The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Top 10 tips for saving energy and money

The cold of fall is beginning to grip most areas of the country and winter will be here soon. If you’re thinking about your energy bills that go up every winter, it’s time to take action.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the average household spends at least $2,200 on energy, and that at least half of that is for heating and cooling their home.

The Consumer Federation of America offers the following tips to help people reduce energy costs this winter and throughout the year:

Baby boomers getting chilly as October unfolds

It’s that time of year. The weather’s getting cold and the “chills” of Halloween are looming on the horizon.

As we launch into October, baby boomer bloggers are writing about:

• Dealing with a puzzling rash.
• Finding interesting but completely useless information on the internet.
• Seeing failure as a great learning tool and a necessary step in learning new things.
• Examining the flaws of the new study that said eating red meat isn’t harmful to help consumers make the "red meat" decision.
• Looking at how we became a “Lord of the Flies” society.

Tom Sightings of  Sightings Over Sixty writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #618. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure to leave a comment. Baby boomer bloggers love readers joining in the conversations.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

What you need to know about loot boxes in computer games

Do you play computer games or does someone in your family play them?

More than 164 million adults in the United States play computer games and three-quarters of all Americans have at least one gamer in their household, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

Loot boxes are the containers gamers come across in many games filled with a mix of virtual items players might want: clothes or gear to customize their avatar, or weapons or skills that could give them an advantage over other players in the game. Some of the items are valuable in the game, but many aren’t. And players won’t know what they’re getting until they open the box.

Match.com used fake ads that tricked consumers into paying for subscriptions, FTC charges

The Federal Trade Commission is suing online dating service Match Group, the owner of Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, and other dating sites, alleging that the company used fake love interest ads to trick hundreds of thousands of consumers into buying subscriptions on Match.com.

The FTC also alleges that Match exposed consumers to fraud. In addition, the agency alleges Match offered false promises of “guarantees,” failed to provide services to consumers who weren’t successful in disputes, and made it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions.

“We believe that Match.com conned people into paying for subscriptions via messages the company knew were from scammers,” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Online dating services obviously shouldn’t be using romance scammers as a way to fatten their bottom line.”

Happy Labor Day

It’s estimated that 25 percent of Americans plan to get out of town for the Labor Day weekend, and that 86 percent of them plan to travel by car. If you’re one of these, be sure to drive carefully. Another estimate is that about 400 people will die in traffic accidents during the holiday weekend, and 45,300 will sustain serious injuries.

The top travel destinations are New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Chicago.

I wish I’d be at a cookout like the 40.6 percent of Americans who plan to barbecue over Labor Day.

A lot of people will probably be working on the holiday weekend because the largest category in the workforce is retail with 4,450,000 salespeople and second is food preparation and service workers with 3,680,000. Third is cashiers with 3,640,000 workers.

What to look for in Labor Day 2019 sales

With summer coming to an end and the back-to-school shopping keeping people busy, it’s helpful to have information about Labor Day sales so you can get the best deals possible. During the Labor Day sales, you'll find lots of bargains. Look for reduced prices on clothing, appliances, computers, phones, electronics, and furniture.

WalletHub, a personal-finance website, has analyzed the Labor Day sales this year and offers information on the top deals:

Best labor day deals and sales

Dishwashers are the best items to buy in September, compared to the rest of the year.
 

2019’s 10 best Labor Day deals

1. Invicta Women's Watch – 50 percent off	6. Sealy Queen Mattress – 63.09 percent off
2. Kenmore Washer – 46.15 percent off	7. HP OfficeJet Printer – 33.34 percent off
3. Abbyson Giorgio Sofa Set – 50 percent off	8. Samsung Refrigerator – 33.34 percent off
4. Nikon D3500 DSLR Camera - 41.22 percent off	9. NordicTrack Elite Elliptical – 59.38 percent off
5. Women's Laguna Bike – 33.33 percent off	10. Samsung 65" Smart TV – 31.25 percent off

See WalletHub's report the “Best Labor Day Deals & Sales” for more information. The report has a listing of the amount of discounts dozens of stores are offering on clothing, appliances, computers and phones, electronics, packaged goods, furniture, toys, and other categories.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

What to do about your virtual valuables as you get older

As consumers spend more time online and on their devices, they accumulate digital assets. Digital asset are something of value or significance created online or on a mobile phone, laptop, or tablet. 

As consumers age, they may want to consider transferring their digital assets to someone else. They might also want to include something related to their financial life that they may need to refer to later. Examples of digital assets could include the funds in a PayPal account or the downloadable PDF for a yearly tax filing from online tax preparation software.  

Here are tips from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s blog to help you create a plan for your digital assets:

Recall of Apple computer shows the problem with the recall system in the U.S.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the recall of the 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro. For some reason, I didn’t think about it being my laptop, probably because I thought mine had a larger screen. However, I finally looked online, and sure enough, it was my computer.

Apple has received 26 reports of the 15-inch MacBook Pro’s battery overheating, including five reports of minor burns and one report of smoke inhalation, as well as 17 reports of minor damage to nearby personal property.

The advice from Apple and U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission was to immediately stop using the recalled laptop computers. Consumers were advised to contact Apple to schedule a free repair, according to the recall announcement.

Equifax to pay up to $700 million for 2017 data breach

Equifax has agreed to pay $575 million, and possibly up to $700 million, as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 states and territories. The settlement alleges that the credit reporting company’s failure to take steps to secure its network led to a data breach in 2017 that affected about 147 million people.

In its lawsuit, the FTC alleges that the Equifax data breach exposed millions of names and dates of birth, Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and other personal information that could lead to identity theft and fraud.

As part of the proposed settlement, Equifax will pay $300 million to a fund that will provide affected consumers with credit monitoring services. The fund will also compensate consumers who bought credit or identity monitoring services from Equifax and paid other money as a result of the 2017 data breach. Equifax will add up to $125 million to the fund if the $300 million isn’t enough to compensate consumers for their losses.

Baby boomers contemplate things big and small

Summer is in full gear and baby boomers are writing about topics ranging from retirement to tick bites.

Topics include:

• The best places in the United States for boomers to retire.
• How to remove ticks and prevent getting bitten.
• The difficulty in operating small switches and buttons and reading the directions about them.
• Why using cell phones and computer screens all day long interrupts our lives.
• How to use hypnotherapy to reduce pain rather than pain medication. 
• How a toddler sitting naked in a puddle reminded a boomer of an event that happened more than a century ago.

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting reports on these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #605. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure to give us your opinions on these topics. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist