The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Facts and figures for the 2018 holidays

It’s that time of year. The holidays are upon us. Hanukkah has been celebrated and today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the least daylight and the longest night. Christmas is approaching rapidly as is Kwanzaa, Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.

Celebrants

Nine-in-ten Americans — and 95 percent of Christians — say they celebrate Christmas, according to a Pew Research Center survey. These figures have generally held steady in recent years. Today, 46 percent of Americans say they celebrate Christmas as primarily a religious rather than cultural holiday.

Are you a luxury boomer traveler?

Lately, I’ve been reading financial and boomer blogs to see that others are writing about in the blogging world.

I ran across a blog called My Itchy Travel Feet and an article on “Best Luxury Travel Tips: How to Get the Most for Your Money.”

I left a comment that I didn’t know if telling people to no longer bother about being in a frequent flyer airline club was a good idea. I said I travel to Madrid a couple of times a year and often get a free ticket every few years.

Donna Hull send me an email in reply to my comment:

Top 10 stores for Cyber Monday shopping

Cyber Monday isn't just for Black Friday leftovers. Some of the year's best sales will take place on Monday, Nov. 26. So, you may want to save part of your holiday shopping budget for Cyber Monday deals.

Which stores will be offering the best savings? DealNews.com offers 10 suggestions, based on the best sales last year from Cyber Monday and the Sunday before.

1. Amazon

Best for: Gaming, toys, home, and almost anything else you can buy online

While plenty of other retailers offer Cyber Monday sales, none of them match Amazon's. Last year, DealNews.com saw three times as many Cyber Monday deals at Amazon as the next highest retailer.

Facts and figures for Halloween 2018

 

Are you ready for Halloween? It’s rainy here in the Seattle area. One suggestion for keeping kids dry is to find see-through plastic bags to keep rain out, but yet let the costumes be seen.

Halloween spending

Halloween spending for 2018 is expected to reach $9 billion, the second highest seen post-recession. Seven in 10 consumers plan to celebrate this year, and they’ll spend an average of nearly $90 per person, according to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation.

This year, kids are planning to dress as their favorite princess – back in the No. 1 spot – or super hero, while pets will be donning pumpkin, hotdog, or bumble bee costumes. Adults are sticking with the traditional spookiness of Halloween, dressing as witches, vampires, and zombies.

About nine in 10 consumers will buy candy, while others will spend their Halloween budgets on decorations, seven in 10, and greeting cards, four in 10.

Halloween facts

Here are facts and figures from the U.S. Census Bureau on Halloween this year:

Top Halloween costumes for 2018

Will you be dressing up for Halloween this year like nearly 70 percent of Americans?

Here’s a list of the most popular costumes for 2918 from the National Retail Federation:

Kids

1. Princess
2. Superhero
3. Batman
4. Star Wars character
5. Witch
6. Spider Man
7. Avengers character including Spider Man
8. Ghost
9. Pirate
10. Frozen – Else, Anna

Baby boomers provide information on daily living, including relationships and stress

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty is back in the classroom every week this fall, once as a teacher and twice as a student.

Many baby boomers are interested in pursuing their education, whether for profit, leisure, or cultural enrichment – whether they go to a local adult-education class, attend an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute course at a nearby university, or take off on an educational trip with Road Scholar.

Our baby boomer group, too, is interested in education. They write hundreds of articles every year to provide helpful information to boomers. Here’s this week’s offering:

Boomer bloggers inspired by end-of-summer activities and transitions

It’s hard to believe we now speak of summer – not the official astronomical season but our human timetable – in the past tense.

In my community, the Harbor Day celebration on Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer. This year, the weather was beautiful, as you can see from the photo above. Some years, I’m taking photos in the cold, wind, and rain.

• Tips for how to buy a used car on Labor Day weekend, which also are useful anytime.

• A guide for self-improvement during September, which is Self-Improvement Month.

• The fashion rules we grew up with, including don’t wear white after Labor Day.

What are the best buys at the Labor Day sales this year?

Summer’s coming to an end and parents and kids are busy with back-to-school shopping.

What are the best deals for the Labor Day sales?

WalletHub, a personal finance website, offers a report “Best Labor Day Deals and Sales” to help shoppers save money.

Best deals and sales

Treadmills are the best items to buy in September, compared to the rest of the year. Specific deals include:

Are you ready for back-to-school shopping?

It’s hard to believe, but August is almost here, and soon kids will be headed back to school.

To help parents save money, WalletHub, a personal-finance website, has released the results of its “2018 Back-to-School Shopping Survey” and “Sales-Tax Holiday Calendar” to help parents save hundreds.

Highlights of the reports include:

Good deals for Father’s Day 2018

Not sure what get for your dad for Father’s Day?

Here are some suggestions from DealNews.com:

TVs

In the month leading up to Father's Day last year, DealNews.com saw plenty of TV deals for every budget.

Games

If your dad's hobbies include gaming, Father's Day is a good time to indulge him. During the month before Father's Day last year, DealNews.com saw the most deals on video games for consoles, although there was a good number of computer game deals, too.

Outdoor items

Maybe your dad loves the great outdoors. If so, there are plenty of deals on outdoor gear around Father's Day.

Tools

Unfortunately, for the do-it-yourself-loving dad, tool deals are less common this time of year.

Clothes

Apparel sales might not be common around the holiday, but there should still be a handful. Expect savings in the 20 percent to 30 percent range, or maybe a buy one, get one free promotion. 

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist