The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Most sunscreens contain possible harmful ingredients or don’t protect well from the sun, consumer group analysis shows

Researchers from the Environmental Working Group found that two-thirds of sunscreen products it analyzed offer inferior sun protection or contain worrisome ingredients, such as oxybenzone.

On Wednesday, the EWG released its 13th Annual Guide to Sunscreens, which rates the safety and effectiveness of more than 1,300 SPF products, including sunscreens, daily moisturizers, and lip balms with SPF values. SPF means sun protection factor.

In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a proposal for updated sunscreen regulations. It’s a big step toward cleaning up a poorly regulated industry, with much-needed reforms that would better protect public health, said Nneka Leiba, director of the EWG’s Healthy Living Science program. Only 40 percent of the products on the EWG’s list contain active ingredients that the FDA has proposed are safe and effective, based on the agency’s new draft rules, according to the EWG’s assessment.

Baby boomers discuss what you should do when you’re older

One of my favorite things to do these days as an older adult is to travel. My daughter lives in Madrid, and I go there twice a year – once for the end-of-year holidays and again in May to celebrate our birthdays, Spanish Mothers’ Day, and American Mothers’ Day.

The photo is of my daughter and me at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao during my latest trip to Spain. I’ve always wanted to go there since I love museums.

But with limited funds when baby boomers retire, what should they be spending money on? Do they need a budget or a money manager? What about their interpersonal lives?

On Sightings Over Sixty, Tom Sightings writes about how to bring your retirement expenses into line with a more modest retirement income. See his article, “How to Live Within Your Means,” for suggestions such as selling items you no longer need, canceling country club and gym memberships, and stopping credit card spending.

A rocky air flight got Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting to thinking about the future as her flight bounced about. Specifically, her future. How long could she continue to enjoy her current lifestyle? Her mind wandered to an intriguing future home alternative for when she and her husband are older. Assuming the trip ended on a positive note, it may be worth researching. See if you agree in “My Here and After.”

Another thing boomers need to think about as they grow older is how they see themselves. We boomers set great store by our achievements...it's the way we grew up. But, maybe something got lost along the way, suggests Carol Cassara of A Healing Spirit in her post, “You Don't Need to Shine.”

Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com thinks that whatever is going on a boomer’s life, they need laughter. With all that’s coming at us these days, it’s good to have a belly laugh once in a while. See Olkowski article, “How Having a Sense of Humor Will Improve Your Health and Longevity,” for a list of the health benefits of laughing.

For Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin it’s collaboration that lifts her up these days. Koshak has always been interested in creativity and studies it, tests it, and tries to find new ways to increase it. In her latest post, she looks at “How Collaboration Inspires Creativity” and provides some tips on how to find different ways to create with others.

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #597. Be sure to let the boomers know your opinions about their posts. Nothing makes boomer bloggers happier than to get comments on their articles.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

States sue 20 generic drug companies and 15 executives for allegedly conspiring to fix prices for more than 100 drugs

A 44-state coalition of attorneys general is suing Teva Pharmaceuticals and 19 of the nation's largest generic drug manufacturers alleging a conspiracy to increase prices and reduce competition for more than 100 generic drugs.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, also names 15 individual senior executive defendants, leaders of the conspiracy, who were responsible for sales, marketing, pricing, and operations. The drugs make up billions of dollars of sales in the United States, and the alleged schemes increased prices affecting the health insurance market, taxpayer-funded healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and individuals who had to pay artificially-inflated prices for their prescriptions drugs.

All types of drugs were included – tablets, capsules, suspensions, creams, gels, and ointments – as well as many classes of drugs – statins, ace inhibitors, beta blockers, antibiotics, anti-depressants, contraceptives, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The drugs treat a range of diseases and conditions from basic infections to diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV, ADHD, and more. In some cases, the coordinated price increases were more than 1,000 percent.

Baby boomers collaborate to bring you more great articles

Baby boomer bloggers in our group may live in different areas of the country, but we come together to collaborate on weekly posts to share each other’s work.

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin reports that this week boomer bloggers are writing about:

• How to plan a cruise.
• How personal style and pizzazz can be mastered at any age.
• The pleasures of helping a friend.
• Healthy, tasty recipes that are easy to make.
• Whether Medicare for All would be good for younger people.

These articles make up in the Best of Boomer Blogs #596. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to look at the comments and leave one yourself. Boomer bloggers enjoy lively conversations with readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Baby boomers learn life skills over time

Baby boomers have learned how to navigate life through all its obstacles and challenges. Each time something happens, a new life skill is learned. Sometimes new knowledge comes from nowhere and is greatly appreciated. It’s what makes life interesting and how boomers survive and thrive.

Our baby boomer bloggers have been picking up life skill because they’ve had to involuntarily or have passed milestones that require them.

Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski of Babyboomster reports recent boomer bloggers articles are:

What baby boomers have on their minds

As my yard is bursting into spring, I’m reading the articles of my baby boomer blogging buddies that are bursting with ideas on their blog sites.

Their recent posts include:

• Solutions to ease neck and shoulder tension.
• Comments on the Democratic presidential candidates.
• Which companies have the cheapest car insurance.
• What to say when your sister is dying.
• Whether people leave home when they grow up and don’t come back, or they never leave, or they do leave, but return to retire.
• How to make quick chicken soup from chicken broth to help with healing.

Carol Cassara of Heart•Mind•Soul writes about these articles in Best of Boomer Blogs #594. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers enjoy hearing from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Pedestrians: Pay attention when crossing the street and don’t eat pizza

As a careful driver, I’m very respectful of pedestrians. I know they have the right of way in the crosswalk and can cross at any corner, even if a crosswalk isn’t painted there. I always stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

However, I’m becoming impatient with pedestrians who stroll across the street, look at their cell phones, and eat pizza.

Yes, eat pizza. This week, a young woman began crossing the street carrying a pizza box. I was poised to make a free right turn, which is legal in Washington state, but I waited for her instead trying to beat her through the crosswalk.

I’ll be darned if she didn’t open the pizza box, take out a slice, and begin eating it as she crossed. I was dumbfounded. I didn’t honk. Next time, I’m going to lay on the horn.

Thousands of pedestrians killed each year

In 2016, 5,987 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This averages to one crash-related pedestrian death every 1.5 hours.

Baby boomers on travel, retirement, and finances

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting returned from a week in the Boston area watching her son and his friends run in the Boston Marathon, celebrating Easter, and visiting Martha’s Vineyard, a resort just waking up from a long, sleepy winter. The island is famous for many reasons, one of which is the location for the 1975 movie “Jaws.”

Arriving home tired, it was too early to go to bed because it was still light outside. Baer and her husband ended their week’s journey watching that classic movie, scrutinizing scenes for places recently seen. 

Another boomer blogger writes about Egypt while a third tells us the benefits of going on walking tours in your community.

After years of delay, FDA bans surgical mesh for pelvic repair

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered the manufacturers of all surgical mesh products for the transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse to stop selling their products in the United States beginning April 16.

The FDA said the agency “has determined that the manufacturers, Boston Scientific and Coloplast, have not demonstrated a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness for these devices.” In February, Public Citizen, a citizen advocacy organization, testified before an FDA advisory committee and urged the agency to ban the products. Public Citizen first petitioned for a ban in 2011, which the agency denied in 2014.    

“Although we welcome this long-overdue action, this ban comes too late for the thousands of women who have been irreparably harmed by these devices, long after the FDA knew the devices had ‘not demonstrated a reasonable assurance of safety,’” said Michael Carome, M.D., director, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group. “Since at least 2011, there has been clear evidence that these products are unsafe for treating pelvic organ prolapse and lack any clinically significant benefits.”

How to improve your finances during Financial Literacy Month

It’s a good time during April’s Financial Literacy Month to take a look at how you handle your finances.

What is financial literacy? It’s knowing how to manage your personal finances.

How are Americans doing with financial literacy? In a survey of 1,500 people, respondents estimated that lacking knowledge about personal finances cost them an average of $1,230 in 2018, according to a study by the National Financial Educators Council.

What can you do to improve your financial literacy?

Take a look at your finances.

If you don’t have one, you need a budget. It’s a financial plan that will help you reach your goals. To develop a budget, you’ll need to keep track of your spending. Write down what your fixed monthly expenses are such as car payments and rent or mortgage payments. Determine what your periodic expenses are. They include items such as vacations and tax payments. Then you’ll need to track your variable expenses – food, clothing, transportation, and entertainment, costs that probably change every month.