The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

How to prevent tick bites and remove ticks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you find a tick attached to your skin, remove the tick as soon as possible. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers work very well, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How to remove a tick

1. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick. This can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you’re unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
3. Clean the bite area and your hands thoroughly with rubbing alcohol or soap and water after removing the tick.
4. Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet.

Inclined sleeper accessory included with ultra-lite day & night play yards being recalled by Fisher-Price due to safety concerns

Fisher-Price is recalling about 71,000 inclined sleeper accessory included with all models of Fisher-Price ultra-lite day & night play yards.

Infant fatalities have been reported while using other inclined sleep products, after the infants rolled from their back to their stomach or side while unrestrained, or under other circumstances.

This recall involves the inclined sleeper accessory sold with all ultra-lite day & night play yards with model numbers CBV60, CHP86, CHR06, CJK24, and DJD11. The model number is located on the fabric label inside of the play yard and on the fabric label on the back of the inclined sleeper pad. The product is a portable play yard with inclined sleeper and changing station clutch accessories and a carry bag; the inclined sleeper accessory is the only portion of the product that is being recalled.

Think fireworks safety this Fourth of July to avoid injuries and deaths, the CPSC advises

For years, I’ve written about the dangers of fireworks approaching the Fourth of July. And, for years, kids keep getting their fingers blown off and sustaining other injuries and even dying.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Wednesday that at least five fireworks-related deaths were reported in 2018 – all associated with reloadable aerial devices.

“CPSC works year-round to help prevent deaths and injuries from fireworks, by verifying fireworks meet safety regulations in our ports, marketplace and on the road,” said Ann Marie Buerkle, CPSC acting chairman. “Beyond CPSC’s efforts, we want to make sure everyone takes simple safety steps to celebrate safely with their family and friends.”

Injuries

There were about 9,100 fireworks-related, emergency department-treated injuries in 2018, with 62 percent of them occurring during the month surrounding the Fourth of July. During that period, firecrackers were the number one cause of injuries, making up for 19 percent of the estimated injuries.  For children under 5 years of age, sparklers accounted for more than half of the total estimated injuries.

Think safety this summer

As summer begins, millions of Americans are enjoying more outdoor activities. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urges consumers to keep safety in mind around pools and at the beach, on the playground, when cooking on the grill, when mowing the lawn, and while riding on bikes, scooters, and ATVs or ROVs.

Pool safety

Drowning remains the leading cause of unintentional death among children ages one to four and the second leading cause among children ages five to 14. Drownings can be prevented by following some simple safety steps:

• Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa, and keep them away from drains.
• Learn how to swim, and teach your child how to swim.
• Ensure any pool and spa you use has drain covers that comply with federal safety standards. Children can get entrapped by the suction in older, non-compliant drain covers.
• Learn how to perform CPR on children and adults.

Appeals court decides in favor of student loan borrowers

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued an unanimous decision Thursday that opens the door for student loan borrowers to sue their servicer when they’re misled or mistreated. The three-judge panel ruled in the case Nelson v. Great Lakes Education Loan Services Inc. that federal law doesn’t prevent the plaintiff Nicole Nelson, and the class that she seeks to represent from suing their student loan servicer under state law.

U.S. PIRG and the Center for Responsible Lending had filed an amicus brief in support of the student loan borrower.

“Careless and often expensive mistakes from loan service providers exacerbate the student loan crisis, deepening the financial hole for cash-strapped students through no fault of their own,” said Kaitlyn Vitez, U.S. PIRG’s higher education campaign director. “State attorneys general and private attorneys should take the Nelson decision as a green light to defend student loan borrowers in the absence of federal action.”

Happy Father’s Day

This year, about 80 percent of Americans will be celebrating Father’s Day.

I hope you’ll be able to share an activity with your dad, if you live close enough to get together. If your dad lives far away, maybe you’ll be able to talk to him through Skype or Facetime.

I’m missing my dad, Minor H. Slingsby, today. He was an important figure in my life. Carefully watching every penny, my dad taught me to be an informed, alert consumer. I’m a personal finance writer because of him.

Here’s a tribute I wrote to my dad.

So happy Father’s Day to the dads of American and their kids. About 60 percent of men aged 15 and older are fathers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Facts and figures for Father’s Day 2019

It’s that time of year again. When the flowers bloom and the trees leaf out, it’s time to recognize those important guys in our families – our dads.

Spending

Americans are expected to spend a record amount on gifts for Father’s Day this year, according a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation. Total spending for the holiday is estimated to reach $16 billion, up from last year’s $15.3 billion.

Father’s Day spending has grown 70 percent, about $6.6 billion, since 2009. The biggest drivers of Father’s Day spending are growth in spending by consumers ages 35 to 44, and spending on clothing, special outings, and gift cards. This year, 75.9 percent of people plan to celebrate and are expected to spend a record $138.97, up from last year’s $132.82, and up from $91 in 2009.

More children’s cereals contaminated with cancer-causing weedkiller identified in new round of tests by EWG

A toxic weedkiller linked to cancer was detected in every sample of oat-based cereals and snack products in a new round of tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group.

All but four of the 21 products contained levels of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Bayer-Monsanto’s Roundup, higher that what EWG scientists consider safe for children’s health.

The highest levels of the weedkiller were detected in General Mills’ Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch at 833 parts per billion, or ppb, and Cheerios, with 729 ppb. The EWG’s health benchmark for children is 160 ppb. A child would only need to eat a single 60-gram serving of food with a glyphosate level of 160 ppb to reach the maximum dose considered safe by the EWG.

Sloppy practices by student loan servicers create obstacles to repayment, consumer group says

U.S. Department of Education data show that nearly a quarter of the more than 43 million federal student loan borrowers are in trouble with their loan payments. These borrowers need high-quality, timely assistance, but, unfortunately, the student loan servicing industry has long been rife with misconduct, said Joanna K. Darcus, attorney for the National Consumer Law Center.

The consequences of servicers’ misconduct are significant and, at times, catastrophic for borrowers’ financial lives, Darcus said. Sloppy practices by servicers created obstacles to repayment, raised the costs of debt, caused distress, and ultimately contributed to driving struggling borrowers to default, according to an April 2017 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report based on student loan borrower complaints.

Specifically, many eligible borrowers aren’t enrolled in income-driven repayment or IDR plans despite clear benefits to the financial health of borrowers and their families. Instead, servicers steer many borrowers into forbearances and deferments, which are profitable for the servicer and costly to the borrower.

Baby boomers embrace June and summer fun

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer, although it officially begins June 21. When the weather is good, people enjoy barbecues, picnics with family and friends, outdoor fun at home, and travels elsewhere.

For Memorial Day, I was in Madrid visiting my daughter and her family. The following day we went to  the Manzanares el Real Castle, 45 minutes from Madrid. Close to La Pedriza at the foothills of Sierra de Guadarrama, the castle was restored three times in the 20^th century.

The boomers in our group have been busy and start the season with ideas readers will find interesting. Articles include:

• How to create a "no" list to get time in your life for what’s important.
• How to cultivate friendships.
• Recommendations for TV shows from among those nominated for Emmys.
• The top 100 most frequently asked questions.

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #599. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure to let the boomer writers know your thoughts. We love, love, love to get comments from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer