The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers pondering the holidays, travel, and change

Thanksgiving has always been nice celebration for me and my family. However, in recent years, I’ve been thinking more and more about the criticisms of the holiday.

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting sheds some light on Thanksgiving. Baer did research and discovered some historical facts not taught in school, at least not when she went to school. Her “A Thanksgiving Story for Adults” isn’t X-rated, but includes details that might shock kids and many adults, too.

Carol Cassara at A Healing Spirit reminds us it's not Thanksgiving yet, and it’s still early in the holiday season. Cassara offers a gift guide for the special people in your life.

Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com has updated her holiday gift guide for 2018. Look and see what she recommends for fun gifts you can order online for family, friends, and colleagues. And if you’re looking for something tasty to make for Thanksgiving check out her "Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup" of family favorites.

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over 60 is visiting Charleston, South Carolina, billed as America's most historic city. Take a look at “Discovering the Lost Cause” for a glimpse of the city – and a look at what really went on in its gilded past.

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold And Begin reminds us we’ve all been through change. Some easy. Some hard. But imagine finding out that not only is your husband leaving you for his mistress but that he’s lost all of your money and is leaving you in massive debt. That's what happened to Lee Gaitan who is the most recent Starting Over interview on Koshak’s blog.

Laura Lee Carter of the Adventures of the New Old Farts suffered a close call this past summer with wildfires in southern Colorado. Carter shares her thoughts about those caught in California's recent firestorms, and those who simply don't understand how it feels.

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #573. Click on the links and see what boomer bloggers have to say. And, be sure and join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

How are your finances as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the holidays approach?

 

Are you in good shape financially? Many Americans don’t think they are, according to WalletHub’s  “2018 Halloween Spending and Financial Fears Survey.” Its results show:

• 75 million Americans say their finances have reached “horror show” status, including 30 percent of millennials and 16 percent of baby boomers.
   
• Two in three people think the economy will get scarier in the next 12 months.
   
• 54 percent of people think credit cards are a trick, not a treat. The worst credit cards charge annual fees as high as $995 and APRs up to 36 percent.
   
• 21 million people think a Halloween costume is worth going into debt for.
   
• 29 percent of people say money leads the list of things that scare/stress them out the most, followed by politics at 25 percent.
   
• 23 percent of people say their biggest financial fear is an unplanned emergency, followed by not having enough retirement savings, 22 percent.

The most expensive time of year is coming, when consumers traditionally rack up billions of dollars in credit card debt, investors shuffle their holdings, and people try to enjoy themselves before making resolutions

Things could turn out well, or not so good.

How to file claims for damage from Hurricane Michael

Hurricane Michael damage is expected to be $5 billion from wind damage and $3 billion from flood damage.

Only about one in three families who have flood damage from Hurricane Michael have federal flood insurance. Most homes have homeowners policies covering wind damage, but insurers have been steadily increasing hurricane wind coverage deductibles and imposing other homeowners insurance policy limitations, according to the Consumer Federation of America.

Because so many consumers experienced severe claims problems after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, the federation urges homeowners dealing with losses caused by Hurricane Michael to be vigilant with their insurance companies, including the insurers settling National Flood Insurance claims, to ensure that they receive a full and fair settlement.

Be careful before you donate to help victims of Hurricane Florence

If you’re considering donating to a charity to help victims of Hurricane Florence, be sure to check out the organization.

Following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma last year, some scammers used links to “charitable organizations” as a phishing attempt to steal personal information from those seeking to donate or to set up fake GoFundMe campaigns to solicit money.

New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood offers the following tips for consumers who want to make a charitable organization:

Baby boomer bloggers help people prepare

Boomers are helping us get prepared for just about anything, including bad weather, which is coming for some of us as fall begins.

Tips include how to prepare for severe weather or a natural disaster, the value of creating a relaxation room in your home or office, how to put “me” back into mental health, new trends in retirement, how to use the breath of kindness to maintain peace and tranquility, and ambivalence about fall and the coming winter.

Carol Cassara of Heart•Mind•Soul reports on these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs 563. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Are you ready for a natural disaster? National Preparedness Month is a good time to get organized

Natural disasters and severe weather and can occur with little warning. Examples are this year’s floods and wildfires. Are you ready to leave your home quickly? You can reduce your worries about these events by making sure you’re prepared if and when they happen.

September is National Preparedness Month, and it’s a good time to get your family, pets, and property ready. Suggestions from the Federal Trade Commission include:

Baby boomers write about positive attitudes

We’re in the middle of the summer doldrums, yet this week seems to have brought out a positive attitude among baby boomer bloggers.

They’re writing about how to inspire people to meet their challenges, why it’s never too late to embrace life, how to overcome tough challenges, a 90-plus mom who needed help getting rid of 69,000 emails, the trauma of getting evacuated from your rural home due to wildfire, how to save a cancer victim, and which states are the most and least energy efficient.

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty reports on these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #555. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure and join in the conversations. Boomer Bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

When you set your clocks ahead an hour ahead Sunday, change the batteries in your smoke alarms, too

 

Recently, I noticed my smoke alarm wasn’t going off anymore if a little smoke was made in the kitchen. It reminded me to change the battery in my smoke alarm.

As you spring forward to Daylight Saving Time and set your clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 11, be sure to change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Replace all smoke alarms every 10 years, test them monthly, and clean them regularly.

"Working smoke alarms cut your risk of dying in a house fire in half,” said Michigan State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer. "If you have a fire, you will have less than three minutes to get out of your home before the smoke and fire gases become deadly.”

Another school shooting: Let’s get this figured out

It’s Valentine’s Day. But, yet again, kids and teachers die in school a massacre caused by a gunman.

With 17 killed and 14 wounded, the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Wednesday, is among the nation’s deadliest school shootings.

President Donald Trump said in a Tweet:

“My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.”

Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican who received an "A+" rating from the National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund, said:

"There is a time to continue to have these conversations about how, through law enforcement, how through mental illness funding, to keep people safe, and we'll continue to do that."

Superintendent Robert W. Runcie said:

“Our District is dealing with an unimaginable tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. There are no words to express the sorrow that we are all feeling. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as the entire Marjory Stoneman Douglas community.

Alert: Ingesting laundry detergent pods could severely injure or kill you

What should Tide PODs be used for? DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else.

Eating a Tide POD is a BAD IDEA, and we asked our friend @robgronkowski to help explain. pic.twitter.com/0JnFdhnsWZ

— Tide (@tide) January 12, 2018

Since the first of the year, 68 teenagers from the ages of 13 to 19 years old have been intentionally exposed to liquid laundry detergent pods.

“Since our first alert to this life-threatening activity, the trend of intentionally ingesting single-load laundry packets has increased in its popularity despite repeated warnings,” said Stephen Kaminski, executive director for the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

During the first two weeks of 2018, poison control centers handled 39 cases. That was about the number they had in 2016. In the past week, another 47 cases have occurred, for a total of 86 between January 1 and January 21, 2018.