

According to an article in BusinessWeek, if your home is being foreclosed upon but you still live there go to your regular polling place. If you had to move after the voter registration deadline, go to the polling place where you were last registered. You can fill out a provisional ballot if your name is not on the list.

Tax debt can be collected by Uncle Sam by garnishing up to 15% of your monthly Social Security benefit. That can occur until your tax debt is paid in full. However, that doesn’t usually happen unless you’ve already been notified about paying back taxes and there’s a court order instructing that benefits should be garnished. “We have to be notified that there’s an appropriate levy,” Jane Zanca, a spokeswoman for the Social Security Administration told Newsday.

However, the AARP Bulletin reported recently that 20 financial institutions garnished thousands of credit card accounts with federal benefits during a 12-month period, even though it’s illegal in most cases. The article featured a 61-year-old Social Security recipient who had his bank account frozen because creditors had a court order to garnish his funds. Because Social Security is direct deposited, it’s more more vulnerable to being frozen in a bank account.

If you do owe back taxes, it’s important to contact the Internal Revenue Service to set up a payment plan to avoid having your benefits garnished. And if you think you’re being unfairly targeted by a creditor who is going after your Social Security benefits, it’s important to get legal help.

“The two economic factors that most contribute to foreclosures are falling home prices and rising unemployment,” Richard DeKaser, chief economist for National City Corp. told CNNMoney. “It’s hard to pay your mortgage when you don’t have a job.”

Staggering Job Losses
The number of home foreclosures in the U.S. jumped a whopping 71% in September from a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 9.5 million people were unemployed in September. Jobs continued to be lost in the construction, manufacturing, and retail industries. Overall, about 1 million people have lost their jobs since the beginning of the year. CNNMoney reported that economists expect another 500,000 jobs to be lost between now and Inauguration Day.

Waiting for Aid
That means that more people won’t be able to afford to stay in their homes unless they get some kind of help with their mortgage payments. The U.S. government is expected to announce soon that $50 billion will be spent to address bad mortgages and foreclosures. The money would come from the $700 billion bailout package passed in October. Proposals being discussed include ideas to:
• Reduce monthly payments for homeowners who are delinquent on home loans.
• Offer government backing to lenders who write down a mortgage to 90% of its appraised value.
• Reduce interest rates on existing mortgage loans.
• Extend the length of time a homeowner has to repay their home loan.

And while there’s a possibility of another stimulus package being passed, it’s debatable whether that would have a significant impact on the foreclosure rate.

According to AARP, the following jobs are expected to have a large number of openings in the future; welcome workers over 50; and offer scheduling, flexibility, and benefits attractive to people over 50.

— Nursing. Employment in the health care field continues to grow and nurses continue to be in demand. Be prepared to spend two to six years in school to become a practical or registered nurse. Depending upon your specialization and location you could earn $20 to $60 an hour.

— Health care technician. People in this field need one to four years of training to specialize in areas such as nutrition, radiology, physical therapy, or laboratory. Pay ranges from $12 to $30 an hour.

— Health care administration. Jobs involve clerical, administrative, or management work in the areas of insurance or general health care. Pay for administrative positions ranges from $20 to $30 an hour.

— Teaching assistant and aide. If you enjoy working with children and have an education background you may find employment in a variety of school settings. Pay ranges from $8 to $15 an hour.

— General merchandise and grocery retailing. People will always need to eat so jobs will continue to exist in grocery and other retail stores. Depending on the job you may not need any special training beyond the high school level. Sales associates and customer service workers can earn about $8 to $15 an hour while supervisors and managers may earn $15 to $40 an hour.

Try to find a job that uses some of the job experience you already have to cut down on the amount of time you will have to spend going back to school for retraining.