The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Evaluate your energy use on Earth Day

Earth Day is coming up Friday. If you need energy tips to cut your utility bills, here are suggestions from the National Resources Defense Council:

Use energy efficient light bulbs

When all of America's estimated 4 billion lighting sockets contain energy-saving bulbs that meet energy standards, American consumers and businesses will save about $12.5 billion every year – and will have cleaner air and a healthier environment.

Install solar-powered yard lights

Solar lights spend the day storing sunshine and turn on automatically after dark.

Pick the best method for streaming

If your family or friends likes to binge-watch shows with services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, make sure they don't use an Xbox or PlayStation to stream them. They can use 25 or more times more power than a streaming device such as Apple TV,Roku, or a Google Chromecast to watch the same show. Better yet, a smart, Internet-connected television can stream content from the Internet directly without the need for any other devices.

Consumer groups urge alcohol industry to stop advertising to kids

The alcohol industry should strengthen and enforce its advertising codes to prevent youth from viewing inappropriate and harmful alcohol advertisements, consumer groups said in a recent letter.

The letter comes in response to new research by the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, which shows that the alcohol industry’s current advertising codes are weak and are not being enforced. Johns Hopkins researchers found that between 2005 and 2012, more than 15 billion alcohol advertisements on TV, most of them on cable, were viewed by audiences that included more youth than allowed by the self-regulated industry guidelines.

“The industry has long opposed government regulation of marketing and advertising, which makes it incumbent on you to maintain strict and aggressively enforced standards,” the letter states. “The Johns Hopkins report shows this is not happening, needlessly endangering youth across the country.”

Super Bowl ads still violent this year, but less sexist and ageist

In the past, I’ve been critical of violent, ageist, and sexist Super Bowl ads, for example, Betty White being slammed to the ground in a Snickers ad several years ago.

This year, the ads about companies and their products were less violent. However, there were so many ads for violent movies and TV programs, the 50^th Super Bowl, along with the brutality of the game, had an overpoweringly violent tone.

The ads seemed less sexist and ageist, a good thing. However, I didn’t like the Audi ad in which a depressed old man, apparently a former astronaut, gets to drive a new car and has flashbacks of going into space. I think older adults need to be portrayed in a more positive way.

Store hours for Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday

Photo: Gridprop

Wondering what stores will be open on Thanksgiving? Need information on what the store hours are for your favorite stores on Black Friday.

Offers.com has complied the following list of which stores will be open for the consumers who are shopping during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Store Hours on Thanksgiving and Black Friday 2015

Store	Thanksgiving Store Hours	Black Friday Store Hours
AAFES	closed (online sale begins)	4 a.m.
A.C. Moore	closed	5 a.m.
Academy	closed	5 a.m.
Ace Hardware	closed	check locally
Apple Store	closed	check locally
Ashley Furniture	closed	7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Babies R Us	5 p.m. (check locally)	closes at 11 p.m. (check locally)
Banana Republic	TBA	check locally
Barnes and Noble	closed	8 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Bass Pro Shops	8 a.m. – 6 p.m.	5 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Bath & Body Works	4 p.m.	open
Bealls	6 p.m. – midnight	open
Bed Bath & Beyond	closed	check locally
Belk	6 p.m. open	10 p.m. closed
Best Buy	5 p.m. – 1 a.m.	8 a.m.
Big Lots	7 a.m.	6 a.m.
BJ’s Warehouse	closed	7 a.m.
Bon-Ton	5 p.m. (check locally)	12 a.m. (check locally)
Burlington Coat Factory	closed	TBA
Cabela’s	closed	5 a.m.
Carson’s	5 p.m.	open
Costco	closed	9 a.m. (check locally)
Craft Warehouse	closed	check locally
Crate & Barrel	closed	TBA
CVS	open	open
Dick’s Sporting Goods	6 p.m – 2 a.m.	5 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Dillard’s	closed	TBA
Dollar General	7 a.m. – 8 p.m.	check locally
DSW	closed	7 a.m.
Family Dollar	7 a.m. – 7p.m.	open
Five Below	6 p.m. – 1 a.m.	7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Finish Line	* open (online sale begins at 12:01 a.m.)*	open
Fred’s	closed	TBA
Fred Meyer	closed	5 a.m. (deals last until 1 p.m.)
GameStop	closed	5 a.m.
Gander Mountain	8 a.m. – midnight	5 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Gap	6 p.m. – midnight (check locally)	midnight – 10 p.m. (check locally)
Goody’s	2 p.m. – 1 a.m.	6 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Gordmans	6 p.m.	6 a.m.
Guitar Center	closed	6 a.m.
H&M	closed	9 a.m.
Half Price Books	closed	9 a.m.
Harbor Freight Tools	closed	7 a.m.
Herberger’s	5 p.m.	open
Hastings	TBA	TBA
HH Gregg	4 p.m. – midnight	7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Home Depot	closed (online sales start 6 a.m.)	6 a.m.
Home Goods	closed	TBA
JCPenney	3 p.m.	open
Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft	closed	6 a.m.
Kmart	6 a.m.	10 p.m. close
Kohl’s	6 p.m. open	12 a.m. close (check locally)
Lowe’s	closed	5 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Macy’s	6 p.m. open	10 p.m. close (check locally)
Marshalls	closed	TBA
Menards	closed	6 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Michael’s	4 p.m. – 2 a.m.	7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Microsoft Store	TBA	TBA
Modell’s Sporting Goods	6 p.m. (check locally)	6 a.m. (check locally)
Navy Exchange	TBA	TBA
Neiman Marcus	closed	TBA
Nordstrom	closed	check locally
Northern Tool & Equipment	closed	6 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Office Depot & OfficeMax	6 p.m. – 9 p.m.	8 a.m.
Old Navy	4 p.m.	open
Palais Royal	2 p.m. – 1 a.m.	6 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Patagonia	closed	check locally
P.C. Richard & Son	closed	check locally
Peebles	2 p.m. – 1 a.m.	6 a.m. – 5 p.m.
PepBoys	closed	7 a.m.
Petco	closed	open
PetSmart	closed (online sale begins at 7 a.m.)	7 a.m.
Pier 1 Imports	closed (online sale begins)	8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Pottery Barn	closed	open
RadioShack	8 a.m. – 1 p.m.	extended hours
REEDS Jewelers	closed	12 a.m.
REI	closed	closed
Rite Aid	8 a.m. to 5 p.m.	7 a.m.
Sam’s Club	closed	7 a.m.
Sears	6 p.m. – midnight	6 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Sears Outlet	6 p.m. – midnight	6 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Shoe Carnival	TBA	TBA
Shopko	4 p.m.	sale ends at noon
Sierra Trading Post	closed	TBA
Sony	TBA	TBA
Sports Authority	6 p.m.	6 a.m.
Sportsman’s Warehouse	closed	TBA
Stage Stores	4 p.m. – 1 a.m.	6 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Staples	closed	6 a.m.
Stein Mart	5 p.m – 10 p.m.	7 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Sur La Table	closed	TBA
Talbots	closed	7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Target	6 p.m.	8 a.m. – 11 p.m.
T.J. MAXX	closed	TBA
Toys R Us	5 p.m. open (check locally)	11 p.m. close (check locally)
Tractor Supply Company	closed	TBA
True Value	closed	check locally
Ulta	6 p.m. (check locally)	open
UnderArmour	check locally	TBA
Walgreens	8 a.m. – 10 p.m.	open
Walmart	6 p.m. (online sale begins at 12:01 PST)	24 hours

Twenty percent of consumers plan on shopping online this Thanksgiving instead of going to stores, compared to 16 percent in 2014, according to a survey conducted for Offers.com.

For Black Friday online shopping, slightly more than one in five say that they plan to shop mainly online, 22 percent, while only 16 percent plan to shop in stores. For those who will be shopping both online and in stores, it’s 17 percent.

Copyright 2015, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Baby boomer bloggers ponder life’s challenges

I’m the host for this week’s Best of Boomer Blogs #408.

I was about to sit down last night and do my write-up, when boom, boom, boom. Comcast went down. For me, it was a three-boom deal this time because I get my Internet service, telephone, and television through Comcast, which has about the worst customer service of any company I’ve ever dealt with.

So withdrawal occurred. I couldn’t do my write up or watch TV. I could read part of my email. I just signed up through Verizon for a new Samsung Galaxy S5 phone, but using the thing is another sad story.

Now, it’s Monday and Comcast is back up, so I can give you the Boomer News. 

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty tells us he's in the market for a new car. And since his blog is all about honesty and truthfulness, he thinks he has to confess to something he really doesn't like to admit. It's about vanity. He doesn’t want a car that makes him look like an old geezer. Take a road trip over to his article, “No Car for Old Men,” and see if he enjoys a smooth ride, or gets caught up in traffic jam.

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting spent the past week nursing medical issues. She was supposed to get ready for her grandkids and the rest of the clan. Oh well. Read her lament in “Timing is Everything.”

While Laura Lee of Adventures of the New Old Farts is suffering through the slow process of completing her home in the Southern Colorado foothills, she’s at least enjoying incredible fields of wildflowers up near her new home.

On my blog, I write about why consumers use credit cards. A recent survey shows the single biggest reason Americans use credit cards is because they’re easier and more convenient than paying with cash – 40 percent of respondents gave that answer. Financing emergency expenses was second at 19 percent, and earning rewards ranked third with 14 percent.

The main reason I use them is for the reward points. But, I’m lucky. After years of carrying a balance and paying lots of interest, I almost have them paid off.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to stop by next week to check out what boomer bloggers are writing about.

Copyright 2015, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

DIRECTV tricking consumers into paying more, FTC says

The attention-grabbing ads are everywhere. Get DIRECTV’s satellite TV packages for as little as $19.99 a month for a year! Throw in HBO and Showtime – “free for 3 months.”

It’s encouraged consumers to “ditch cable now” and sign up for satellite TV.

However, before you take the deal, the Federal Trade Commission has warnings.

DIRECTV didn’t give consumers full information about the deal and their viewers got stuck with charges they didn’t know about or approve, said the FTC.

Resolve during National Consumer Protection Week to avoid common consumer mishaps

March 1-7 is National Consumer Protection Week.

During this week dedicated to consumers, it’s a good time to learn about common consumer problems so you can avoid them in the future.

In 2014, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 2.5 million consumer complaints. Of the complaints received:

• Identity theft once again tops the list, with 13 percent of total complaints filed.

• Debt collection held steady as the second-most-reported complaint, with 11 percent.

Shopping ideas for Presidents’ Day

It’s Presidents’ Day

If you’re planning on shopping, here are some tips to help you:

DealNews

Clothing and tech dominate

For the past few years, winter apparel has dominated most Presidents' Day sales, making up 32 percent of all deals during that holiday. In the past two years DealNews noticed that discounts have gotten steeper.

While you may find some shoe deals, the choices will be limited; last year, shoe deals made up less than 5 percent of our Presidents' Day sales.

'Fifty Shades of Grey' books are disturbing, followed by equally awful movie

Valentine's Day, a day celebrating love, seems to be as good a day as an to be writing about "Fifty Shades of Grey."

For decades, America has been working on teaching people that it’s wrong to hit and beat up women.

Now, the Fifty Shades of Grey books come along filled with bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism or BDSM.

While what adults do in their bedrooms is a private matter, I and others are concerned that women who aren’t assertive will allow themselves to be hit and tortured during sex. The book romanticizes BDSM.

Many Americans sharing log-ins for streaming services with others, survey shows

Streaming media services are popular: 51 percent of American households say they subscribe to Amazon Prime Instant Video, HBO Go, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and/or WatchESPN, according to a survey by Consumer Reports.

However, 46 percent of subscribers said they share their log-in credentials with someone outside their home.

Netflix subscribers do it the most, with 46 percent admitting they shared their password. Hulu Plus was next with 37 percent, followed by Amazon Prime with 29 percent. The sample sizes for HBO Go and WatchESPN were too small to report percentages.