The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Scammers already eying the money you’re going to get from the federal stimulus

Be alert for scams related to the pending federal stimulus package.

While a deal has been negotiated and the bill awaits final votes and the president’s signature, Congress’ economic relief package proposes to send money to individual Americans due to financial distress caused by COVID-19. These one-time payments could range from $1,200 per individual and up to $2,400 for joint taxpayers, depending on income.

Some Americans may receive physical checks in the mailbox rather than by direct deposit. However, scammers are already using the proposed federal stimulus package as an opportunity to prey on consumers.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year.

I spent most of yesterday working on an article about the top consumer stories of 2019. Today, I'll be working on the top consumer stories of the decade. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

The United States of America has such potential. It's a big, diverse country with tremendous resources. But, time and time again, we miss the mark. The opioid crisis. Mass shootings. Climate change inaction. Barriers for minorities and women. Ongoing wars. A lacking health care system.

But, as a consumer writer, the thing that bothers me the most is the continual favoring of corporate interests over the public interest. One of the biggest stories of the decade, in my opinion, is the increase in income inequality. I read about it on social media every day. Families struggling to get by, living paycheck to paycheck.

Top consumer stories for 2019

As usual, most of the end-of-the-year, round-up articles are about national issues or corporations. If consumers are mentioned, it’s usually about how they’re responding to some corporation.

For the most part, it’s been a grim year for consumers. With the Trump administration that is so probusiness and anti-consumer, the not much is happening for consumers that's positive.

1. President Donald Trump is impeached.

We have a president who puts his personal interests above the public interest. He tried to bribe the Ukrainian president to get him to investigate a political rival. As a result, he’s been impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. This is incredible.

How a percentage of the American can support Trump is a great mystery to me. He and his administration announce anti-consumer proposals almost daily.

In addition, we have a president who lies. Since he was elected, Trump has told more than 15,000 false or misleading claims. In 2019, he’s said that the U.S. economy today is the best in history, he passed the biggest tax cut in history, the U.S. has lost money on trade deficits, article II of the Constitution lets him do whatever he wants, windmills cause cancer, and toilet flushes are up. All are untrue.

2. Consumer rights and programs are under continual attack from President Trump and his administration.

The Republican conservatives want to reduce the size of government and give corporations more power. Almost daily, we read about how the Trump administration has done it or is planning to do it. Some examples include:

• The Trump administration’s decision to roll back light bulb standards will cost consumers billions.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rule speeding up pork lines and reducing inspectors endangers the lives and safety of consumers and workers. 
• Corporations keep breaking the law due to declining federal prosecutions.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and seven states launch an “innovation network” that will approve new, risky financial products and protect them from enforcement.
• The CFPB fails consumers by not carrying out the payday lending rule.
• Fewer children’s products were recalled in 2018.
• Under Trump, enforcement of consumer financial laws drops sharply, especially in areas with the highest complaints.

The list goes on and on. Government regulations and programs help consumers. Reducing the size of government and slashing consumer regulations just helps corporations make more profits at the expense of consumers.

Americans resolving to pay off debts and save money in 2020, survey shows

The New Year is approaching rapidly, and money continues to be America’s top concern with almost 99 million people planning to make a financial resolution for 2020.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, conducted a survey of the “Top 10 Financial Resolutions for 2020” and found the No. 1 financial resolution for men is to save more, while women are focused on paying off debt.

Other highlights of the survey include:

Facts and figures for Labor Day 2019

Source: WalletHub

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

T-Mobile-Sprint merger still a bad deal for consumers

The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday it wouldn’t challenge the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. The approval comes as the two wireless companies have reportedly agreed to a divestiture plan to sell some of their assets to satellite TV company DISH to help that company build a new wireless network.

Consumer Reports, which opposes the merger, said the DISH deal will do little to address the serious concerns that a combined Sprint-T-Mobile would harm competition, and harm consumers and others in the marketplace who depend on that competition.

“The reported deal would eliminate Sprint, an established competitor in the wireless marketplace, and replace it with DISH, an unproven newcomer that has no experience in building its own wireless network, which it will need to build essentially from scratch,” George Slover, senior policy counsel for Consumer Reports, said.

Happy Tax Day

I’m happy I got my taxes mailed in Saturday. I’m not so happy my refund has gone down substantially. I hope you were able to get your taxes done on time or file for an extension.

I used TurboTax again, which turned out O.K., unlike H&R Block, which wouldn’t give me an estimate on how much it would to do my taxes until they were done.

For free items to get on Tax Day, see Dealnews.com’s The Best Tax Day Freebies to Get Today.

For information on the tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations included in the Trump-GOP 2017 tax law that should be amended or repealed see Americans for Tax Fairness’ report “Fair Taxes Now: Revenue Options for a Fair Tax System.” It recommends:

Today is International Women's Day

International Women's Day, March 8, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

International Women's Day has occurred for more than a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Prior to this the Socialist Party of America, United Kingdom’s suffragettes, America’s suffragists, and other groups campaigned for women’s equality.

This year’s theme is Balance for Better. The IWD website explains the theme this way:

Top 14 consumer stories of 2018

All in all, it’s been another bad year for consumers. President Trump and his administration’s generate so much chaos that they get all the media attention. Meanwhile in the background, federal agencies are moving forward on the administration’s conservative regulatory priorities, which are harmful to consumers. One bright spot is the Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives. That will help curb President Trump's excesses.

Here are the top 14 consumer stories for 2018:

1. The Trump administration continues decimated consumer protections.

President Trump appointed Mick Mulvaney, his budget director, as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Under Mulvaney's leadership, the bureau reversed prior actions and programs of the agency. It has delayed rules to protect consumers from payday lenders, dropped lawsuits, stripped enforcements of fair-lending protections, and reduced the number of fines issued.

Will you be going into debt for holiday spending?

The 2018 holiday shopping season, like many before it, will be paid for largely by credit card debt.

After spending more than $1 trillion from November 2017 to January 2018, U.S. consumers began the new year owing more than $1 trillion to credit card companies for the first time. And even though credit card debt levels are going down a little each year, this holiday shopping season could change that.

What are consumers saying about their holiday shopping plans?  Thirty-five percent of people plan to spend more than $500 this year, according to WalletHub’s “2018 Holiday Shopping Survey.” In 2017, 33 percent said they spent that much.