The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Watch out for flood-damaged used vehicles in the Washington, D.C., area

With thousands of vehicles in a Monday storm, which released a month’s worth of rain in an hour, flood damaged vehicles in the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area could run in the hundreds.

“While, hopefully, these vehicles will have their titles marked flood damaged and go to salvage yards, many will likely re-enter the market as used cars,” said Jack Gillis, the Consumer Federation of America’s executive director and author of “The Car Book.”

Because of the computerization, electronics, and sophisticated safety technology found in today’s vehicles, it’s critical that you avoid getting stuck with one of these lemons, Gillis said.

Celebrate July Fourth with these safety and health tips

Do you want to have a Fourth of July that’s fun yet safe? Check out these tips from the Environmental Working Group.

Holiday barbecue

Before you head to the grocery store, check out the EWG’s resources on the healthiest foods, the cleanest produce, and the safest and most humanely produced meat and dairy. While you’re shopping, check out the hot dogs. To avoid nitrates and nitrites, which can cause cancer, choose natural hot dogs, or select a different protein. You can also make safe, healthy menu planning easier with EWG’s Healthy Living App, which lets you check in the store how well a product rates.

In addition, make sure you avoid charring meat to decrease your risk of cancer, and use a food thermometer to make sure it’s fully cooked so you can avoid food-borne illnesses such as E. coli.

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.

Top 100 most frequently asked questions

Recently, when I visited Madrid, my granddaughter called her mom and asked her if the dishes in the dishwasher were clean or dirty. I laughed, but then I thought that the question must be one of the most popular questions ever that is asked over and over and over again.

We began brainstorming and came up with 99 additional questions that must be asked hundreds of times a day in America and throughout the world.

The most frequently asked questions are:

1. How are you?
2. How’s your family?
3. What’s new?
4. Do you know ____________?
5. Is this seat taken?
6. What would you like to drink?
7. Would you like cream or sugar (in your coffee)?
8. Who won the game?
9. Do you remember ________________ (a person from the past)?
10. Who will be there?
11. What do you do (for work)?
12. Are you dating anyone?
13. Where are you from?
14. Can I buy you a drink?
15. What’s your phone number?
16. Would you like to have coffee?
17. What’s your favorite song?
18. What’s your favorite movie?
19. Who’s your favorite star?
20. When’s your birthday?
21. What would you like to do?
22. Do you want to come in for coffee (after a date)?
23. Have you been tested for STDs?
24. Do you have a condom?
25. What are your hobbies?
26. Where did you go to school?
27. Will you marry me?
28. Where would you like to live?
29. Who was that?
30. Where are you going to go to college?
31. What are you going to major in?
32. What do you want to do (for a career)?
33. Have you read _______________ (a book)?
34. Who said __________(quote)?
35. Where are you going?
36. Can you come to the party?
37. Is she (or he) your friend?
38. Do you work here?
39. How much will I be paid for the job?
40. When's the meeting?
41. Where's the meeting?
42. Is the boss in a bad mood?
43. What's he (or she) like to work for?
44. How was work?
45. Will you take out the garbage?
46. Did you take out the garbage?
47. How was school?
48. When are you going to clean up your bedroom?
49. Where have you been?
50. Why were you late?
51. Do you know what time it is?
52. Are you ready?
53. What would you like for dinner?
54. What time is dinner?
55. Is a minute (or two minutes) in the microwave enough?
56. Would you like a sandwich?
57. Is this too old (to eat)?
58. Who’s coming to dinner?
59. When will the repairman be here?
60. Are we out of toilet paper?
61. Where are my _______________ (shorts, dress, shoes or other items)?
62. What’s on TV?
63. Did you let the dog (or cat) out?
64. Did you mow the lawn?
65. Do you remember when we _____________ (took a trip or did an activity)?
66. Is it broken (object or body part)?
67. Are we there yet?
68. How far is it to ______________ (place or town)?
69. Is that a _______________ (brand name)?
70. Where did you get that _____________ (shirt, dress, or shoes)?
71. How much does it cost?
72. Does this make me look fat?
73. Do you like this?
74. Does this look good on me?
75. Did you get a haircut?
76. Will you pick up my suit from the dry cleaners?
77. Can I speak to your supervisor?
78. Where are my keys?
79. Where are my glasses?
80. Where’s my cell phone?
81. Where did I park my car?
82. Is that a parking spot?
83. What’s the weather?
84. Do I need a coat?
85. Do I need an umbrella?
86. Have you voted?
87. Is the plane on time?
88. Can you recommend a restaurant?
89. Do you have any vacancies?
90. Do you mind if I smoke?
91. Have you met the new neighbors?
92. How are the schools (in that neighborhood or city)?
93. What’s that bulldozer doing down the street?
94. What’s the population of _______________ (city, town, or country)?
95. Why are you giving me a ticket, officer?
96. Can I see your new car?
97. Would you call me an Uber?
98. How many likes did I get?
99. Am I oversharing?

That’s my list. Did I miss any?

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

What should adults and kids do for Earth Day 2019?

Today is the 49^th anniversary of Earth Day. What are things we can do to help the earth?

Top 10 tips for adults.

They include using less pesticides, buying organic food, and using non-toxic cleaners.

Environmental organizations that help the earth.

You’ll find links to groups such as the Environmental Working Group, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Washington Toxics Council.

Earth Day books.

“The Great Bear Sea: Exploring the Marine Life of a Pacific Paradise,” “Earth (Elemental Journey, #1),” and “No Place Like Earth” top the list.

Beauty, personal care, and cleaning products contain secret fragrance chemicals linked to cancer, report shows

Companies don’t put all chemical ingredients on the label, the “Right to Know: Exposing Toxic Fragrance Chemicals in Beauty, Personal Care and Cleaning Products,” a report by the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners or BCPP says.

In addition, companies often don’t tell consumers about fragrance chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption, reproductive harm, and respiratory problems.

“BCPP’s report reveals that when we use common beauty and personal care products, we are exposed to a shocking number of unlabeled, unregulated toxic fragrance chemicals without our knowledge or consent,” said Janet Nudelman, director of program and policy at BCPP and director of BCPP's Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

How to wash pillows

This summer, my daughter and her kids from Madrid came to visit in July and August. When they left, I washed all the bedding including the pillows.

I ruined a small one. Here are tips from the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension on how to wash pillows.

Follow the manufacturers’ cleaning directions. If there aren’t any, use the following guidelines. Although down-filled pillows are hand or machine washable, some manufacturers recommend dry-cleaning.

Green living: Inexpensive ways to save our planet today

By Bailey Newman, content writer at CouponChief, guest author

There’s no denying anymore that our precious Earth is in serious trouble. And lots of human activity – from air pollution to deforestation – has something to do with it. If we don’t change, we face both unintended and potentially permanent consequences. Indeed, the need for us to act now has never been more compelling. And we can start by taking on an earth-friendly lifestyle.

The thing is far too many people believe that going green will drain their wallets. Well, the good news is that it doesn’t have to.

There are plenty of inexpensive ways you can reduce your environmental footprint. And you can start with these seemingly trivial steps:

Why it’s important to do more to reduce your use of plastic

Since the early days of recycling, I’ve been recycling plastic. Before curbside plastic recycling was offered, I volunteered at a weekly recycling program offered in a grocery store parking lot. We helped people sort their plastics into big plastic bags that the recycling company would haul away at the end of the day.

I also started a Shop Smart program in my community that took people on a tour through a grocery store and showed them how to cut down on the amount of packaging they were buying and what plastic items were recyclable at that time.

In 2014, I wrote an article on how to reduce the use of plastic. See the list at the end of this article.

But, after seeing reports on Facebook of hundreds of pounds of plastic being removed from the ocean and plastic actually visible floating down rivers, I realize we need to do more to reduce our use of plastic. Here are new tips that I’m using that you can try, too:

Surface cleaners are being recalled by Briggs & Stratton due to injury hazard

Briggs & Stratton is recalling about 201,000 3000 PSI pressure washer surface cleaners in the United States and about 5,400 in Canada.

The surface cleaner’s spray bar can break and detach from the central hub, causing broken pieces to hit consumers, which is a potential injury hazard.

Briggs & Stratton has received five reports of spray bar detaching from the central hub, including one report of the spray bar hitting an operator, causing a cut on the knee that required stitches.

Surface cleaners are designed to clean a variety of outdoor surfaces including concrete, asphalt, and stone walkways. The cleaner connects to a pressure washer rated up to 3000 PSI.